BLC 2013-

Russ Facione

Principal Bingham Farms Elementary School

rf03bps@birmingham.k12.mi.us

“Mediocre teachers tell;Good teachers explain;

Superior teachers demonstrate;

Great teachers inspire;”William Arthur Ward

What makes someone GREAT?? Turn to a person nearby and share your

most important “GREAT” Characteristic.

Understand what the gap truly is.

Explore ourselves so we can begin to fully understand what we need to do.

Understand what we can do within our classrooms – via pedagogy and culture.

There are different gaps out there, the one that is most pressing is the race/gender gap of African American Boys.

That group will be our focus for our session.

But whenever you do gap work you need to work at the internal (yourself) and the external (pedagogy) pieces.

The Problem- 12% of AA Boys are Proficient in reading >70% of Remedial Reading Students are male 80% of AA students in Special Ed are male 53% of AA males drop out of high school.

My building (BPS) – A 30% Proficiency Gap in MEAP. 26% Gap in

NWEA. Strengths over looked by teachers:

Unique, Clever, Witty, Creative, Sensitive, Strong Auditory Skills, Oral Skills, Visual-Picture Skills, Tactile Kinesthetic Skills

Thought to be disruptive and aggressive;

Your personality- It’s the thumbprint of you and in essence of how you teach. What color is your dominant color?

GREEN (Logical Frame) BLUE (Emotional Frame) GOLD (Organization Frame) ORANGE (Spontaneity Frame)

Does your color match your classroom? 70% Teachers are GOLD, 75% of Boys are

ORANGE. These are opposite!!

If you know your color, or what you think it is, share with a neighbor whether you feel you match your kids or how you work on it if you don’t

True Colors,

that’s

another

presentation

!!

4 Parts to her Model, First Part is “Looking Inside Ourselves”;

Use the 12 prompts to address the WHO of your teaching there is--- which impact greatly the What How and Why.

Questions include: Do my students leave my class liking the subject more

than when they started? What does my body language say to my students? Do my interactions with colleagues model the kind of

interactions I expect among my students? Do my interactions with students mirror how I want

them to act toward me? Do I know the culture of my students? And others!

You teach Social Studies but next year had to pick up a few Science classes, but you’ve NEVER done it!!

You would have to get intentional training in order to begin to pull that off in an effective enthusiastic engaging way.

Now figure you are in your specialty area but have students (instead of content) you are not familiar with…

Wouldn’t you approach it the same way, but why don’t we?

In some of our buildings, we have a sizable number of African American boys in our classes: Are you ready to connect with them? Do you know how to motivate them? Can you maintain that motivation for long periods? Do you know what their classroom needs are? Do you know how to address those needs?

Need for Inspiration-Concentrate on building strong relationships;At same time make learning fun;How to build a quality relationship with AA males?

Treat them respectfully; Demonstrate a genuine interest in them; Go beyond academics; Listen to them and offer suggestions when needed; Interactions outside of academic; Build TRUST

You are a teacher of STUDENTS first, subjects second.

His 10 Essential Questions-1. Do I see Myself as the #1 determinant

of my black male students success?2. Am I passionate about my role as a

teacher of black males?3. Have I Defined my Purpose for teaching

black male students?4. Do I treat this as my mission?5. Do I have a vision of what my black

mlae students should achieve?

His 10 Essential Questions (Pt. II)-6. Do I set Goals with my Black Male students?7. Do I plan each day through their lens?8. Do I have high standards and expectations

and do I believe they can reach them?9. Do I see myself as a role model and always

conduct myself professionally?10. Do I conduct daily self reflections of my

teachings and interactions?Share with a neighbor what is one take

away you could see making an impact in your class or school?

What rituals in your classroom do you have to build relationships with your students?Talk with a neighbor about the things that

are done by you to enhance relationships.

What rituals in your school do you have that enhance the relationships amongst students?Talk with a neighbor and share some ideas

about what you do in your class?

Students need classrooms where: Strong sense of community Students KNOW there’s a Teacher who cares; Teacher refuses to allow them to fail;

Talk with a neighbor about how you welcome students into your classroom?

Review the handout of chapter 10 from Davis that walks you through developing those relationships of a culturally diverse classroom.

