week 8, march 2, tuesday
 Ladson-Billings, G. But That's Just Good Teaching!
The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.
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assignments
Thursday, Panel session of urban educators
Readings
 Urban Prep Academy, Chicago
 Lansing Charter Academy
 Holmes Foundation Academy
 Blog on focus question
Come to the session with one question to ask the
panelists
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assignments
Focus questions in your blog (1 paragraph each)
 Review the information about the programs available
at these sites. You may also search elsewhere for
more information since some of these sites are not
very detailed. Then, consider the following question.
 1. How might these programs be seen as responses to
particular features of their urban environment? For
example, how is the all-boys Urban Prep Academy a
response to something in Chicago environment?
What are your opinions of the way these schools have
responded?
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inquiry project
 Everyone must spend sustained time in an urban
environment
 The purpose of group work is not to divide the
work, but to have multiple perspectives on the
same phenomenon
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2 million minutes
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gloria ladson-billings
 “…considered one of the leaders in
scholarship concerning the
education of African-American
children today. Most notably she is
credited with the concept of
culturally relevant pedagogy”
 University of Wisconsin, Madison
 “Who are the teachers capable of
transcending the labels and
categories to support excellence
among all students? …I call them
dreamkeepers.” GLB
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cultural competence
 “Culture is a complex concept, and few
teachers have an opportunity to learn about it…
And although it is important for teachers to
understand their students' culture, the real
benefit in understanding culture is to understand
its impact on our own lives.” GLB
 Cultural background influences and shapes the
way they understand and act in the world.
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cultural competence
 Developing cultural competence results in an
ability to understand, communicate with, and
effectively interact with people across cultures
 Cultural competence comprises four
components: (a) Awareness of one's own
cultural worldview, (b) Attitude towards cultural
differences, (c) Knowledge of different cultural
practices and worldviews, and (d) cross-cultural
skills.
 Wikipedia
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cultural competence
 Culture: the values, norms, and traditions that
affect how individuals of a particular group
perceive, think, interact, behave, and make
judgments about their world (Chamberlain)
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understanding one’s culture
 Q: Why is it so important for teachers to
understand their own culture?
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culturally relevant pedagogy
CRP is emphasizes the importance of:
 Students’ academic achievement, not just self-
esteem
 Teacher and students’ cultural competence
(see examples on p. 161
 Critical consciousness, as a response to feeling
disenfranchised. An alternative to bemoaning or
feeling helpless about social inequities.
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code switching
 A linguistic term referring to the changing from
one way of speaking to another depending on
the social context
 Examples?
 An important skill for cultural competent TE
students
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ladson-billings story of inquiry
 GLB gives a good example of a story of her
inquiry and learning, p. 162
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qualities of the good urban
educator
Based on her study of 8 excellent urban teacher,
GLB found they share certain qualities.
 p. 163
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