xmcamail.9908: Gloria-Landsing Billings

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A local alternative had an article on Gloria Landsing Billings which I =
thought some may kind interesting. For background, the "Teach for =
Diversity Program" is a special route to a teaching license that escapes =
the traditional school of ed. Its receives most students from other =
departments and explicitly focuses on teaching kids from "hard to reach" =
populations. An interesting side effect of the program is many of her =
classes that focus on multi-cultural education, diversity etc. are =
reserved for that program and its very difficult for those not in the =
program to take those classes. Even so, its really popular for SOE =
students to proclain they are going to grow up and be "Dreamkeeper =
teachers". I recently relooked over her book and for me there was a lot =
of connections between Vygotskian stuff and her ideas.

Teach your teachers well:
Local prosessor pioneers ways to improve the performance of African =
American students.

Attending an inner-city public school in Philadelphia, Gloria =
Ladson-Billings had a eacher-mentor who set high standards and didn=92t =
take excuses for missed homework. It was a time when few blacks expected =
to match educations with whites or move into professional careers. But =
Gloria=92s teacher kept her on track, prodded her to learn, challenged =
her to value her education and prepared her to go far.

She has. Today, Ladson-Billings is a UW-Madison education professor, a =
researcher and fellow at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at =
Brown University and a national expert on the issue of low academic =
achievement among African American youth. She says the key to getting =
American African students to excel, as in her own case, is having =
teachers who take the right approach what she calls informed empathy.

They have learned not to feel for the kids but to feel with them, and =
basically say, =91Yeah, I know this is tough, but-guess what?-you=92ve =
got to suck it up,=92 says Ladson-Billings. Teachers are not social =
workers. They have a respon-sibility to push kids academically, =
regardless of personal circumstances.

It=92s not that they are callous or unfeeling, but that their =
understanding of the kids=92 feelings is grounded in a deeper =
understanding of the kids=92 experiences and a sincere commitment to =
their education.

Ladson-Billings research has drawn national attention; her articles have =
appeared in scholarly journals, and she has been quoted in publications =
including, recently, The New York Times. She is the author of a 1994 =
book, The Dream-keepers: Successful Teachers of African American =
Children. Lately, Ladson-Billings=92 ideas have been ap-plied in Madison =
public schools, in a three-year research project called Teach for =
Diversity.

It=92s part of a national research network involving 14 schools =
throughout the country. The goal: to improve the performance of A&man =
American students by altering the approach taken by their teachers. =
It=92s a daunting challenge. When it comes to grades and scores on =
standardized tests, African American students still trail whites. The =
numbers are grim. Combined national average SAT scores for ltl85 show =
that college-bound black high school seniors whose parents had no =
college degrees av-eraged 655 out of 1,999 possible points. White =
students from the same background averaged 792. When at least one parent =
had a graduate degree, whites averaged 1,035 to blacks=92 944. On Third =
Grade Reading Comprehension MARY LANGENFELD Tests in 1996-97,24 % of =
blacks in Madison scored below standard, compared to 15% for Hispanics =
and 4% for whites. Ladson-Billings says stan-dardized test scores in all =
grades show similar patterns, but test scores aren=92t everything. As =
she once told the San Francisco Examiner, We=92re going to have to make =
better tests to show us what kids can do.

For her national research network, Ladson-Billings each year selected 25 =
participants based on their desire to teach black students. AlI had =
bachelor=92s degrees in fields other than education. Many were older =
than traditional college ages, with work experience outside of teaching. =

These student teachers were a wide variety of ages, notes Tom Groff, a =
physical education teacher at Lincoln Elementary School. So I think it =
reflects their maybe being a little bit more committed to working with a =
more diverse student population-that they settled on this as something =
they think is important.

The candidates worked in classrooms all year, rather than the usual =
methods curriculum with nine weeks in one school, nine in another and 29 =
student teaching. Her crew had seminars in teaching methods on the =
teaching site, with doors open to regular teachers. The schools checked =
up on the children=92s performance with standardized tests and =
individual progress reports from teachers.

Now, after three years, Ladson-Billings is tallying the scores and =
evaluating the project. But preliminary results show that black =
achievement rose. Ladson-Billings, who this spring received a $59,999 =
grant to continue her teaching research, says the key may be that the =
teachers in her program all had a profound life experience they could =
draw on as teachers.=20

They could all point to a transformative moment or event in their lives =
that really shook up their thinking: =91The world isn't really this =
way.'

ladson-Billings=92 research shows that student achievement is affected =
by a wide range of factors, from school environments and curriculum, to =
peer and family factors. In 1992, the research network studied black =
students at Evanston High School in suburban Chicago. They found =
high-achieving African American students often isolated in all-white =
classes, sometimes un-dervalued by teachers and jeered by black peers as =
"Oreos"-black on the outside but white on the inside-for buying into the =
school game. Ladson-Billings speculates that many dumbed down to avoid =
losing black friends.

