achievement gap

Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Higher Education

Why many smart, low-income students don’t apply to elite schools

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest post by Carol Miller

It’s taken me a few days to respond, but when I went home the other day, the first thing my husband said to me when I got home was, “Did you listen to NPR today?  They were talking about Guidance Counselors.”

(Of course, before I could respond to his question, I had to correct him by saying, “You mean School Counselor.”)

But, I didn’t hear it, and I had to pull it up on the NPR website to listen.

You can listen to it here, or read the transcript here.

The basic premise of the report is that many low-income, high achieving high school students don’t apply to elite colleges because their “guidance counselors” steer them towards less expensive options. While NPR reports that recommending colleges is not always on the uppermost thoughts of many counselors due to high caseloads, they do state that  “guidance counselors may not have gone to selective colleges themselves.” and that your guidance counselor might not know “for a low-income high achiever, Harvard or Yale could be free.”

What NPR fails to report is that, while many low-income, high achieving students may be able to attend elite schools at a significant cost reduction, school counselors may not be privy to the net worth and financial backgrounds of each of our students.  In addition, when talking about different college options with students, we listen to their needs and concerns.  While Harvard or Yale might be free, transportation costs to and from these schools are not.

In addition, there is no magic wand that can guarantee a student’s acceptance into a college where the chance of admittance can be less than 10%.  Do we want students to apply to dozens of colleges on a chance that they will be accepted?  I know I want students to apply to a variety of colleges, but I also want them to apply to schools that would be considered reach schools, target schools and safety schools.  So throw a Harvard or Yale in the mix (because I DO know that the ivy league schools have a “no loan” program for students under a certain family income–I have encouraged a few to apply to Cornell), but also apply to a few state schools and also a few more small private schools that would have great financial aid packages with generous grants and fewer loans.

I also want students to think about the fact if they are majoring in Biology, Psychology, or Physical Therapy, that they will need more than 4 years of college.  I also want them to think about how they need to consider their indebtedness upon graduation.  I have seen more students come back to me with $60,000 or more in college loan debt by going to “elite schools” which they are then unable to pay back.

NPR fails to report that public schools have so many mandates for course requirements these days, with Common Core testing, Regents Exams, or State Exit Exam requirements, that school counselors do not have opportunities to  talk to students about these college awareness fundamentals.  Class time is a hot commodity, and is not given away by teachers easily.  Even at the middle school level, I struggle to find teaching time to talk about the things not covered in ELA, Math, Science or Social Studies but are important none-the-less.  Bullying, study skills, healthy behaviors, kindness, compassion, and college awareness are topics that are needed but not easily incorporated into the school day.

While I regularly listen to NPR, I was bothered by this article.  I would like those at NPR to know that first of all, I am a school counselor.  I am NOT a Guidance Counselor.  I am so much more than a paper pusher and a signer of transcripts to go on to colleges.  I am a teacher, a motivator, a cheerleader, and a coach.  I have inspired many low-income, high achievers to believe that college is an option.  I have taught them to understand financial aid packages, and what to look for on a college tour.  I have refused to give up on them and have helped them set goals.  I have encouraged them to take AP classes and helped to find them scholarships to cover the AP exam fees.  I have written letters to prestigious schools on their behalf carefully describing all the things that school would be missing if they didn’t accept my student.  I have given sound advice, but most importantly, I listened to my students, respecting their decisions, their values, and their goals.

I would like NPR to join me in helping to educate others on the important work of school counselors, and the need for school counselors in the lives of students.  We need smaller student caseloads and time with students.  We need an increased awareness of the importance of college planning and social emotional learning in the school day, as it can not be an afterthought to the Common Core and Teacher Evaluation System.  Our programs should be as developed as any other class curriculum, as we teach important life skills. This last report did not highlight the strengths of School Counselors.  I know, however, that every day, we do great things for these great kids.  It’s really unfortunate that you did not get the chance to see it.

