EPS 201/202 Library Book Collection Project
Michie will identify a school that doesn’t have a library. Donated
books will be given to individual teachers at this school—If you want
to donate a book (new or used in good condition) —choose your
favorite or a newer children’s book, or a Caldecott winner. Give your
donated book to me or your TA before the end of finals week. Thanks

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Final Exam 5 questions (20 points each), 3 hours, Study Guide will be
distributed on Thursday, April 28
Final Exam 228 Natural History Building, 8 – 11 AM, Thursday, May 12
 Conflict Final, Friday, May 13, 1:30-4:30, be sure to notify your TA
this week if you qualify for the Conflict Exam. Location to be
announced.

Thursday, April 28, and Tuesday, May 3 MAKE-UP LECTURE WRITES
for those who need it, MAX POINTS = 10

Bookstores will buy back TOZER, APA MANUALS AND MICHIE (NOT
Spring)
Teaching for social justice.
Small acts make a difference.
Some schools in Chicago have no libraries . We could expand
the in-class libraries in one school.
Last week, many in our class indicated they were willing to
donate books.
Good quality used or new books could be donated if the class is
interested. I will collect donated books for one elementary
school until the end of finals. I will contact Greg about a
target school. Critically analyze this act!
Books for K-8 can be given to me or your TAs
APPYING THE 3 THEORIES OF SOCIAL
INEQUALITY in CHAPTER 13 TOZER with
READINGS FROM THE PAST 2 WEEKS
1. CULTURAL DEFICIT THEORY TOZER Chapter 13 and the views toward
capacity to learn in school, SOME GROUPS ARE INFERIOR.
POVERTY BOOKS Article on Poverty
CLASS ANYON “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work”
ETHNICITY BILLINGS Readings
2. HUMANIST APPROACH TO DIFFERENCE AND DISCRIMINATION
(Tolerance, Elliot. 1960s)
3. CRITICAL THEORY 1980s (INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES, POWER)
a. CULTURALLY DIFFERENCE THEORY LEADS TO CULTURALLY
RELEVANT TEACHING LADSON-BILLING, G. EXCERPTS in Dreamkeepers
Successful Teachers of African American Children, and see TOZER Chapter 13
“Diversity and Equity Today” (pages 430-432 (details on Ladson-Billings’
Culturally Relevant Teaching).
b. ANTI-RACIST TEACHING E-RESERVES TENORIO, K. An interview
with Enid Lee “Taking Multicultural, Anti-racist Education Seriously” pages 1923.
c. RESISTANCE THEORY CULTURAL SUBORINATION LEADS TO
RESISTENCE THEORY KOHL, H. “I Wont Learn from You”.
We don’t want schools to perpetuate social inequalities.
What did Jean Anyon’s research reveal about
REPRODUCTION of the social class structure in
schooling? (Anyon article and Tozer, 422-423)

Study of five elementary schools in New Jersey

Schools serving working-class children were:
 Indifferent to academic content beyond the basics
 Teachers viewed students as lazy
 Instruction was by rote and repetition

Schools serving middle-class children were:
 Quality of content better
 Instruction was better
 Wanted students to think for themselves
Teachers Perceptions and Expectations play an
important role in determining educational
outcomes. (see Spring, 57)
“Pygmalion in the Classroom” Rosenthal and Jacobson,
performed a research study in a classroom.

Would teacher expectations affect student performance?

Over the summer administered IQ tests to students.

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Randomly identified some students as “late bloomers” and told
teachers to expect a big boost in student performance in the
next year.
Retested students at the end of the year, late bloomers made
greater gains than non-bloomers.
People’s perceptions of themselves and others are
influenced their group membership and views
held by the larger society about groups.

See Anderson’s article, “The Historical Context for
Understanding the Test Score Gap”, page 20.
What are the consequences of “stereotype threat” in
testing situations?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGEUVM6QuMg&feature=related
What is the effect of socially held
negative stereotypes on members
of different groups regarding
confidence their abilities?
Social Psychology Research shows effect of stereotype threat
in testing situation for any group that is negatively
stereotyped.

