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In chapter 7, Ladson-Billings states that student teachers should have opportunities to observe culturally relevant teaching. She points out the flaw in the way we currently conduct student teaching: most cooperating teachers are picked without consideration and student teachers are used as rewards to favored teachers. The teachers that students are placed with should be chosen with great consideration and thought. It should be viewed as more than a chore for the principal, but as an opportunity to create and help develop effective culturally relevant teachers.

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In chapter 7, Ladson-Billings states that, "When beginning teachers come in to minority communities, many are unable to understand the students' home language, social interaction patterns, histories, and cultures. They can not truly educate the students" (pg.146). I agree with her in the fact that student teachers should have a prolonged immersion in African American culture. Dreamkeepers is about being culturally relevant and the importance of it. If teachers never learn about other cultures and never have experience working with other cultures, then they cannot learn how to be effective teachers.

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Schott Foundation for Public Education Report

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Best Practices for Teaching African American Boys

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http://www.kdsi.org According to a 2010 Schott Foundation for Public Education Report, the overall graduation rate for black males in the USA was only 47% in New York City - the district with the highest enrollment of black students. Find out how you as an educator can create a supportive learning environment for African-American males in the classroom.

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In chapter 7, Ladson-Billings discusses ways we can improve the learning experiences of our first year and student teachers. She states that student teaching should be conducting over a longer period of time and in a more controlled environment. She proposes that new teachers team teach for their first year or so in a team of 2-4. This team would develop the curriculum and instructional strategies to use in the classroom; therefore giving the new teacher a supportive environment to practice their craft. I agree with Ladson-Billings view on better preparing new teachers.

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Ladson-Billings discusses two teachers that use very different approaches when teaching students to read. Ms. Lewis uses a whole-language approach which focuses on a student's comprehension of a text. the students studied a text and made personal and meaningful connections to it. students studied this text for several months while reading other books and making connections between them. there is currently a debate on which approach is best, but this class proved that this approach is just as effective and as Ladson-Billings stated, "During this year i witnessed a class of students engaged in reading, writing, and speaking activities with increasing levels of competence and confidence" (pg.120).

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Theorist John Locke thought of children's' minds as a blank slate, tabula rasa. He believed that people did not have innate knowledge and only learned through the teacher's words and from experience. this theory completely negates the purpose of culturally relevant teaching. According to Ladson-Billings, "A hallmark of the culturally relevant notion of knowledge is that it is something that each student brings to the classroom. students are not seen as empty vessels to be filled by the all-knowing teachers. what they know is acknowledged, valued, and incorporated into the classroom" (pg.95).

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“I admire the resilience and strength of the students who continue to come to school and participate, even when their intellect and culture are regularly questioned”( pg.99). Ladson-Billings stated this in response to negative comments that teachers made about their African American students. It is so powerful and admirable when anyone chooses to better themselves (through education) in spite of others working against them just as Ruby Bridges did when schools were first integrated.  While we have come a long way as a nation from the integration of schools, African American students still face discrimination and mistreatment in and outside of the school environment.

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Ladson-Billings discusses an investigation that Ms. Lewis conducted with her students. The students were trying to figure out the race of Egyptians. One student discussed his thoughts with Ms. Lewis stating that people don't talk about Egypt like it's a part of Africa. the reason for this and the problem of it as the student stated is, "if you make people think that of the Egyptians as white then you will think that only white people can make great things" (pg.93). While i recognize that people usually don't associate Egypt with Africa, i never thought of why that might be. The words of this student resonated with me and were very insightful.

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In the assimilationist approach to teaching, teachers often homogenize students into one "American" identity (pg.38). This teacher fails to recognize each students' cultural differences and in turn fails to help them make connections between their community, national, and global identities (pg.38). The saying " the great american melting pot" does exactly this by creating a single identity for Americans. In this way of thinking, people's cultural identities are ignored and culturally relevant approaches are not being demonstrated. It is crucial for students to know that their cultural identity is important and accepted by others. This is why " the American salad bowl" is a more appropriate phrase- demonstrating that cultural identities should not be blended together but that the pieces should come together to work as one.

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Great American Melting Pot Schoolhouse Rock

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The Great American Melting Pot Schoolhouse Rock

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The Great American Melting Pot Schoolhouse Rock this video shows we are not a nation of hyphens.