This post originally appeared on The Middle School Counselor, and was republished with permission.
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Carol has organized School Counseling Conferences for several years in Central New York through TACA and has presented at these conferences on College Admissions, Best School Counseling Programs, and Sharing Counseling Resources. She is a member and past President of the Tompkins Area Counselor Association, and  a member of NYSSCA and NACAC, and NYSACAC. Carol is a mom to three sons, a crafter at heart, and a soccer and basketball coach in her free time.
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Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, Education News, Teachers

How we should discuss racism with students?

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest column by Gary Hamilton

The terrible tragedy at a church in Charleston, the circumstances surrounding the death of Sandra Bland, the anniversary of Michael Brown’s shooting, and countless acts of racially-motivated violence have once again reminded us that racism still continues today. Messages of hate and prejudice – the Confederate flag, the inequities in our systems of justice and education, and the media’s standard response to events involving people of color – continue to cause feelings of fatigue and isolation.

It is still hard for us as a country to fully acknowledge the racism that permeates the US. Especially in our schools, where we too often dodge or soften conversations about racial issues.

To bring about healing and impact change, I believe that teachers must have difficult conversations about race in order to bring about unity and understanding. We have the platform to achieve this, but we need to step away from the shadows of implicit messages. We have to speak openly and guide our students as well as each other through these challenging issues.

Teachers must be able to talk openly about racial issues.

Educators frequently engage in heated professional discussions with one another, yet when topics of race emerge we feel that we must walk on eggshells. To me, this is a serious problem. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of understanding each other and feeling free to share our cultures and histories. Our differences sustain who we are, and in order to create pathways for our students to feel accepted for who they are, we must foster these conversations.

I often find that some of my white colleagues stumble when speaking about issues that specifically affect the black community, if they address them at all. Maybe they feel uncomfortable and worry that I will place blame on them. Maybe they are unsure how to present their questions without offending me. But to eliminate the pitfalls of sugar-coated explanations or weak rationale for terrible acts of violence that occur, we need to be able to talk openly and honestly about racial issues.

How can we foster this? We can engage in controlled, passionate, solution-oriented conversations. In these conversations, we need to remember to leave our judgments at the door, to remain open-minded, and continue to demonstrate respect, even when we disagree. It is also important to assess the tone of the room, as some conversations are not ready for those who tend to play the devil’s advocate. Starting with validation can place individuals at ease and increase the likelihood of a healthy discussion. As educators, we can encourage these conversations with our students, their parents, and with one another.

Conversations about race are important to clarify generalizations.

I fear that my students may see the surveillance footage and media images of the man responsible for the Charleston attack, and think that the odious crimes against black people are perpetuated by all white people. The myriad of recent events where white police officers have abused their authority and acted with unwarranted violence towards black people keeps this belief afloat. Not having the space to ask questions openly about events such as these leads to stereotypes, fear, and hate.

We must acknowledge the danger of our country plunging into the abyss of racial divides. We were once and in many ways continue to be a country that treads lines of black versus white issues. We must prevent students from viewing the world through this lens by teaching them how the tainted ideology of a person can negatively impact all people. It is important to not distort the truth, but the format we use to tailor and present the truth is essential to how it will be processed.

We must remove the spotlight from the bad guy.

The spotlight should instead be shined on the inequalities within our justice system and our education system and the detrimental impact this has on minorities. It should be shined on strengthening gun control and safety laws and the increasing need for readily accessible mental health services. We need to stop focusing the perpetrators of these crimes and start focusing on systemic inequities that spur racism.

I trust that we are a nation that understands the menu for healing, but we cannot atone for ferocious acts without examining the root causes of racially-charged hate crimes. It is time that we move away from a place of fault and blame and into a place of realistic improvement for all people.

As we embrace the families whose loved ones have been lost through senseless acts of racially-motivated violence, we must recognize that history is repeating itself and that racism is still alive and well today. This truth is masked by the media and by our daily interactions with one another, where we avoid conversations about racial issues. To move forward, we need to have difficult conversations about the racism in our country. We can start these conversations in our classrooms.

___________________

GaryHamilton

Gary Hamilton grew up in the Dallas Independent School District, and is now a 5th grade special education teacher at Wheatley Education Campus in Washington, D.C.   He has been teaching for 9 years.  Gary is an America Achieves Fellow, a teacher trainer for the Flamboyan Foundation, and a Teacher Selection Ambassador for the District of Columbia Public Schools.

