Race in the Classroom

Here's an interesting article from the Chalkbeat blog.  It's an interview with Amy Stuart Wells, a Teachers College professor.

For the first time in the nation’s history, the overall student population is now less than half white. And while many schools remain deeply segregated, others are growing more mixed as Asian, black, and Hispanic families move to the suburbs and whites settle in gentrifying urban neighborhoods.

But there is a difference between diverse schools and ones that are integrated, says Amy Stuart Wells, a Teachers College professor who has long studied race and education. History has shown that seating students of different colors side by side isn’t enough — real integration requires schools to adopt inclusive curriculums, teachers to reflect on their own biases, and students to learn how to interact across race and class lines, she says.

She rightly points out the challenges that face teachers.  She also acknowledges that it is important to work towards finding and training more teachers of color but the for here and now, the current teachers need the support for this kind of more broadly-based classroom.

I can't blame many college students for not becoming teachers; more than ever, the demands and the criticism is great. 

One idea I would just have to see in action:

One of the sessions at the conference will focus on science instruction in diverse classrooms. Something like science or math seems very straightforward, so how do you factor in diversity or culturally responsive teaching?

The title of Chris Emdin’s talk is called “Reimagining Rigor.” He’s challenging these notions that by using hip-hop pedagogy it’s not a rigorous way of teaching science. It’s going to be really powerful.

It’s a common theme, whether it’s science or math, and certainly with literacy and social studies, is giving students ownership and allowing them to interpret and reinterpret in their own language some of the scientific data and information that we talk about in one way. That’s so important in the real world. You ask any scientist and they say that’s what we do.

I have to say that I know many scientists and I'm not sure I agree.  I think she is saying that in science, language evolves as more is discovered or work is done in new ways but I'm not seeing the hip hop connection.  It also supposes that kids across all races would relate to hip hop.