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Performance Task Brainstorm - Google Jamboard

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Please review and read the CRT Rubric developed by The Teacher Collaborative, DESE, and The Teachers' Lounge MA prior to our November 1st meeting.

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Session 2- 10/4 Pre-work: "Culturally Responsiveness Starts with Real Caring" by Zaretta Hammond 

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Session 2- 10/4 Pre-work: "Culturally Responsiveness Starts with Real Caring" by Zaretta Hammond 

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"Culturally responsive teaching is really about building relationships and validating students. Ensuring the academic success of students takes care and a little tough love. "

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Editor's Note: This blog was first published at www.Ready4Rigor.com on Oct. 4, 2012 and posted here with permission.
"If you can show me how I can cling to that which is real to me, while teaching me a way into the larger society, then and only then will I drop my defenses and hostility, and I will sing your praises and help you to make the desert bear fruit."
-Ralph Ellison

I've been in conversation with teachers, literacy coaches and district-level folk who out of the gate are trying to figure out how to raise the achievement of black and brown students in reading. The big question folks keep asking is: How do we accelerate their progress? How do we motivate students of color to learn?

They want to focus on the techniques and the strategies-the technical moves of culturally responsive instruction.

But I am reminded by the Ralph Ellison quote that the foundation of culturally responsive instruction is not technical, but relational. It's about authentic caring. It's not about using some generic "call and response" strategy to get kids fired up so they are excited about the same ole boring, unrelated stuff. Kids can see through that...quick.

A colleague told me about a recent incident that makes the point. She was part of a team doing classroom walk-throughs in a school in the Midwest that wanted to really focus on culturally responsive pedagogy school-wide.

When the team walked into one fifth-grade classroom with mostly white students, they saw an African-American boy curled in a corner crying hard. The teacher wasn't attending to him. The other members of her team just looked at each other trying to figure out if they should do something. She couldn't believe this was a point up for debate. She went over, crouched down to his level, put her hand on his shoulder, and asked what was wrong.
The Neuroscience of Caring and Being Cared For
A moment of compassion. A gesture of caring.

There's real science behind this idea of caring as the on-ramp to learning. When we feel cared for, our brain is flooded with neurotransmitters and hormones like oxytocin, the same hormone that makes moms fall in love with their babies even after the pain and effort of labor. These "happy chemicals" tell our pre-frontal cortex, the thinking part of the brain, that all is safe socially, emotionally and physically. All systems are a go for learning.

What happens if you don't feel safe or cared for? Ain't no learning happening. The flood of stress hormones like cortisol divert blood from the pre-frontal cortex to the amygdala, an almond-shaped organ in our reptilian brain, in preparation for fight or flight. Not the time for learning. The brain is signaling us that it's time to respond to threats, not lay back and chill.
Call for the Warm Demander
Imagine going through school without feeling affirmed for the way you speak, think or see the world? I can bet that doesn't generate a lot of happy feelings. Instead, you might feel guarded, untrusting and a wee bit hostile even.

How do we show care as culturally responsive educators? By building rapport and a sense of connection, but also by showing "tough love" when necessary, insisting that students rise to their fullest potential, bringing them into their zone of proximal development, kicking and screaming if necessary.

I call it care and push.

It's just like insisting your kids eat their vegetables and refusing to let them eat donuts for dinner. You know veggies are good for them. And while donuts may make them happy in the moment, it's not in their best interest in the long run.
How do you show "care and push"? How do you explain your "tough love" to students? Hammond is an educator and writer passionate about teaching and learning. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area. She's worked as a research analyst, high school and college writing instructor, a literacy consultant, and, for the past 13 years, as a professional developer.
Becoming culturally responsive starts with showing genuine caring that recognizes the unique gifts and talents of every child, particularly when that child doesn't look like you.

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Cultural Responsiveness Starts with Real Caring

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Editor's Note: This blog was first published at www.Ready4Rigor.com on Oct. 4, 2012 and posted here with permission. "If you can show me how I can cling to that which is real to me, while teaching me a way into the larger society, then and only then will I drop my defenses and hostility, and I will sing your praises and help you to make the desert bear fruit."