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Matthew Lynch published in Policy & Reform, Teachers

Student surveys: Measuring what tests cannot

Student surveys are being viewed by an increasing number of school officials, policymakers and researchers as the most effective tool currently available in measuring social and emotional goals for schools and their students. Qualities such as student-teacher relations, student engagement and growth mindset are not only being examined, but incorporated into accountability systems. This means that along with test scores and graduation rates, student state of mind will come into play when rating schools.

Researchers are convinced that students’ attitudes regarding learning, their skillfulness in working well with others and ability to self-regulate and persevere account for more than half of their long-term success.

Students will now be able to rate themselves on important indicators of achievement, such as social awareness and self-management. It has been documented that short, 20 minute surveys, in addition to teacher reports can accurately predict test scores, GPA, suspension and attendance outcomes.

Several school districts have joined forces with Panorama Education, a for-profit startup to analyze and administer these school surveys. With Panorama’s tools, schools are able to ask questions about what they deem important. Guidance is also provided by the company on which type of questions are backed by the best research. Access to questions other school systems have asked and what they have done to improve results is also provided.

Many school leaders find these non-academic factors crucial and are searching for means to document their progress. Increasingly, schools are viewing the academic component and standardized test results as only a fraction of the puzzle.

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Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, Equity, Matthew Lynch

Black Boys in Crisis: Is Punishment Too Harsh?

It’s no secret that Black boys are considered the trouble makers of society. In America’s prison systems, black citizens are incarcerated at six times the rates of white ones – and the NAACP predicts that one in three of this generation of Black boys will spend some time locked up. Do these numbers tell the true story though? Are Black boys inherently more dangerous than their white and Hispanic peers – or are they the products of racial profiling and a society that sets them up to fail?

In the first part of this series I looked at the connection between low reading ability and a lifetime of struggle for Black young men in the U.S., but today I want to focus on a non-academic area that impacts this group in childhood: punishment that begins in K-12 classrooms.

Troubling Stats in Schools

Nearly 75 percent of all schools in the U.S. report at least one violent incident in their schools each year, but that number rises to 82 percent for schools with a majority of Black students. Though Hispanic boys are the most likely to be involved with gang activity at school, it is certainly an issue for Black boys too – with 31 percent of students nationwide reporting seeing Black gang activity in their schools. Violence is just one part of the criminal side of K-12 hallways, though. There are also higher numbers of non-violent crimes, like theft, in schools where more students are Black than any other race.

All of that being said, there still IS violence in schools where Black students are the minority, and committed by non-Black students. Yet, over and over again statistics show that punishment for Black boys – even first-time offenders – in schools is harsher than any other demographic. Consider these facts:

• Black students make up just 18 percent of children in U.S. preschools, but make up half of those youngsters who are suspended.
• Black boys receive two-thirds of all school suspensions nationwide – all demographics and both genders considered.
• In Chicago, 75 percent of all students arrested in public schools are Black.

Also troubling is the fact that not all of the Black boys taken from their schools in handcuffs are violent, or even criminals. Increasingly, school-assigned law enforcement officers are leading these students from their schools hallways for minor offenses, including class disruption, tardiness and even non-violent arguments with other students. It seems that it is easier to remove these students from class through the stigma of suspension or arrest than to look for in-school solutions.
Minnesota civil rights attorney Nekima Levy-Pounds writes that “it is a continual affront to the human dignity of black boys to be treated as second class citizens within the public school system and made to feel as though they are not welcome in mainstream classroom settings.”

In Minneapolis, for example, an Office for Black Male Student Achievement has been created within the public schools to address the specific challenges that face young black males face when navigating the public school system. It appears that the effort may just be smoke and mirrors, however, as only $200,000 has been dedicated to it – which amounts to just $28 per African American boy.