Even among talented college students at Stanford
University, if the students believed a test was a measure of
their ability (like girls in math) there test score could be
effected.
Remember the discussion of stereotyped threat-social
psychology addressed in Professor Anderson’s article on the
historical context for the achievement gap.
CULTURAL DIFFERENCE
THEORY
Cultural difference theory respects
and values differences.

Cultural Mismatch- (Tozer, 421) can occur in:

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Subject matter
Learning styles
Ways of knowing and demonstrating knowledge
Attitudes toward authority
Modes of behavior
Socializing patterns--Speech Patterns, Manners, Values
When there is a mismatch, then some accommodation is
needed for learning to occur.
Cultural Relevant Teaching
Not an easy prescriptive method of teaching.
Relevant approach for all students—
Ladson-Billings believes that the
problem for minority students is
cultural deficit theories operate in
schools, students feel the impact of
subordination, structural
disadvantages, and unequal power
relations. How do we change this
in schools and the larger society?
Why is Ladson-Billings concerned about the education of
minority students? African Americans still dream of
quality education for their children.

Achievement gap of minority students

Poor outcomes for many minority students--higher dropout rates

Resegregation of schools since 1980s (de facto separate schools)
means greater isolation for all students

Low funding in many schools serving minority

Few teachers of color (less than 10%)

Lingering effects of cultural deficit theory on teachers (no
attention to structural inequalities, teaching approaches, school
practices and policies)
Ladson-Billings conducted a one-year study of 8
of the most successful teachers in minority
schools. What was the cultural reference of the
8 teachers in her study? 5 Black 3 White
8 teachers
 All 5 African American teachers demonstrated close cultural
reference with the African American community

1 white teacher had a bicultural orientation

1 white teacher had a African American orientation

1 white teacher had a white cultural reference BUT in school
sought out African American teachers and encouraged
students to share their cultural background in the classroom.
What does Ladson-Billings mean
by the CUTLURAL REFERENCE of the teacher?
The cultural group that the
teacher most closely
identified with, who were
her friends inside and
outside of school, what
kinds of social activities did
she participate in, which
neighborhood and
communities did she
frequent.
According to Ladson-Billings what main views do
culturally relevant teachers hold about learning?
(Tozer, 430 and Ladson-Billings, 33):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccEu7r2IwM0 3:40
CAUTION: These look simple, but are complex ideas.
 Conceptions of themselves and others.
 Recognize that culture impacts everyone’s learning.

Conceptions of social relations.


Social relations impact motivation, why we learn, interpretations,
how the community views the school.
Conceptions of knowledge.

Knowledge is constructed, useful, changing, linked to experiences.
Culturally Relevant Teaching is a comprehensive WORLD
VIEW – THE STARTING POINT IS CULTURAL
DIVERSITY rather than ASSIMILATION to a dominant
culture*
Nappy Hair (1997) Carolivia Herron
and illustrated by Joe Cepeda
The book is written in the African American
tradition of CALL AND RESPONSE. Addresses
African heritage and slavery.
If you missed last
Thursday’s class,
Read article by
Neal Lester “Roots
That Go Beyond Big
Hair and a Bad Hair
Day: Nappy Hair Pieces
At the family picnic, EVERYONE has something to say
about Brenda Her hair and her talents are a gift from God.
RECOGNIZING CULTURE AS PART OF THE PROCESS OF LEARNING
Ladson-Billings suggests that all of us learn and
understand through cultural filters.
Recognize the role that culture plays in how
we see the world.
“The way we read the world is culturally
mediated.”
Know thyself, and understand others.
Teachers need to read the world…..requires that you cross
boundaries beyond your immediate experiences.
How does the culture shape society?
How do political economy and ideology shape society?
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
DEMOCRACY and
DOMINANT CULTURAL
IDEAS AND VALUES
RELIGIONS
POVERTY
OUR
HISTORY
FAMILY
SCHOOLS
POLITICS
ECONOMY
DEMOGRAPHICS
FEDERAL &
STATE LAWS
No simple recipe Culturally Relevant Teachers
According to Ladson-Billings (E-Reserves)
***Two pages in Chapter 13 See Tozer page 430
and 431 “Education that is multicultural and
social reconstructionist”
Emphasis is on WHAT and HOW we teach.

