The New Segregation GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND IMMIGRATION tteeaacchihinngg

TTwww.teachingtolerance.orgoolelerraannceceSpring 2010

Are we weaving together common threads or unraveling integration? CIVIL DISCOURSE New curriculum helps students explore divisive issues ‘I’M NOT BIASED’ Steps to deepen our cultural understanding spring 2010 teaching tolerance I Our Award-Winning Teaching Kits Teaching Tolerance makes copies of its educational kits available to educators are FREE to Schools! free of charge.

academy award ® academy award ® winner for winner for documentary documentary short subject short subject

Starting Small This kit profiles exemplary pre-K through Mighty Times: The Children’s March 3rd-grade classrooms in which peace, equity and justice are guiding themes. This Academy Award®-wining documentary film DVD only and accompanying resources tell the heroic story of One Survivor Remembers Viva La Causa the young people in Birmingham, Ala., who brought This Academy Award®-winning documentary film tells This short documentary film and accompanying segregation to its knees. Grade 5 and up. the empowering story of Holocaust survivor Gerda teacher’s guide explore one of the great DVD only Weissmann Klein. The kit includes primary documents movements for social justice in the U. S. — the drawn from Klein’s private collection, along with a Grape Strike and Boycott led by Cesar Chavez teacher’s guide and resource booklet. Grade 8 and up. and Dolores Huerta. Grade 7 and up. DVD only DVD only Order these ready-made lesson kits now! To receive a free copy of any two of these teaching kits, simply detach and RETURN THE ORDER CARD ON THIS PAGE, signed by a principal or department chair. “Thank you so much for creating such Wonderful Or visit www.teachingtolerance.org/resources for a downloadable order form. resources for teachers and for making them free!” FREE TO SCHOOLS. No financial obligation. —R. Cooper, South Carolina Allow up to eight weeks for delivery. SPECIAL SECTION The New Segregation spring 2010 • issue 37

teaching Features 16 A More Civil Discourse Tolerance Public debate or shouting match? A new curriculum shows your students how to disagree without being disagreeable. Departments 44 Check the Labels A writing assignment challenges students’ biases 5 Perspective 6 Letters to the Editor THE TEACHING DIVERSE STUDENTS INITIATIVE 8 Why I Teach Linc Johnson couldn’t stand the thought 49 Whose Student is She? of becoming a teacher. Then he got a When English language learners move from a 18 20 25 The Only One 18 28 taste of the classroom. sheltered environment to subject-area classes, How educators can help when a student is teacher collaboration can help them stay afloat. 10 Activity Exchange the only person of color in the class ‘I Don’t Think I’m Biased’ Teaching Tools Into the Mainstream 53 57 20 Exploring the many ways teachers react when Resources we recommend for early, Genuine inclusion can be an uphill battle they discover their own unconscious racism middle and upper grades, as well as for parents of kids with disabilities — but for professional development it’s worth the effort, for everyone. 62 Story Corner 25 Gender Segregation A true story from inside a World War II Gender-segregated classrooms spark strong internment camp and varied reactions, but research regarding their effectiveness remains inconclusive. 64 One World 28 Unmaking Brown Our schools are more racially segregated now than they were 40 years ago. Scholars explain how we got here — and how to 33 36 40 reverse the trend. Uncovering the Movement 33 Why Do You Teach? How to teach the Civil Rights Movement Lincoln Duane Johnson in communities that remain segregated returned to teaching ‘Homo High’ and discovered a sense on the cover 36 of purpose. Why do you Teaching Tolerance explores the They’re a haven for gay kids — but are teach? Share your story. complex issues and challenging LGBT-friendly schools opening the door (Instructions on page 9.) questions of ever-shifting forms to a new kind of segregation? of segregation. 40 Immigrant Schools: A Better Choice? Are newly arrived immigrants better cover illustration by mick wiggins served by schools focused on their needs?