School-to-Prison pipeline

School suspension, and certainly arrest, is just the beginning of a life considered on the wrong side of the law for many Black boys. By 18 years of age, 30 percent of Black males have been arrested at least once, compared to just 22 percent of white males. Those numbers rise to 49 percent for Black men by the age of 23, and 38 percent of white males. Researchers from several universities concluded earlier this year that arrests early in life often set the course for more crimes and incarceration throughout the rest of the offender’s lifetime.

Turning our backs on the misbehavior of our K-12 youth doesn’t teach them a lesson, or lead to lives that are changed for the better. It only simplifies the present, paving the way for a future of crime and other misbehavior. In order to change the troubling trends of Black men and crime, we first need to address the way Black boys are disciplined in K-12 schools and look for better solutions to suspensions and arrests.

photo credit: Elliott Fusy-Pudal via photopin cc

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Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Higher Education

What can be done to improve the success of black male students?

Did you know that a black male is more likely than any other group to be placed in special education classes, with 80 percent of all special education students being Black or Hispanic males?

Learning disabilities aside, black students (and particularly boys) experience disconnection when it comes to the authority figures in their classrooms. The K-12 teaching profession is dominated by white women, many who are very qualified and very interested in helping all their students succeed but lack the first-hand experience needed to connect with their Black male students.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the disadvantages that Black boys bring to their schools aren’t corrected in K-12 classrooms, they are furthered. As they get older, they are continually marginalized in their schools and societies – given less-than-adequate access to the resources that their already advantaged peers receive. While the connection between items like reading scores and civic responsibility may not seem well defined on the surface, they are related and that relationship is integral to turning the tide for Black boys in America

It has been shown over and over again that punishment for Black boys – even first-time offenders – in schools is harsher than any other demographic. Consider these facts:

Schools with majority Black students also tend to have lower amounts of teachers who are certified in their degree areas. A U.S. Department of Education report found that in schools with at least 50 percent Black students, only 48 percent were certified in the subject, compared with 65 percent in majority white schools. In English, the numbers were 59 and 68 percent, respectively and in science, they were 57 percent and 73 percent.

No wonder they aren’t in college

These trends are not conducive to improving the numbers of young black men who are able to attend college. In fact, the numbers are dismal when it comes to black young men who attend and graduate from colleges in the U.S. Statistically speaking, black men have the lowest test scores, the worst grades and the highest dropout rates – in K-12 education, and in college too.  The recognition of this educational crisis has led to some strong initiatives targeted at young black men with the intention of guiding them through the college years and to successful, productive lives that follow.

Which is why college motivation within and without the black community is so vital for these young men. At this point in the nation’s history, they are in the greatest need for the lifestyle change that higher education can provide, and not just for individual growth, but also for the benefit of the entire nation.

It is clear that improving the successful admission into college and subsequent acquisition of professional degrees would go a long way toward improving the outlook for these young men in crisis.  But, change needs to start early on and involve the entire school system as well as the community as a whole.

Do you think earlier targeting when it comes to young Black men and higher education would impact the number of students?

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Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Higher Education

Why Are Girls Surpassing Boys in College Achievement?

By Matthew Lynch

Nationally, over 57 percent of college attendees are female when public and private school stats are combined. Females have been consistently edging ahead of their male classmates since the late 1970s when the percentages flip-flopped. Aside from all-female schools, there are others that have marked disproportionate numbers. Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena has nearly 96 percent females in attendance, and the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis has over 93 percent. At Indiana University Northwest, located just outside Gary, 67 percent of the student population is female.

These statistics beg the question: What are K-12 educators doing wrong when it comes to preparing young men for a college education?

It Starts before College

According to Dr. Leonard Sax, too many boys are struggling in schools today. Sax proposes that five factors are responsible for the decline in school performance among boys: video games, prescription drugs, endocrine disruptors, devaluation of masculinity in popular culture, and teaching methods.  Sax and many others believe that video games disengage boys from real-world pursuits. Mind-numbing keyboards and flashing images have a seductive effect on the brain.  Medication for ADHD may be damaging motivational centers in boy’s brains, and the harmful effects of estrogens from food and plastic containers are upsetting the balance of boys’ endocrine systems.  The athletic, scholarly male TV heroes of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s have been replaced with Bart Simpson. These and other shifts in modern culture are responsible for devaluing traditional masculine strengths.  Additionally, Sax claims that the ways in which children are being educated today simply turn boys off from schooling.

