1. ESC 300 – 30 February 7, 2011 “ Rather than think of diverse students as problems, we can view them instead as resources who can help all of us learn what it feels like to move between cultures and language[s] and thus perhaps better learn how to become citizens of the global community.” - Lisa Delpit, 1995

2. “Becoming Allies for Each “Other: An Inclusive Approach to Confronting Heterosexism in Schools” Agree or disagree: Heterosexism encourages homophobia. Explain and discuss if this is an issue in classrooms today. How can teachers seek opportunities to raise consciousness about discrimination and encourage alternatives? (example: bias in books (“Indian in the cupboard”); names of sports teams; etc.) How do you think sexism limits students? What would you do in your classroom to address this issue? What (or who) are the hindrances to teaching inclusively?

3. Preparing for Field Experience Questions? Observations and reflections: Review the guiding questions from the syllabus. “If I would do something differently, what would it be and why do I think this would be better for the students?” VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY! - See wikispace under “Resources”

4. Understanding Diversity as an Asset, Not a Deficit It is an erroneous assumption that in order to learn, racial and ethnic minority and low-income students must overcome deficits associated with their culture, community or social class (Delpit, 1995) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UmEv-I1Q-k (Response to Maclean’s article about north central Regina)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UmEv-I1Q-k Teachers who buy in to this deficit model may believe that students bring nothing of substantial value to their formal schooling

5. Students who are not from white, middle-class homes experience a prominent discontinuity between the worlds they know at home (i.e. their funds of knowledge) and the world of school. To varying degrees, these children may find that they do not know how to show the teacher what they know in ways she/he can recognize. They may be asked to engage in activities they do not fully understand. And they may find that the teacher talks in ways that are unfamiliar and confusing. Children from middle-class homes, where the funds of knowledge correspond nicely to those of school, experience much less discontinuity. For example, they know what the teacher is talking about most of the time, and if they don’t, they know how to ask for help in ways the teacher recognizes.” (Roseberry, McIntyre and Gonzales (2001) as cited in Pugach, pg. 218)

6. Devaluing Students in School: How Does it Happen? Call on some students less frequently Not allowing “think time” in order for student to construct response Correcting misbehaviours more harshly for some Engaging in less informal talk with some students from particular racial, ethnic or socioeconomic groups Change in physical proximity Establishing closer relationships with families who come from their own racial, ethnic or socioeconomic group

7. Discussion Point: How comfortable do you think you would be in teaching in a racially diverse classroom. What would be difficult for you? What skills do you need to work on? What do you think is the most important thing to remember about teacher EAL students? What worries you about teaching EAL students?

8. Why “Celebrating Difference” is Not Enough. (“Good intentions are not enough: a decolonizing intercultural education” – Gorski, 2008) What’s wrong with “taco night”? Do we do the same thing at times? Do we unintentionally essentialize the lives and diverse cultures of already-oppressed groups of people by doing things we perceive as “multicultural”. Do dominated groups make themselves even more vulnerable for the educational benefit of the privileged? Is “taco night” our effort to “do what we have to do to integrate multicultural education” rather than engaging in authentic anti-racism?

9. Teachers cannot claim neutrality. We must be who we are, but at the same time keep working on developing critical consciousness, both for ourselves and our students. Excellent website: www.tolerance.orgwww.tolerance.org Recognizing privilege and power Peggy MacIntosh’s “white privilege” (1989) (Daily experiences which question one’s place in society)

10. For Next Week… Reading #1 – Culturally Responsive Classroom Management: Awareness in Action Host: Responsibilities as outlined in the syllabus Guest: Highlight four paragraphs which cause you to think about responsive classroom management - you may agree or disagree. Be prepared to share your thoughts particularly on your highlighted sections. NOTE: We will also be discussing “What Matters Most in Inclusive Education”, which was on this week’s reading list. For February 28: We will be meeting in the TPC across the hall. There will be a research presentation by the library, so bring a computer if possible. (There are also some computers available there). The presentation will be approximately 30 minutes in length, and there will be another 20 – 30 minutes for you to do your own research for your individual Inquiry Research Paper. Please have a possible topic of inquiry chosen.