CHAPTER 5 Collin College EDUC 1301 Dr. Nita Thomason Who Are Today’s Students?

 Racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds  Language  Gender  Sexual orientation  Socioeconomic status  Abilities, achievements, and learning styles  Diverse needs Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

Race  Common ancestry & physical characteristics Ethnicity  Common culture Language Customs Religion Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

 Number of public school students is rising Enrollment rose dramatically from  Demographics changing Number of non native English speaking students rose dramatically during this period. Over 43% of public school students are part of a racial or minority group; Latino and Latina students are the fastest growing segment of the school population.

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 Equity: Treating individuals & groups fairly & justly, free from bias or favoritism  Equity does not mean treating groups equally- it means treating them in ways that maximize their potential for learning.  Those ways may be different for different groups- but the outcomes are the same!

 Equity: Treating individuals & groups fairly & justly, free from bias or favoritism  Equity does not mean treating groups equally- it means treating them in ways that maximize their potential for learning.  Those ways may be different for different groups- but the outcomes are the same!

 “English-language learners” (ELLs) or “language minority” students: Speak a language other than English at home, need to learn English in school  # ELLs rose from 9% to 20% About ¾ speak Spanish  Bilingual education has met with some success

 Spanish - 77%  Vietnamese %  Hmong %  Korean %  Arabic %  French (Haitian) Creole %  Cantonese %  All others together - less than 1% Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

ImmersionTeaching is in English English Acquisition Short-term or pull-out English lessons; may be used with immersion TransitionalIntensive English instruction combined with subject instruction in native language Maintenance or Developmental Preserves native language skills while adding English as a 2nd language Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved What do opponents of Bilingual Education have to say?

 Christians account for 78.4 percent of the American population, with Protestants accounting for 51.3 percent of that total.  The total number of Americans who identified their religion as something other than Christian increased by more than 32 percent over the last two decades.

 One Cannot: Teach a religion (indoctrinate or inhibit) Encourage, participate in students’ religious activities  One Can: Teach about religion Honor privacy of students’ rituals, as long as they don’t interfere with class/school function Teach values such as honesty, respect, citizenship  Guidance from the First Amendment Center

 Watch your own behavior toward girls and boys; have high expectations for all.  Organize classroom, technology schedules so students don’t segregate or monopolize by sex.  Avoid biased instructional materials.  Eliminate sex-stereotyped assignments & tasks.  De-emphasize competition and speed; include cooperative activities.  Structure learning to give girls equal opportunity to participate.  Model equitable behavior; establish a culture that does not permit gender or ethnic bias. Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

 Girls often squelched in coed classrooms Teachers tend to call on boys more often Girls less likely to express themselves Fewer leadership roles Women underrepresented in curriculum  Single-sex schooling predicted to become more common in public schools  Gender-fair education: Helps females & males achieve full potential

 Enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction for people of one or both sexes  LGBT students fear rejection and harm: Over 60% surveyed felt unsafe at school LGBT students suffer greater risk of suicide, depression, bullying, assault  Unlike most minority students, LGBT may experience prejudice & isolation at home

 Socioeconomic status: Based on family income, occupation, education, and social status: Relates to social capital of family Students with higher socioeconomic status tend to outperform those w. low social capital >30% of all U.S. kids live in single-parent household

 Students in danger of dropping out before completing high school or not acquiring adequate skills for success  “High-risk child” = one whose family has 4 or more of these risk factors: Household head is high school dropout Family income below poverty line Child living with underemployed parent(s) Family receives welfare Child lacks health insurance -from Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2003

 Most significant are: Poverty Substance abuse Child abuse Homelessness Hunger Depression Teen pregnancy (major reason girls drop out)  High-risk yr. olds are 4x more likely to drop out of HS than those not in category -from Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2003

 Creates equal learning opportunities for students from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic groups  Curriculum as Window and Mirror- topics outside of the students’ world and topics that reflect the students’ world;  Culturally relevant pedagogy: Places learner’s culture at center of instruction Incorporates culture into curriculum Respect students’ experiences

 Establish classroom guidelines against name- calling, and address all name-calling immediately.  Respect different points of view.  Make no assumptions about students’ families or their sexual orientations.  Be a role model; treat all students with respect and dignity. Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

 Free appropriate public education  Appropriate evaluation  Individualized Education Program (IEP)  Least restrictive environment  Parent and student participation in decision making  Procedural safeguards Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

Mainstreaming  Students with disabilities in regular classrooms for at least part of the day.  Additional classes, services as needed Inclusion  Students in regular classroom as much as possible  Brings services into the classroom Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

 Be open to including students with disabilities in your classroom  Learn each child’s limitations and potential  Learn instructional methods & technology that can help each child  Insist that needed services be provided  Pair students with disabilities with children who can help them  Use a variety of teaching strategies  Co-teach with a special education teacher Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

Acceleration  Learn regular curriculum at a faster pace  Progress to advanced materials sooner Enrichment  Go beyond regular curriculum  Greater depth and breadth  Individual or collaborative inquiry activities Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

 Encourage curiosity  Allow exploration beyond standard curriculum  Differentiate instruction  Group students of varying ability levels by interest for cooperative projects  Teach complex thinking processes  Look for alternative curriculum materials  Implement curriculum compacting  Match students with mentors Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

 Verbal/Linguistic  Logical-mathematical  Spatial  Bodily-kinesthetic  Musical  Interpersonal  Intrapersonal  Naturalist  Existential/Spiritual Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

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 Seek out experiences to broaden your cultural understanding.  Spend time with people who differ from your ethnicity, culture, or language.  Learn about the values and backgrounds of your students.  Teach to your students’ strengths.  Provide a variety of educational experiences.  Involve students’ families. Respect values of both school and families. Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved Know thyself, too!

 Different is just different; it’s not lesser  Treat your students’ differences as a gift, not a barrier to be overcome Learn from them And with them  Help them be all they can be: Through your non-biased teaching practices and your pursuit of equity!