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Believe in the intellectual capacity of all students, all students are
capable of success.
Hold beliefs about minority students that all can learn (and hold them to
high expectations).
See themselves as part of the community in which the students live.
See teaching as giving back to the community.
Maintain fluid, equitable teacher/students relationships.
Demonstrate a connectedness to all students.
Develop a community of leaders among students.
Encourage students to learn collaboratively
Is this just
Is passionate about learning.
good teaching?
Views the curriculum critically.
Scaffolds or builds bridges that facilitates students’ learning.
Believes that assessment needs to be multifaceted.
Committed to providing readiness and support necessary for learning.
Ladson-Billings believes that teachers
should not….
treat EQUALITY as SAMENESS.
What does this statement mean to you?
Ladson-Billings believes that culturally relevant
teaching does not represent a kind of separatism,
reverse racism, or special privileges to the African
American community, but rather compares
culturally relevant teaching to middle-class
demands on schools to serve their communities.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xP11RgMlMU&feature=related
What is a Mexican? Seward School, Chicago
Michie’s Media Class 1990s
Youtube see: bestofssn
Your comments on Michie:
 Imagination missing in today’s classrooms
 The question of what it means to be a “good” teacher.
 Resist idea of a “bad” neighborhood
 Make students part of school evaluation process
 No method for teaching in urban schools
 A walk through teacher evaluation sounds awful
 Make connections with the students’ community in some way
 Ask questions, be humble, and listen
 Observe at all types of schools, observe master and novice teachers
 Thankfully, my subject, history is not tested in schools today
 One interesting question that did not get asked: “How does Michie feel
about uncertified teachers? He wasn’t certified when he started.”
 Spend money out of pocket for your class?
Can you count on being able to have these
experiences in your daily life? Yes or No?
I can arrange to protect my children most of the
time from people who might not like them.
Can you count on being able to have these
experiences in your daily life? Yes or No?
I do not have to educate my children to be
aware of systemic racism for their own daily
physical protection.
“White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible
Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh This article is now
considered a ‘classic’ by anti-racist educators.

Peggy McIntosh is associate director of the Wellesley
Collage Center for Research on Women.

It has been used in workshops and classes
throughout the United States and Canada for many
years.

While people of color have described for years how
whites benefit from unearned privileges, this is one
of the first articles written by a white person on the
topic.
Can you assume?
7. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular
materials that testify to the existence of their race.
9. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a
credit to my race.
10. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial
group.
11. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that
people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the
place I have chosen.
Daily effects of white privilege
Professor Peggy McIntosh (1988)
“I decided to try to work on myself at least by identifying
some of the daily effects of white privilege in my life.”
“I have chosen those conditions that I think in my case
attach somewhat more to skin-color privilege than to
class, religion, ethnic status, or geographic location,
though of course all these other factors are intricately
intertwined.”
MEMBERS OF MAINSTREAM
GENERALLY HAVE…..a free pass in many civic,
social, political, economic, educational activities-and ideology is kind and generous to members.
“But I have
worked hard to
get where I am
today.”
History contains blatant racism, sexism, classism, disable-ism…
Today, there are both visible and invisible (very subtle)
differences in treatment in society and in schools.
Visible—when disability is not accommodated in schools, when
anti-Catholic stories are in textbooks, when no women or
minority authors are read in literature classes…… (if authors
are absent the assumption is that no good literature is
produced by that group) OK, so it is not really invisible
Invisible--
just hard to see, HIDDEN CURRICULUM
(so embedded) unless you are looking,
using a critical eye. Authoritarian teaching
approaches for some students,
how rules are enforced, who has the
best teachers and most motivating classes.
CULTURE AS NORMS It determines the meaning of:
rituals, success, manners, behaviors, language, social
status, ethnicity, gender --all meaning…

Definition: You are part of mainstream
American culture if you:
Can teachers build a
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bridge between cultures?
Can students respect the
mainstream and their own
culture?
Act [and PERCIEVED] like a
member
Have income for the lifestyle
Internalize its core values
Have ready access to participate in
institutions
Speak English
Accept a mainstream identity

How much cultural uniformity is needed to be
successful in mainstream culture?