Males who are completing a four year degree take longer than women to do so, and tend to socialize more in college, study less than women, and have poorer grades. The difference in male-female college/university enrollment reflects performance differences that are evident well before college attendance.

Money aside, there are other pitfalls in a disproportionate number of men going to college. Statistics show that marriages where the couples have differing education levels more often end in divorce than couples with the same educational achievements. And even before divorce is an option, women who set college educational goals may not want to settle for men with less motivation – at least when it comes to academics. If this trend continues, social dynamics may be impacted.

Minority Men Even Worse Off

The problem escalates when race is taken into account.  Recently, the Black Star Project published findings that just 10 percent of eighth-grade Black boys in the U.S. are considered “proficient” in reading. In urban areas like Chicago and Detroit, that number was even lower. By contrast, the 2013 National Assessment of Education Progress found that 46 percent of white students are adequate readers by eighth grade, and 17 percent of Black students as a whole are too. The achievement gap between the two races is startling, but the difference between the NAEP report on Black students as a whole and the Black Star findings of just Black boys is troubling too. It is not simply Black children in general who appear to be failing in the basics – like literacy; it is the boys.

So, we must ask ourselves why boys seem to be falling behind academically?  More importantly, what steps need to be taken in order to reverse this trend?

photo credit: Adikos via photopin cc

Click here to read all our posts concerning the Achievement Gap.

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Matthew Lynch published in HBCU's

Report: HBCU students better prepared after graduation than peers

A new Gallup-USA Funds Minority College Graduates Report shows that “HBCU graduates are more likely to prosper after graduation than students who graduate from non-HBCUs.”

The news comes as HBCUs are under scrutiny for effectiveness and if black students are better served by attending Predominately White Institutions (PWI).

Some HBCUs are struggling to survive due to debt but this report shows that the product being produced at America’s predominately black colleges and universities is pretty good. For anyone who has been lauding the relevancy of HBCUs for some time now (like me), this is music to our ears.

The study found that over 50 percent of HBCU graduates who were surveyed viewed their prospects after graduation as positive while just under 30 percent of black graduates from PWIs viewed them as positive.

Again–all good news for soon-to-be graduates and for the health of HBCUs. Of course, there is always a ‘but’ when studies are released.

“The report found that four in 10 black HBCU graduates are more likely to thrive financially while fewer than three in 10 black graduates of other schools can say the same.”

That news is likely tied to the overall health of the economy and how graduates may find their place in an ever changing workforce. I’m also not sure what the definition of “thrive” is in this case. There is a difference, I think, in being comfortable or being affluent.

Overall, though, this news is great for HBCUs and the students who attend them. The report found that graduates from HBCUs are better emotionally, have stronger relationships, and are more goal oriented as well.

Read all of our posts about HBCUs by clicking here.

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Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, Education News

Ahmed's clock proves reality of the school to prison pipeline

One kid, one clock, and one set of handcuffs set the nation ablaze this week. Ahmed Mohamed was detained by officers from the Irving Police Department for bringing a homemade clock to school that his teacher mistook for a bomb.

In an effort to defuse the clock–and the situation–the police were called and Ahmed was arrested for bringing a “hoax bomb” to school.

Officials later learned that Ahmed’s faux bomb was just a homemade clock and he had no intention of harming anyone. It was all, as stated by the police, just a misunderstanding.

If only misunderstandings were that simple.

Since the melee, Ahmed has been invited to the White House, MIT, and Facebook for his creativity. Each organization or group has shown support for Ahmed due to his unfair arrest.

But the unfairness tagged to his arrest has more to do with Ahmed’s culture and skin color than safety.

Ahmed Mohamed was born in America, is Muslim, and his parents aren’t native. The stereotypes associated with Ahmed’s existence led to his arrest, not a clock misidentified as a bomb.