She says upper-class black parents-even highly educated ones-may have =
comfortable lives, but not intellectual lifestyles. They may not read =
much, which doesn=92t modelreading for their kids. The families of =
working-class black stu-dents, Ladson-Billings recently told The New =
York Times, may be very proud of what you=92re doing, but they don=92t =
have any way of really supporting it. Many parents may have more than =
one job, leaving little or no time to help children with homework and =
projects. Another factor, she believes, is the sense of racial isolation =
and stereotyping that blacks tend to feel in their all-important peer =
and learning environment. She says one Ail-ican American student at a =
suburban high school near Madison told her something that left a deep =
impression:

"What I don=92t like about this school is that everything black means =
something", the student said. "If I come to school with a certain shirt =
on, it means something. If I have a pant leg rolled up, it means =
something. IfI part my hair on the other side of my head, it means =
something. But nothing white means anything", he con-tinued. "Hair =
purple and orange-it doesn=92t mean nything. A white boy came to school =
the other day wearing a pink miniskirt-it didn=92t mean anything".=20

Reflects Ladson-Billings, "Black kids are always grouped. Then, if they =
function in a group they=92re told they shouldn=92t be in a group. So =
it=92s a double bind. You never get seen as an individ-ual. And if you =
function in a collective, somehow that=92s wrong too."

Julie Melton, a fiflh-grade "Teach for Diversity" teacher at Lincoln, =
credits Ladson-Billings with playing an important role in improving the =
district=92s approach. Obviously, a lot of kids are not achieving, both =
African American and Latino kids. There has to be a solution, says =
Melton. "Ifthere=92s any-body that I look to for sort of a shining light =
for teachers, to keep us believing and learning about ways we can do a =
better job with Afiican American students, it=92s Gloria =
Ladson-Billings."=20

People with great passions, people who accomplish great deeds,
People who possess strong feelings even people with great minds
and a strong personality, rarely come out of good little boys and girls
L.S. Vygotsky=20

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A local alternative had an article on = Gloria=20 Landsing Billings which I thought some may kind = interesting. For=20 background, the "Teach for Diversity Program" is a special route to a = teaching=20 license that escapes the traditional school of ed. Its receives = most=20 students from other departments and explicitly focuses on teaching kids = from=20 "hard to reach" populations. An interesting side effect of the = program=20 is many of her classes that focus on multi-cultural education, diversity = etc.=20 are reserved for that program and its very difficult for those not = in the=20 program to take those classes. Even so, its = really popular for=20 SOE students to proclain they are going to grow up and be "Dreamkeeper=20 teachers". I recently relooked over her book and for me there = was a=20 lot of connections between Vygotskian stuff and her = ideas.

Attending an inner-city public school = in=20 Philadelphia, Gloria Ladson-Billings had a eacher-mentor who set high = standards=20 and didn=92t take excuses for missed homework. It was a time when few = blacks=20 expected to match educations with whites or move into professional = careers. But=20 Gloria=92s teacher kept her on track, prodded her to learn, challenged = her to=20 value her education and prepared her to go far.

She has. Today, Ladson-Billings is a = UW-Madison=20 education professor, a researcher and fellow at the Annenberg Institute = for=20 School Reform at Brown University and a national expert on the issue of = low=20 academic achievement among African American youth. She says the key to = getting=20 American African students to excel, as in her own case, is having = teachers who=20 take the right approach what she calls informed empathy.

They have learned not to feel for the = kids but to=20 feel with them, and basically say, =91Yeah, I know this is tough, = but-guess=20 what?-you=92ve got to suck it up,=92 says Ladson-Billings. Teachers are = not social=20 workers. They have a respon-sibility to push kids academically, = regardless of=20 personal circumstances.

Ladson-Billings research has drawn = national=20 attention; her articles have appeared in scholarly journals, and she has = been=20 quoted in publications including, recently, The New York Times. She is = the=20 author of a 1994 book, The Dream-keepers: Successful Teachers of African = American Children. Lately, Ladson-Billings=92 ideas have been ap-plied = in Madison=20 public schools, in a three-year research project called Teach for=20 Diversity.

