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Report calls for sound educational policies, end to 'race blind' teaching to raise school achievement among black, Latino teens
By adamg on Tue, 04/07/2015 - 6:52pm
Authors of a study of the achievement gap between black and Latino boys and the rest of BPS say good educational practices and increased parental involvement at four specific schools helped raise the students' test scores but that even more work was needed to close the gap between them and other BPS students.
The study looked at four schools - identified only by pseudonyms - where black and Latino male students did better on average than their peers at other schools. It's the second half of a study looking at why these students tend to fall behind white and Asian students and girls in test scores.
A key recommendation of the report: Recognize the cultural and ethnic backgrounds of students and integrate that into educational plans for individual students:
One example at Tallmadge Elementary clearly demonstrated their lack of knowledge about Latin@ cultures when, as part of their attempt to incorporate multicultural education with a "feasts and festivals" approach, they celebrated a Mexican holiday even though the school had no students of Mexican descent. Even at Bruin HS, which was selected for its success with Latino males, some adults referred to Latin@ students as "Spanish" students, a term that is outdated and not reflective of the vast diversity of the Latin@ diaspora. Strengthening adults' knowledge of the historical and political contexts of students' countries of origin, of how Black and Latino male students form their social and cultural identities, and of the terms they use to self-identify would be a first step in embedding best practices for Black and Latino male students into school culture.
Other steps include:
- Ensuring caring, authentic relationships among
- teachers, students, and families
- Building professional collaborative learning
- communities
- Individualizing instruction to meet students
- where they are
- Engaging families as leaders
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Comments
Something tells me the reason
Something tells me the reason they aren't doing well in school isn't because a teacher accidentally said "Spanish" instead of "Latin@." Not to mention that "Spanish" is arguably more accurate since "Latin@" refers to the fact that they speak a Romance language, namely Spanish...
If you don't know what Latino means
You might want to spend some time looking it up.
It means someone from Latin
It means someone from Latin America. It's called Latin America because they speak a Romance language. Spanish. What am I missing here?
Two things
One, Spanish isn't the only Romance language spoken in Latin America. Latino covers more than Spanish-speaking.
And two, the word "Spanish" is already in use to denote somebody from the country of Spain.
Are Brazilians considered Latino?
If so, news to me.
I'd also add that referring to Spanish-speaking people-not-from-Spain is pretty common among Latinos, not to mention all the signs on bodegas referring to "Spanish foods" by which I assume they do not mean paella.
No they aren't
I mean maybe technically yes because they are from Spanish and Portugeuse descent.
But ask any Brasillian what nationality or race they are and they'll come right out and say they are Brasillian and not Spanish.
Spanish <> Latino
I don't think anybody is contemplating calling Brazilians Spanish - except maybe the aforementioned teachers who seem to think everybody is Mexican - but Brazilians are usually considered to be Latinos. Otherwise Hispanic describes the group better. Rectangle, square.
That said, I have encountered Brazilians who insist they're not Latino because they're white. And Hispanics who insist Haitians aren't Latinos because they're too dark. Racial politics is complicated.
I have also encountered pale faced Angolans who insist they're the real demm Efrican Emericans.
Interesting you mentioned this sock puppet.......
As a supervisor, I've fielded a few complaints from Brazilian drivers who were given a motor vehicle citation and the "Hispanic" box was marked. They had complained that the "white" box should have been checked.
By that logic, the word Latin
By that logic, the word Latin is also already in use. What language do people in Latin America usually speak?
Lighten up Francis
Latino, Spanish, Mexican, it's almost all the same. These people need to relax. Do they still sell Mexican Jumping Beans or are they called Latino Jumping Beans?
Calmete, Francisco!
Anglo-Saxon, American, British, Australian, it's almost all the same. These people need to relax.
Ignorance of different cultures is nothing to be proud of, dear.
Agreed and yet
How on earth do you--or a teacher in this case then be expected to somehow teach "Latino" students who may be Dominican, Puerto Rican, Venezuelan, Mexican, Colombian...? There's a strange irony here in criticizing a teacher observing a Mexican holiday while lumping kids from wildly different backgrounds into one group just because they're all native Spanish-speakers.