According to study by the University of Pennsylvania, students of color, specifically black students, are suspended at a much higher rate than white students. While Ahmed isn’t black, he is considered to be a student of color.

The study also notes that in 84 districts within the 13 states studied, “blacks were 100 percent of students suspended from school.”

This perpetuates an unfortunate theory that students of color are pushed towards prison instead of higher education.

Ahmed is a curious kid who enjoyed putting things together and fixing broken electronics. He was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school, which on so many levels, means that a part of his creativity was doused due to racism, stereotypes, and ignorance.

We need to push more kids like Ahmed to advance boundaries, not punish their ability to blow by them.

Too bad Ahmed’s lesson about how rules are applied to certain students, culture, and races were learned through his ability to be creative.

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Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, Teachers

What teachers need to know about multicultural education

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest column by Rae Votta

For a brief time, at the inadvisable age of 20, I had a brief stint teaching English and Social Studies in West Philadelphia. I’d never taken a formal education class, nor had I any real aspirations of teaching middle schoolers, but I was part of a bandage-style solution aimed at fixing failing school systems by patching them with inexperienced but optimistic young teachers.

I’m white, and not a single one of my students were white. This is none too surprising, considering the demographics of West Philadelphia, as well as the propensity for college-educated young white adults wishing to “give back” by working in low-income neighborhoods. Despite the fact that there’s a call for nonwhite teachers to work with students of color, which often produces better educational results, 80% of teachers are white—and that doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon. One of the things I learned clearly and quickly during this experience was that there is a gap in the educational standards of what was expected in predominantly white, middle-class, suburban schools versus what urban and low-income schools had available to their students. In addition, the cultures surrounding those students have a massive effect on how the education system works for or against them. Reflecting multiculturalism in the classroom is imperative in our increasingly multicultural society.

For me, teaching was as much of an education on culture as it was a fundamental education for the 13-year-olds I taught. While we worked our way through the common core, we also worked our way through navigating a school system that told them learning Social Studies didn’t require dedicated books. My parents would have stormed the school if I came home telling them I wasn’t given a book for a subject, but not a single one of my students’ parents complained, nor did the students seem concerned. Instead, we worked around it, and my students were adaptable to items I brought in; they became an active part of determining what they were interested in and what we’d learn about under the massive umbrella of “World History.” Instead of falling into the trap of a Eurocentric approach, we decided to mix it up and include Africa, since we didn’t have a book dictating our every move.

For my students, or at least some of them, our brief time together was eye-opening for them about a different world outside of the few blocks they inhabited in Philadelphia. At 13, I had been obsessed with college, and so I thought some of my students might be as well. I brought in magazines about picking the right college and about getting ready for applications in high school. No one had really emphasized this to them before. A group of students who had acknowledged the existence of the colleges in their town thought that maybe they’d be lucky enough to attend one since, as one told me, there was a McDonalds near one. That was when I realized that, in their world, a fast-food joint that’s taken for granted elsewhere was considered almost a luxury, or a neighborhood perk, to these students. By the end of my time teaching, the students had started to learn about out-of-state colleges and realized they could aim for them if they wanted. I sat one high-achieving student down with her mother and explained that she was the smartest girl in her grade, but that kids like her in suburbia were already doing SAT prep and practicing essay writing. I gave her books so she could compete outside of the confines of her community.

There is a call for the opposite of my situation as well—to increase the diversity of teachers for predominantly white schools. After my experiences on both sides of the situation, I cannot agree more. For all my well-meaning suburban teachers, I can’t remember a single one who wasn’t white, and I think that was a disservice to my understanding of the world outside of my bubble—until I was in the “real world” as an adult. Outside of history classes about emancipation and civil rights, no one talked about how racism applies to other areas of education, and no one took stock of the diversity of our source material. No teacher or educational leader had ever led me to believe there were other types of community and culture outside of the one we existed within.