How much respect is given to cultural difference
today?

In Schools: Can students learn in an environment
where they have to reject their home culture? Or if
their culture or identity is disrespected?
What does Ladson Billings mean by
“dysconsciousness”?
Dysconsciousness means, as teachers, we recognize the privilege
of some children and the disadvantage for other children, but
we fail to challenge the status quo, or accept PRIVILEGES
FOR SOME AS A GIVEN OR INEVITABLE (LadsonBillings, 32).
ENID LEE suggests challenging the status quo in schools:

Curriculum changes that study the SOURCES of
discrimination

Involving students in social change in their neighborhoods

Giving minority parents more voice in school decisions

Examining who is hired at a school

Equipping students and parents to combat racism and ethnic
discrimination.
Multicultural Approaches to Teaching
Enid Lee suggests that Anti-Racist,
Multicultural Education means to
examine the biases of our own
education,
Examine what is considered “normal”
(Is normal excluding some people?).
Ask: Who benefits from the status
quo? How can more people benefit
from social institutions?
Enid Lee suggests how to implement a more
multicultural, anti-racist education.
Implement in stages:
Surface stage—more expressions of culture within the school and
begin to transform the curriculum
Transitional stage—create units of instruction on that address
different cultural groups
Structural changes—integrate units on different cultures into the
regular curriculum
Social change—create a curriculum that helps to lead changes
outside the school (Such as media literacy studies-- how does
the media portray different people? Study health conditions of
a neighborhood)
Critical Theorists believe that:
Many people experience institutions differently based
on group membership.

Cultural Subordination Theory helps us to examine
inequalities structured in the social system,
differences in power between superior and inferior
and what it means in schools.

Examine the social processes lead to the lower status
of certain groups.
Pluralist Approach to Curriculum for All Students
Example of recent changes in how history is taught. More inclusive of
diverse experiences, but still room for improvement.
Critical
Theorists
Seek
Pluralism
For ALL
Two documentaries were made on Jane
Elliot’s Eye Discrimination Experiment
Chapter 13 Teacher Jane Elliot Tozer 414-416
What happened during the two-day experiment?
SUPERIOR
INFERIOR
Jane Elliot’s Eye Discrimination Day
You can view Eye of the Storm
and A Class Divided on YouTube –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCjDxAwfXV0
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43-QAvekTpU Part 3 6:10
Humanist Approach: Individuals
Critical Theory: Change Racist Structures
Define Colorblind: Can be thought of several ways.
As a positive, Human Relations Approach: What are the main
goals of Jane Elliot’s approach to discrimination?
Students learn about discrimination, become tolerant.
The experience changes some individuals
“Not to be prejudiced. Not to see color as a negative status. Not to
see white as superior. Not to treat students any differently
because of their color.”
(like Jane Elliot for her students, see
Tozer, 431)

As an absolute: Everyone is just the same, no differences.
What assumptions operated in Jane Elliot’s class?
One group was inferior to the other.
One group had power over the other.
Negative impact of blatant discrimination.