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Dr. Sheldon Eakins hosts the Leading Equity Podcast where he helps educators become better advocates for their students. He shares "an advocate is someone who recognizes that we don't live in a just society. Advocates aren't comfortable with the status quo and are willing to speak up."

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Order the Leading Equity Book Today! Read the Transcript About Carole Collins-Ayanlaja
Dr. Carole Rene' Collins Ayanlaja, a native of Indianapolis, IN and a Chicagoan for three decades, holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a parent, teacher, educational leader, and researcher. A commitment to educational success for k-12 students through effective teaching and authentic equity-driven leadership is the hallmark of her professional career.

She began her educational career as a Chicago Public Schools 6 th and 8 th grade teacher in the Latinx community. In 1998 she launched her leadership journey in suburban Cook County, soon thereafter joining Chicago Public Schools. Prior to joining higher education in 2016, Dr. Collins Ayanlaja served as a public education leader for over 25 years in the capacity of elementary assistant principal and principal; high school assistant principal and principal; district director of curriculum and assessment, chief academic officer, chief assessment officer, and superintendent in Chicago, Suburban Cook County (IL), Ohio, Iowa, and Connecticut.

Currently, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, College of Education, Eastern Illinois University, Dr. Collins, as she is frequently called, prepares graduate candidates for the principalship and superintendency in the state of Illinois. Her research incorporates intersectionalities of race and gender in educational leadership and schooling experiences. Carole promotes democratic engagement for diverse children and families in equitable learning environments that propel anti-racist pedagogy and inclusive practices.

Dr. Collins Ayanlaja engages in broader community work by partnering with schools, community organizations, and businesses to strategically plan, develop, and implement culturally responsive practices by building staff capacity to engage with families and propel programming that ensures access and equity.

Her greatest gift and accomplishment are that of being the mother of one young adult son, who recently graduated from Lake Forest College, her alma mater. Carole is full of gratefulness and gratitude to her Creator for the intellectual capacity and opportunity to be a contributor to our collective field of education.
Show Highlights

Culturally responsive leadership

"Who are you?"

Facing history when leading

Strategies to deal with challenges

Critical questions to ask ourselves as leaders

Public relations and social issues

Connect with Carole Additional Resources Learn more about the Advocacy Room Free Course on Implicit Bias 20 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activities Annihilating Racial Injustice in School Course FREE AUDIO COURSE: Race, Advocacy, and Social Justice Studies Instagram: @sheldoneakins

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LE 254: Preparing Culturally Responsive Leaders

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Order the Leading Equity Book Today! Read the Transcript About Carole Collins-Ayanlaja Dr. Carole Rene' Collins Ayanlaja, a native of Indianapolis, IN and a Chicagoan for three decades, holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a parent, teacher, educational leader, and researcher.

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Roberto and Lorena Germán host the Multicultural Classroom podcast. They share that their story is one grounded in immigration journey and grounded in their experiences growing up in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The podcast focuses on how educators can effectively impact learning through an anti-bias anti-racist lens in the classroom and beyond.

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Episode 35 | 4 Tips for School Leaders Starting DEI Work

Welcome to Season 2 of Our Classroom! In this episode, Roberto breaks down an article that he and Lorena originally published through Edutopia. The article examines the idea that school leaders should take an active...

View Episode

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Welcome to Our Classroom! In this space we talk about education, which is inclusive of, but not limited to what happens in schools. Education is taking place whenever and wherever we are willing to learn. In Our Classroom, we explore educational journeys, discuss instructional strategies,...

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How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics | Liz Kleinrock

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Truth, Love, & Racial Literacy | Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz | TEDxPenn

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Whether you are a parent or not, I am in the middle of reading a great book, Social Justice Parenting by Dr. Traci Baxley. There are many things that are applicable to our own classroom and she brings in her own experiences as a parent and teacher. Great food for thought and I am really getting a lot out of the book!
Trish

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Please create your own copy of the Performance Task Template. We will be building out and working on this for Sessions 2 and 3.

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"For White children to develop authentic identities based on their personal abilities and interests rather than on White superiority, they need to learn about the differences among White people, and that differences are enjoyable and worthy of respect." - Louise Derman-Sparks

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CRT Co-Lab Shout-Outs! - Google Jamboard

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Culturally Responsive Teaching Co-Lab (Fall 2022)