Who doesn't like FREE resources? Especially those of us in education who are used to not only purchasing resources but purchasing them OURSELVES! (Am I right?)
The Change Agent is an Adult Education magazine resource many of you may be familiar with as it is used in both Standards Proficient and Language Arts Specialist training.
I wanted to make you aware that by following the link at the bottom of their home page, you can receive a FREE copy of their issue, "Talking About Race." It also comes with Lesson Packets and resources for teachers. The articles range in complexity so it can be used across the program.
While a good definition of
multicultural education is simply, “Multicultural education incorporates the
idea that all students - regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, social
class, and ethnic, racial, or cultural characteristics - should have an equal
opportunity to learn in school,” (Banks, p. 3) all that those words entail
are complex.
I have been teaching for
over 20 years, and multicultural education has come to mean different things.
When I first did my student teaching, I would say the school district thought
it was doing well because it occasionally celebrated different heritages. It
most certainly was a “tourist-based approach.” (Banks, p. 26) In today’s
classroom, we have come a long way but still have a long way to go.Being a multicultural classroom or school or
district means examining and changing everything from policies, curriculum, assessment,
delivery styles and every other aspect of our instruction and reach.
Because I teach Adult
Education and ESL students, my classroom is diverse in every possible
way. My students have ranged in age from 16 to 67, a multitude of ethnicities
and refugees, immigrants, and international students from many different
countries. It is easy to see them as their background or their country or even
their gender or skin color.A
multicultural educator sees the big picture. They recognize the beauty in
uniqueness and diversity. And they celebrate all within the classroom community
as individuals and as a whole.
The video, “The Danger of a
Single Story,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (below) moved me to consider how I
approach their learning and their participation. Do I view them differently as
they are from “third-world countries?” Do I ask different questions and in
different ways because they come from underprivileged areas and schools? Do I
assume their ability to retain deeper concepts because of their background or
criminal history? Do I contribute to the racial or individual gap in
learning? (Lee, p.3)
As teachers, we should
constantly be striving for multicultural classrooms. And as Lee states, “Multiculturalism
is the ideal state in which people’s culture, language, heritage and humanity
are fully valued.” (p.4)
I had a substitute one day
who had no experience with the unique population I teach and he made a
comment that they should be able to do a certain skill because it was “second-grade
level concepts and they obviously either couldn’t handle that or they couldn’t
understand the material because of a language barrier.” Needless to say, he no
longer substitutes for our department or college.
What he assumed about my
students was that they were either 1) not smart enough to finish school and
that is why they had dropped out or 2) they could not understand English enough
to accomplish the task. He was seeing them as a single story. What
he (and many people) assume about students in Adult Education, is that they are
not capable or lazy or uneducated. But in my experience, that is not the single
story of any of them. They are in their situation due to circumstances,
either outside their control (like parent drug-use, health issues, or even
government violence in their own country) or from poor life choices they are
trying to fix.
What struck me from the
video, and also my classroom, is that the single-story way of thinking can
change how the person views themselves. And that, in turn, will affect every
aspect of their lives, including their level of education.
Banks, J. & McGee Banks, C. (Eds.) (2016).
Multicultural education: Issues and
perspectives. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Lee, E., Menkaret, D. & Okazawa-Rey, M.
(1998). Beyond Heroes and Holidays: A Practical Guide to K-12 Anti-Racist,
Multicultural Education and Staff Development. Washington, D.C.: Teaching for
Change.
One-third of adult learners have been impacted by childhood trauma. (Perry, 2006) It might include a parent that was addicted to drugs or alcohol, domestic violence, incarceration, poverty, family illness, mental health issues and the list goes on.
I ran across this article from Stanford University entitled, "A Dozen Things You Need to Know About Adult Learning." It is an excerpt from the book Teaching Adults: A Practical Guide for New Teachers, by Ralph G. Brocket. (I think I may need to purchase this book!). It has some very good points. Check it out!
I think sometimes the theories we use
or don't use have a lot to do with the content, the age, even the day we are
teaching. If I had to pick one, I would say my style is more Social Constructivism.
I tend to use my classroom as a springboard in both directions. I teach
adults who come from varying backgrounds and opportunities. Their
individual funds of knowledge play a huge factor in how I present
material. For example, when I teach various aspects of the U.S.
Constitution, I allow my international students (many of whom are refugees with
family still trapped in their home country) to teach us as a class why we
should be so thankful for freedoms. As I tried to illustrate in my visual
metaphor, I believe that a student's experiences, values, etc all play a role
in how they connect to my class and to how they will learn. I make it a
point to get to know them as people as best I can. As a colleague said in
another grad class and has stuck with me, "I
cannot have their minds until I have their hearts."
For my “Visual Paradigm of
Learning” metaphor, I created a stick-figure student looking down the road
toward his future. All around him are things that influence his learning:
values, experiences, opportunities, beliefs, culture, family, traditions and
worldview. Looking over the various theories that were presented, I would
say I align most with constructivism, although I really believe the best
approach is a combination of theories, dependent of all the factors of the
specific class. My students have varying backgrounds and vast differences in
opportunities. I present material different ways in different semesters,
depending on the students I have. However, I always treat my class as a
community. I believe that I best teach when I know my students well and
they feel safe and valued.
I
also believe that teaching goes way beyond facts, theorems, and output. We are
shaping students into the best citizens and human beings they can be and no one
theory teaches us the best way to do that. We celebrated Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. this week and one of my favorite quotes of his is, "The function of education is to teach one to think
intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the
goal of true education." Our
theories and classroom practices must combine ways to advance a student both
intellectually and personally or we are not fulfilling our calling, in my
opinion. And yes, I do think teaching is a calling. It is my life’s’
purpose and I hope you feel the same.
All sorts of factors play a part in how a student learns and how they respond to my classroom. Some of those influencers are family and home life, the traditions their family observes, their values, worldview and beliefs, the culture (not only ethnic but also the environment) of their home, their life experiences and the opportunities they have been given, some by privilege and some denied by bias.
I was introduced to the idea of Funds of Knowledge during my first semester of graduate work and it put a name to how I viewed the contribution of each student who comes through my door. I also think a discussion (or ongoing discussions) on FOK is useful in the Adult Education classroom. Below is a video that can spark discussion (while pulling at the heartstrings!) It's called Caine's Arcade.
Some questions to ask regarding the video and FOK (from HomeworkMarket):
*What external factors influenced Caine’s ability to successfully create his arcade (e.g., what role did his father play in encouraging his project?)? *What internal factors influenced Caine’s ability to successfully create his arcade? Consider his worldview, values, and funds of knowledge as internal factors. *How valuable do you think these skills are in the real world?
Welcome! This space will serve as a tool for Adult Education faculty to brainstorm and collaborate. It will also be a blog of topics relating to AED, no matter how difficult, a place and space to discuss honestly and openly issues that face and affect our students.
Adult Education programs offer community-based education to some of the neediest adults, including the unemployed, untrained, disabled, ex-offenders, immigrants, and early school leavers. We serve individuals who need just a little help to achieve their goals and our work is so important! Feel free to send me ideas and suggestions. Let's collaborate together!