One moment that stands out from my time as a teacher was when I was trying to mitigate the daily fighting that broke out in my classroom. It was a far cry from my middle school education, where fights were few and far between. At first, I tried to bandage the situation and just tell them to stop, assuming that my authority was all that was needed. It wasn’t until one day that I stopped lessons, sat everyone down, and said, “Tell me why this happens” that I understood the cultural issue at play that I’d simply never experienced. My students expressed that they had to stand up for themselves, that their families had instilled a value of not backing down, and with honor on the line the threat of a suspension didn’t matter because dishonor was worse. Knowing this, however, did not stop my students from fighting, and neither did my explanations of how there were different ways to handle conflict. On the other hand, understanding the cultural aspects of the situation gave me new ways to handle such conflicts.

Multicultural diversity in education is not just about what is taught to the students, but who is teaching these students and the interplay between the cultures of the educator and of the students. The more diversity we can infuse into the mix, the better the outcomes for both students and teachers.

____________________

Rae Votta is a senior account planner from Prime Access, one of the largest health and wellness marketing agency and is the only full-service advertising and marketing communications company at the intersection of health care and multicultural markets.

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership

Can Big Bird really close the achievement gap?

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest post by Sam Chaltain

Don’t get me wrong: I love Big Bird as much as the next guy. But when people start talking about how Sesame Street is just as effective at closing the achievement gap as preschool, I start to worry that we’re becoming enamored with a seductively simple characterization of a deeply complex problem.

To wit: this article, in which we are told the “new findings offer comforting news for parents who put their children in front of public TV every day.” Or this radio story, in which the reporter claims that the show’s heavy dosage of reading and math can yield long-term academic benefits that “close the achievement gap.”

The lure of a set of findings like this is pretty clear: plug your kids into an educational TV show, help them learn their letters and numbers, and voila! No more class inequality. And actually, when one considers how we measure the achievement gap — via the reading and math test scores of schoolchildren — the opportunity to draw a linear line of cause and effect is available to us.

The problem, of course, is that school is about a lot more than literacy and numeracy — and the problems that beset poor children run a lot deeper than the 30 million word gap.

Consider the research around ACE Scores — or the number of adverse childhood experiences young people have — and how much those scores shape a child’s readiness to learn and develop (you can take a short quiz to get your own score here).

Dr. Pamela Cantor has spent a lot of time thinking about ACE Scores. She founded Turnaround for Children to help schools become more attuned to the cognitive, social and emotional needs of kids, and she’s one of many out there who are urging us to understand what the latest research in child development is telling us about what we need to be doing in schools. As she puts it, “The profound impact of extreme stress on a child’s developing brain can have huge implications for the way children learn, the design of classrooms, the preparation of teachers and school leaders, and what is measured as part of the school improvement effort as a whole.”

Consequently, whereas reduced exposure to the building blocks of reading and math is a problem (and one that Sesame Street can clearly help address), the biggest problem for at-risk children — the root cause — has to do with their social and emotional health.

The good news is that although these deficits are profound, they are also predictable, since they stem directly from the effects that stress and trauma have on young people’s brains and bodies. “These stresses impact the development of the brain centers involved in learning,” Cantor explains. “It is because these challenges are knowable and predictable that it is possible to design an intervention to address them. Collectively, they represent a pattern of risk—risk to student development, risk to classroom instruction, and risk to school-wide culture—each of which is capable of derailing academic achievement.”

That means the best way to help poor and at-risk children become prepared for school is by ensuring that high-poverty schools have universal practices and supports that specifically address the impact of adverse childhood experiences. So while I love and appreciate the benefits of Sesame Street, I’d feel better if instead of suggesting that every child needs more time with Grover in the morning, we suggested that every child’s ACE Score needs more weight in determining how schools allocate resources to support their students’ holistic development.

I hope that doesn’t make me seem like Oscar the Grouch.

This post originally appeared on Sam Chaltain’s personal blog, and was republished with permission.

Click here to read all our posts concerning the Achievement Gap.

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Sam Chaltain (@samchaltain) is a DC-based writer, filmmaker, and strategic communications consultant. His work focuses on the changing nature of teaching and learning in America, and on how individuals and organizations can find and tell stories that capture the emotional center of an idea; build and sustain an audience of supporters over time (as opposed to merely generating awareness); and leverage both traditional and new media in order to expand an ideological base of support.

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