Black AND Latino students
were lumped together into one category, which makes it even more absurd.
Yes there is an irony here.
Yes there is an irony here. Residents of Mexico think of themselves as Mexican not Latino; people from Cuba are Cubans etc.
Gabriel García Marquez was a Colombian novelist.
With due respect
it's primarily the 'progressive' ideological / political movement that has insisted on lumping all 'Hispanics' (or 'Latinos, take your pick) together. In fact, they are masters of group-think. In fairness, the advertising / marketing industry does the same, and 'ethnic politics' is well established.I might add that all black, white, and Asian people are also frequently lumped together.
As for the Mexican angle, ANYONE from the urban northeast knows there aren't nearly as many Mexicans or Americans of Mexican descent here vs the southwest states. And most recent (past 20 years) 'Hispanics' are primarily from Central America, not Mexico, and yes, they are different in many ways from Mexicans, and in many ways vastly different from Caribbean 'Hispanics', the traditional 'Hispanics' in the northeast.
Ya you liberals
Have grouped us all and blame us for everything too.
I'm Irish American yet I'm somehow responsible for slavery even thought my family was still in Ireland. You guys accuse us of white privilege even though we were treated like shit upon arrival.
Calm you white guilt buddy.
Butthurt much?
No, sir, you calm your liver. Recognizing that people from different countries have different cultures isn't blaming you for anything.
Now if you do want to compare pitiful ancestry, by all means, bring it - my ancestors were treated pretty badly on arrival here, too, at least, the ones who made it here because they weren't killed in the pogroms.
Really, a drinking joke
Really, a drinking joke against the Irish? I thought you were above that.
That's an anti-Irish crack?
If so, my apologies; I always thought it was just some goofball Boston phrase.
Not an "anti-Irish crack" at all
Just a venerable Boston expression (that derives from medieval and Elizabethan notions of "humours"):
http://digilander.libero.it/mgtund/elizabethan_beliefs.htm
Become a little less PC?
I might be getting the wrong message, but when I was going to public school in the 1980s, we celebrated everyone's culture/religion/holiday/language. Or we at least talked about it. I'm not going to go as far as Bill O'reilly and his "war on Christmas" crap, but kids now don't even know what country their classmates are from. We seemed to know where everyone was from and what religion they celebrated. We had holiday assemblies where kids put on "skits" or plays on where they were from and what they believed in. Maybe My memory is a little foggy with nostalgia, but teachers seemed to be able to do this with respect for others. I remember kids bringing in dradles and learning about what they were and what they meant (and we used them in the classroom with teachers) I just picture schools banning these items out of fear of "promoting religion" or some other guise of PC nonsense today.
Sometimes it seems that schools are scared to talk about religion and culture, even though these cultures are very important to kids and who they are. I get a sense that this report leans a little to a more personal approach to education.
Not scared
standardized testing
More stringent rules and
More stringent rules and standards regarding education have left very little time for skits or learning about classmates during class time. PC has nothing to do with it. It's a flailing education system that thinks that more rules, tests, and "learning" hours will improve America's rankings in education.
PC, Not
The report should reveal the school names, and stop the PC nonsense period! IF they want parents involved, students engaged and wide spread accountability to all including teachers, the disclose the names of schools that have allegedly "fixed" their cultural disparities. Otherwise, burn the report because the miseducation of acknowledging and teaching a multicultural community of learners is not the only problem. Teachers with tenure are too comfortable flying under the radar with union protection. Many teachers are not from the district so they are not 100% invested in teaching underserved communities, and can't begin to relate to cultural differences, especially when their communities are thriving. Shake up the entire system, let the bad apples fall from the tree once and for all.
"Parent involvement"
Tends to mean different things for parents and for administrators.
Parents: "Play a meaningful role in my child's education, including the classroom, curriculum selection, and school administration."
Administrators: "Shut up, keep away from the school, turn in all the homework, give me money, and never take your kids on vacation."
We can't meaningfully talk school "communities" as long as the district shuffles kids around to schools based on a dice roll. Boston's choice/ busing system could not be better designed to reduce parent involvement and prohibit the formation of community.
But Cinco de May went over great!