Superior group was:

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Entitled to special privileges
Given positive encouragement for learning
A group that was assigned positive attributes
Individual members’ behavior was attributed to group
membership
Could students in the bottom group ever change their
lower status?
How are groups perceived in society?
How do perceptions influence teachers?
Social perception comes in part from our membership in
groups….--American, New Englander, IrishAmerican, women, working class, teacher…
GROUPS DO SHARE SOME CHARACTERISTICS
Generalizations are limited.
BUT SOCIAL STEREOTYPES OF GROUPS ARE
LIMITING When stereotyped, a person takes on all
attributes of a group, there is no individualism, and no
personal knowledge is considered.
What occurred in Elliot’s class? Teacher as Wicked Witch of the East?
--She was a mean individual?
OR, as a teacher with power and authority in school is she adopting the
prejudices of the larger society?
Her aim –TO TEACH TOLERANCE TO INDIVIDUALS
Are changes to minds or structures more important to effect real long-term
Compare Approaches to Discrimination
1. Human Relations (Tozer, 431) Jane Elliot
2. Critical Theory (Tozer, 419-424, Ladson-Billings, Enid
Lee (Tenorio article), and Kohl
.
What are the main goals of critical educators like Lee or Ladson-Billings?
Show how cultural differences matter in teaching and learning.
Create a more inclusive, multicultural curriculum.
Examine and change discriminatory school structures.
Equip students to combat discrimination.
Provide a high level of education and social awareness.
Change school structures.
Change institutions and power relations.
What are the main goals of a critical educator like
Ladson-Billings?
Make schools work well for all students.
Critical Theory challenges:
Negative stereotypes
Cultural deficit views
Political, social, and economic arrangements in the
larger society that cause inequalities in all aspects
of life.
Not considering the impact of subordination –like
the response of resistance
CHANGING SCHOOLS
Critical theory differs from liberal theories that take for granted
the existing social arrangement when it
a) calls into question the whole social order.
b) places the concept of power relations at the center of the
problems between rich and poor, mainstream and
subordinate groups.
c) examines the power relationship between the child’s culture
and the school culture.
d) seeks to serve the needs of the child and legitimate interests of
the larger society.
e) All of the above are correct.
An example in Kohl showing why some
students resist school (26).

Kohl was consulting for a school in San Antonio that had a
large Mexican American population with a high failure rate.

Few Latino teachers, no Latino administrators.
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He observes in a History Class—a Lesson on “The first people
to settle Texas” (arrived from New England and the South…)
Kohl challenged the textbook’s assumptions, and then
engaged students in conversation about racism within the
textbooks and the school.
Resistance Theory (Tozer, 424 and Kohl)
Students reject negative environments and reject
opportunities in schools in order to preserve their
identity and cultural connections.

When students experience discriminatory practices,
some students retreat into a posture of resistance, a
conscious refusal to learn.

Cooperation in schools means capitulating to an alien
culture.

Resistance in school is “self-destructive” at one level--a
foregoing an education; but it preserves the integrity of
subordinate cultural identity.
According to Kohl what is meant by:

Failing to learn?
 Tried and failed for different reasons—teaching approaches,
materials, readiness skills.

Not learning?
 Willfully choosing not to learn because of a challenge to selfrespect, self-identity, cultural integrity, or loyalty to family or
group.
Kohl acknowledges the essential role of free will in learning.
Resistance by many students is a response
to subordinate status in society and school.

Deciding to actively not-learn something involves closing off
part of oneself and limiting one’s experiences (Kohl, 106).

As a teacher, Kohl assumes that there are complex factors
behind apparent failure to learn, which could be used to
transform the situation into positive learning (Kohl, 107).

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Kohl concludes that–teachers need to understand why “notlearning” occurs, and education needs to be built on the hard
truth of the experiences of our students in society (Kohl, 120)
Teachers should seek ways to address discrimination and
racism as it connects to the students’ lives, as it functions in
schools and operates throughout the curriculum.
Summary-- Chapter 13 and Lee, Ladson-Billings, and
Kohl Readings What theories contribute to answering
these complex questions about teaching and learning?
Teachers ask themselves these questions:
 What are the learning styles of my students?
 How can I learn more about my students?
 Why do students behave this way?
 Why do students fail to read? Fail to achieve in school?
 What interventions might have a positive impact on student
performance?
 How do conditions in the larger society shape my thinking and my
students’ thinking?
At an institutional level:
 How can schools change the outcomes for students?
 How can schools change the general pattern of social reproduction?