In addition to relationships, you need to ensure there is a STUDENT-CENTERED classroom;

Differentiation, perhaps center-based or workshop based;

Variety of Learning Styles to ensure Kinesthetic learners

Let’s review some Teacher Perceptions & Gender Differences

Is your student…. Or… Hyperactive Energetic? Impulsive Sponatneous? Distractible Creative? Daydreamer Imaginative? Inattentive Global Thinker? Unpredictable Flexible? Argumentative Independent? Stubborn Committed? Irritable Sensitive? Aggressive Assertive? ADD Unique?

“Whole New Mind”- Daniel Pink, great resource for RBL.

Kunjufu talks about right brained learners. (“Understanding Black Male Learning Styles”)

67% of kids are RBL. 75-80% of African American students are RBL, yet

what’s the percentage of lessons that are Left Brain Lessons? (KJ say 85-90%)

Conflict between Pedagogy and dominant learning styles is the crux of why we are all here!! Learning styles are 80% biological– so you need to go to those styles!

It’s like left handed kids forced to write right handed.

Actively go at this gap by way of learning styles and lessons that are:engaging culturally diverse, rigorous, Right-brained in origin.

Actively look at pedagogy curricula, lesson plans.

What can I do??

Male Characteristic Possible Adjustments:

Short Attention Span Shorten or Gear to Male Interests Greater Energy Levels Allow Movement, Exercise, Recess Slow Maturation Allow for differences Less developed fine motor Alter penmanship expectation, allow for

keyboarding Less hearing ability Audio system, speakers, seating; Aggressive Understand the “showdowns”, allow

“dozens” performances, go outside; Not as neat Help with organization Uncooperative Provide Black Male Mentors/ Role

Models Influenced by Peers Never humiliate publicly- cooperative

groups, praise circles, morning meeting, peer tutoring

Build those relationships with your AA males. Respect their culture. LEARN the cultural

history of those in your classroom. Respect students when you work with them

Maintain high expectations Take action against the action not the person Discipline privately, praise publicly. Take them where they are, and build them up. Consistency with ALL kids!

Give students learning style profiles to assess how they learn and to build their meta-cognition.

Décor in your room- is it multicultural enough? Are their “current” people on there?

Is there a place for Rappers or NBA stars? Does it represent your students?

Survey your kids: to ensure learning is meaningful to them; Encourage them to ask “WHY are we doing this?”

Culturally responsive lessons: Inclusive, represent your student’s population, Cooperative, Shared, Moving, Give Menus of

Choices RIGHT BRAINED LESSONS!

Charge your Diversity Committee for Achievement Gap work Analyze your academic data Have a specific plan for instruction, before

intervention (i.e just because kids aren’t getting it doesn’t mean something is wrong with THEM)

Classes/Activity specifics Separate Gender Specific Morning Meetings Separate Cultural Morning Meetings

READ the latest research about it! You have a resource list! Get staff to join you, make it an urgent issue!

Referrals Challenge your Spec Ed Referral Team and

Process to look vigorously at African American Male referrals.

Have Intervention teams prior to Spec Ed evaluation teams for AA males.

Role Models Guest Speaker- NAACP, Urban League, Proud

Dads Groups, Community House, BYA, Successful High School students, College Students, etc;

Staff- Do you have AA males on staff? Look at your hiring practices? Do you interview enough to find a divers pool to draw from (since there are 50,000 resumes on the Consortium)

You just got a lot of information and strategies, what were one or two that hit home for you.

Share with a neighbor!

Reading- 5 Must-Read Books Jawanza Kunjufu, Understanding Black Male

Learning Styles, 2011Bonnie Davis, How to Teach Students Who

Don’t Look Like You, 2012Baruti Kaefele, Motivating Black Males to

Achieve in School & Life, 2009H. Richard Milner IV, Start Where You Are

But Don’t Stay There, 2010 Jawanza Kunjufu, Black Students. Middle

Class Teachers, 2002

Reflection & RefocusOn a personal level, look at the reflective

pieces about your feelings, biases, and how they impact what you do.

Get a solid idea of what types of personality you are, so that you know how to accommodate your learners.

Make this your priority, and share this sense of urgency with others.

Retool lessons and units to accommodate the Right Brain Learners.

Let me know if I could be of service to your or your school!!

Russ FacionePrincipal- Bingham Farms Elementary Schoolrf03bps@birmingham.k12.mi.us248 203 3388