It=92s part of a national research = network involving=20 14 schools throughout the country. The goal: to improve the performance = of=20 A&man American students by altering the approach taken by their = teachers.=20 It=92s a daunting challenge. When it comes to grades and scores on = standardized=20 tests, African American students still trail whites. The numbers are = grim.=20 Combined national average SAT scores for ltl85 show that college-bound = black=20 high school seniors whose parents had no college degrees av-eraged 655 = out of=20 1,999 possible points. White students from the same background averaged = 792.=20 When at least one parent had a graduate degree, whites averaged 1,035 to = blacks=92=20 944. On Third Grade Reading Comprehension MARY LANGENFELD Tests in = 1996-97,24 %=20 of blacks in Madison scored below standard, compared to 15% for = Hispanics and 4%=20 for whites. Ladson-Billings says stan-dardized test scores in all grades = show=20 similar patterns, but test scores aren=92t everything. As she once told = the San=20 Francisco Examiner, We=92re going to have to make better tests to show = us what=20 kids can do.

For her national research network, = Ladson-Billings=20 each year selected 25 participants based on their desire to teach black=20 students. AlI had bachelor=92s degrees in fields other than education. = Many were=20 older than traditional college ages, with work experience outside of = teaching.=20

These student teachers were a wide = variety of ages,=20 notes Tom Groff, a physical education teacher at Lincoln Elementary = School. So I=20 think it reflects their maybe being a little bit more committed to = working with=20 a more diverse student population-that they settled on this as something = they=20 think is important.

The candidates worked in classrooms all = year,=20 rather than the usual methods curriculum with nine weeks in one school, = nine in=20 another and 29 student teaching. Her crew had seminars in teaching = methods on=20 the teaching site, with doors open to regular teachers. The schools = checked up=20 on the children=92s performance with standardized tests and individual = progress=20 reports from teachers.

Now, after three years, Ladson-Billings = is tallying=20 the scores and evaluating the project. But preliminary results show that = black=20 achievement rose. Ladson-Billings, who this spring received a $59,999 = grant to=20 continue her teaching research, says the key may be that the teachers in = her=20 program all had a profound life experience they could draw on as = teachers.=20

ladson-Billings=92 research shows that = student=20 achievement is affected by a wide range of factors, from school = environments and=20 curriculum, to peer and family factors. In 1992, the research network = studied=20 black students at Evanston High School in suburban Chicago. They found=20 high-achieving African American students often isolated in all-white = classes,=20 sometimes un-dervalued by teachers and jeered by black peers as = "Oreos"-black on=20 the outside but white on the inside-for buying into the school game.=20 Ladson-Billings speculates that many dumbed down to avoid losing black=20 friends.

She says upper-class black parents-even = highly=20 educated ones-may have comfortable lives, but not intellectual = lifestyles. They=20 may not read much, which doesn=92t modelreading for their kids. The = families of=20 working-class black stu-dents, Ladson-Billings recently told The New = York Times,=20 may be very proud of what you=92re doing, but they don=92t have any way = of really=20 supporting it. Many parents may have more than one job, leaving little = or no=20 time to help children with homework and projects. Another factor, she = believes,=20 is the sense of racial isolation and stereotyping that blacks tend to = feel in=20 their all-important peer and learning environment. She says one Ail-ican = American student at a suburban high school near Madison told her = something that=20 left a deep impression:

"What I don=92t like about this school = is that=20 everything black means something", the student said. "If I come to = school with a=20 certain shirt on, it means something. If I have a pant leg rolled up, it = means=20 something. IfI part my hair on the other side of my head, it means = something.=20 But nothing white means anything", he con-tinued. "Hair purple and = orange-it=20 doesn=92t mean nything. A white boy came to school the other day wearing = a pink=20 miniskirt-it didn=92t mean anything".

Reflects Ladson-Billings, "Black kids = are always=20 grouped. Then, if they function in a group they=92re told they = shouldn=92t be in a=20 group. So it=92s a double bind. You never get seen as an individ-ual. = And if you=20 function in a collective, somehow that=92s wrong too."

Julie Melton, a fiflh-grade "Teach for = Diversity"=20 teacher at Lincoln, credits Ladson-Billings with playing an important = role in=20 improving the district=92s approach. Obviously, a lot of kids are not = achieving,=20 both African American and Latino kids. There has to be a solution, says = Melton.=20 "Ifthere=92s any-body that I look to for sort of a shining light for = teachers, to=20 keep us believing and learning about ways we can do a better job with = Afiican=20 American students, it=92s Gloria Ladson-Billings."