2 teaching tolerance spring 2010 teaching tolerance 3 “Nobody needs to explain to a Negro the difference Civil Discourse between the law in books and the law in action.” New Curriculum from — charles houston, Special Counsel to the NAACP, c. 1950 Teaching Tolerance

interim director Lecia J. Brooks How We Live Our Lives CIVIL Design Director Russell Estes by Lecia J. Brooks senior editor Tim Lockette The great promise of the 1954 landmark U. S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education was that ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Victoria Williams children would grow up together in integrated schools. They would prove the segregationists wrong. Black ASSOCIATE EDITOR/WRITER Sean Price DISCOURSE children and white children would learn to respect one another as equals and bring down the walls of racial sep- CURRICULUM DESIGN MANAGER Thom Ronk aration. Through the efforts of our children, our nation would live up to the ideals of equality and justice for all. SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER Michelle Marsh Garcia And, as an added bonus, we’d finally abandon the false notion thatseparate was equal. Instead we’d make IN THE design a commitment to provide quality educational opportunities for every child. designers Valerie Downes, Michelle Leland, Scott Phillips That’s just not what happened. CLASSROOM Administrative Assistant Sunny Paulk This issue of Teaching Tolerance uncovers what did happen. The sad truth is that public schools are Production more racially segregated today than they were 40 year ago. Oh, and we’re back to buying into the belief Web services director Ryan King that separate can be equal — and this time around we’re not limiting segregated space to race. As you’ll see in “Immigrant Schools: A Better Choice?” and “Homo High,” communities are attempting to address AND Web Content Producers Melissa Henninger, Annah Kelley Press Production Managers Regina Collins, Betty Ruff the very real needs of students who are ill-served by schools they are zoned or otherwise compelled to Web Technical Lead Brian Youngblood attend by creating culturally sensitive, safe spaces just for them. Just for them? Yes, that’s segregation, too. But there is a difference. BEYOND contributors Back in the days of Jim Crow, segregated schools existed solely to support the illogical and dam- Scott Bakal, Melinda Beck, Julia Bereciartu, Bob Blaisdell, Lecia J. Brooks, Patricia Clark, Danijela Dobric, aging notion of white supremacy. Though many would argue that black students fared far better Peter Grundi, James Gulliver Hancock, John Healey, David Holthouse, Camille Jackson, Lincoln Duane Johnson, academically in the segregated South than they do in any region of the country today, there was a Carrie Kilman, Susan Estelle Kwas, Anita Kunz, Tim Lockette, Larry Long, Sean McCabe, Ron Newkirk, Politeness may be nice. high psychological price to pay. Blacks were deemed inferior to whites and as such we were forbid- Milt Priggee, Thom Ronk, Jeff Sapp, Afi-Odelia E. Scruggs, Carmen Segovia, Nirvi Shah, Kate Shuster, from going to school with them. As we know, racial segregation was also the law of the land But civil discourse is Amber Sigman, Helen Tsuchiya, Elizabeth Varela, Mick Wiggins, Deborah Willoughby, Eva M. Zygmunt-Fillwalk den at restaurants, water fountains and on the bus. In more communities than we’d like to admit, about listening. It’s southern poverty law center segregation wasn’t just about schools; it was a social norm. about shaping ideas and co-founders Morris Dees, Joseph J. Levin, Jr. Today, the legal rules governing social relationships no longer dictate separateness. Each of J. Richard Cohen challenging arguments. president us has some say over how we live our lives — and, as parents, how we’ll raise our kids — segre- SPLC board of directors gated, integrated or a hybrid combination of the two. ••• Rabbi Howard Mandell, Chair As I look back on my own experience as a single parent raising a male child in Los Angeles, I find Julian Bond that we were constantly navigating integrated and segregated spaces. I was committed to doing Your students Patricia Clark everything I could to ensure that Daniel had more opportunities than our race and class mem- Lloyd V. Hackley bership dictated he should. He entered kindergarten with classmates who mirrored him exactly need these tools. Alan B. Howard — black and working poor. His high school graduating class was small, marginally diverse and Joseph J. Levin, Jr. relatively privileged. All along the way, we lived and socialized with folks who looked just like us. All learning activities are Marsha Levick “He talks white!” This indictment was first hurled at Daniel by family members when he was about James McElroy 7 years old. We were living in South Central Los Angeles, and he was enrolled in a magnet program on standards-based and may Vanzetta Penn McPherson the other side of town. Yet adhering to the rules of Standard English wasn’t enough to keep his teacher be used across disciplines James Rucker from seeing Daniel as “troubled.” David Wang and grade levels. As he got older, I considered moving out of the neighborhood. Not that I didn’t feel safe; I did. I grew chief operating officer Michael Toohey up in East Oakland and was not easily frightened by folks who looked like me. My experiences inter- acting with the teachers and administrators at the magnet school on the Westside left editorial office me feeling less than — and at the time, I was a 5th-grade teacher in South Central. I Free online 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36104 had to take Daniel out of that school before he began to internalize their biases. lecia j. brooks has been a teacher, youth editorial fax 334/956-8484 Thus began the improbable journey — through too many schools, in search worker, and, for the past year, interim order department fax 334/956-8486