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Ladson- Billings discusses the assimilationist approach to social relations. In this outlook the teacher-student relationship is fixed and tends to be hierarchical (pg.60). This means that students are often not encouraged to challenge ideas or the teacher because the teacher is ' the one with all of the information' that needs to be dumped into the students' minds. This approach to learning kills critical thinking. It is important for students to question things and not just take it as fact. When students question what they are learning they become more engaged and develop a deeper understanding and make broader connections to things. This video goes in to detail about what critical thinking is and the importance of it.

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Ladson-Billings says that teachers with culturally relevant practices see teaching as an art and themselves as the artists. She discusses a teacher, Mrs. Valentine, who engaged her students by being a bit dramatic when they lost focus. Valentine says, " You have to be something of an actor to be a good teacher, and sometimes you have to overact" (pg.47). This video demonstrates a teacher that has a passion for the subject, engages students, and gets them excited about their learning.

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Ellendale, ND High School Science teacher being CRAZY

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In The Dreamkeepers, Ladson- Billings discusses the importance of student collaboration and its part in successful culturally relevant teaching. I like this video because it also discusses the importance of student collaboration but it takes it a step further and explains that certain aspects of group work need to be taught and some strategies that can be used to teach it.

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Structuring Collaboration for Student Success: Keys to PBL Series Part 3

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In this video, a teacher demonstrates how students can be involved in setting their own goals. By involving the child in this decision, it allows them to take responsibility for their learning and feel like they have a voice in the matter. Ladson-Billings discusses Mrs. Harris, a teacher, who asks her students to set goals for themselves every day and at the end of the day they assess/ reflect on themselves.
I believe that setting personal goals can be very empowering and motivating, and that students also build self-confidence through this.

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Alice Terry Elementary School - Students Involved in Setting Goals

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In Sheridan School District (near Denver), students at Alice Terry Elementary School are involved in setting their goals for improving achievement. A second-grade teacher demonstrated the process at a recent Board of Education meeting.

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At this New Jersey festival, these children get to demonstrate what is most important to them: their culture. Having a cultural identity is one of the most important things about being a human being, without it we have no true sense of identity or belonging. Ladson-Billings discusses this throughout chapters one and two and discusses the meaning and importance of keeping one's culture. Students should never feel as if their own culture is unimportant or unworthy of celebration. This is why it is important for teachers to be able to understand their students' different cultures and to celebrate them in class. If teachers demonstrate these values in the classroom, then other students will learn to respect and accept other cultures.

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This picture stood out to me because of the language written next to the African American boy. I am not sure of the context of what he is saying, but the way it is portrayed upsets me. There are many pictures/ memes like this all around us, showing us that African American children are associated with illiteracy. If we have negative perceptions of our students, such as this, then we are wrong morally and become ineffective teachers. Ladson-Billings describes this on pages 24-25 of her book, The Dreamkeepers, when she discusses the four behaviors towards students and the dangers of having negative perceptions and low expectations for your students.

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I chose this picture because as a child I can remember seeing posters like this hung in my classrooms or in the hallways. Schools know that having a strong sense of community is vital for a good learning environment, but when those values are forgotten children suffer. As Ladson-Billings describes in the first two chapters of her book, belonging to her community made all of the difference in her education. She knew her teachers outside of school and they knew her. Since her teachers were a part of the community, they knew each child's individual home situation, personal struggles and needs, and interests. Ladson-Billings discusses how important this was being able to understand and connect with students, it made her feel at home in the classroom.

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Originally I was searching for a picture that might show classroom conditions in an inner- city school, instead I found many pictures of the police at Grady high School and thought it would prove my point just as well. Ladson-Billings discusses the issues with urban schools and how " whites and middle- income people of color fled the cities, they not only abandoned the schools to the poor children of color but also took with them the resources, by way of the diminishing tax base" (pg.3). Schools are becoming more segregated than ever, and because of this, lower- income schools are suffering. Children can not learn in such environments where their safety is a concern, their resources are inadequate, and they feel no connection with their teachers.

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I chose this picture because learning about the Carlisle Indian School in a previous class really stuck with me. I think it was horrific that the school stripped Native Americans' cultural identities in hopes that they would conform to the rest of society. This is exactly what Ladson-Billings describes as the second category of "effective" programs for African American students. This program aims to “ re-socialize youngsters viewed as outside the mainstream and to inculcate in them mainstream perceptions and behaviors” (Ladson-Billings pg.11). I believe that people should never be made to feel as if their own culture is inadequate. Having a cultural identity is the very thing that makes us human.