W NES of a quality education. Today, my son and I have an unshakeable appreciation director for Teaching Tolerance. Lecia download subscriptions 334/956-8200 for who we are and where we came from. We live naturally integrated lives and serves as the director of SPLC’s Civil Rights

www.tolerance.org/discourse ALERIE D O Teaching Tolerance is mailed twice a year at no charge to educators. V wouldn’t have it any other way. Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama. It is published by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit legal and education foundation. For permission to reprint articles, email us at [email protected].

spring 2010 teaching tolerance © 2010 Southern Poverty Law Center issn 1066-2847 5 l e t t e r s THE TEACHING CLASS OF ‘08 HOLDS SCHOOL’S FIRST RACIALLY INTEGRATED PROM The achievement gap is a serious pan- posed to keep it? demic that has implications much Raindow Espinosa TEACHING more insidious than this reading level St. Paul, Minn. statistic. DIVERSE Sarah Moore Kudos TWWW.TEACHINGTOLERANCE.ORGOLE RANCEF A L L 2 0 0 9 via Facebook Thank you for your work, for your method of gathering and sharing ideas STUDENTS TEACHING Pushed Out that are actually working to develop DIVERSE I am so glad to read the article about understanding, cooperation, respect STUDENTS the Zero Tolerance policy alternatives and harmony among those with dif- Newtoolstohelpyou reacheverychild (“Pushed Out,” Fall INITIATIVE 2009). I worked as an “As an educator, I want to Enhancing the PLUS ESL teacher in a kinder- PUT YOUR SCHOOL ON garten classroom where THE MAP thank you for the work you quality of teaching A new approach to Mix It Up at Lunch Day one of our students was PUSHED OUT Is zero tolerance homeless and would are doing. This is the stuff experienced by creating dropouts? often bring banned Teaching Tolerance 36 val.indd 1 8/19/09 3:53 PM students of color toys to school (toy that can bring about real The Teaching Diverse guns, etc.) and, because Students Initiative change in our society.” of the policy, would be Editor’s note: In September 2009, you for giving some ways and means objections to “real” public schools bor- TDSi offers free online tools to suspended. I am not Teaching Tolerance launched the fering customs, expectations, values as well as explanations about “why” der on the ridiculous. One of their chief help you reach every student. an advocate of toy guns, by any means. Teaching Diverse Students Initiative and beliefs. Often the desire is there, in order to create an environment of complaints appears to be holding open … However, if a child is homeless and Resources include: (www.tolerance.org/tdsi), a set of on- but the “how to” and “why” creates a understanding. houses on weekdays during working receives a toy as a gift, where is he sup- P Case studies line tools designed to help teachers close chasm that is difficult to bridge. Thank Emily Mumma hours. It seems that these ladies con- P Learning activities Lorida, Fla. the “achievement gap” by improving sider teachers and school staff to be at P Tools for understanding the the school environment for children their beck and call and want school staff influence of race of color. In announcing the initiative, As an educator, I want to thank you to put in extra hours so that school func- P we noted that 88 percent of African for the work you are doing. This is the tions can be convenient to their personal Videos featuring Linda American eighth-graders read below stuff that can bring about real change schedules. What ever happened to put- Darling-Hammond, Geneva grade level, compared with 62 percent in our society. I deeply appreciate the ting your child first and taking time off Gay, Jacqueline Jordan of white eighth-graders. free lesson plans, kits, newsletter and from work and going to the school? Irvine, Luis Moll, Sonia Nieto, magazine. Inspiring! Gay Moore Fantozzi Jeannie Oakes, Mica Pollock Good grief! Forget the gap — would Diane Horan Falls Church, Va. and other leading scholars it be OK if only 62 percent of African No address given American eighth-graders read below Prom Night in Mississippi grade level? Against ‘Kindergarten’ I watched [the film Prom Night in www.tolerance.org/tdsi Clisby Williams Stop sending me your magazine!! The Mississippi ] with my family yesterday. via Facebook homosexual couple portrayed in Fall Since we live in the South, we really 2009 (“Our Journey to Kindergarten”) weren’t surprised by the segregation. Do these children reading below grade makes me sick. I treat all kids the It was great to see a majority of the level still enjoy reading? Are they same. But homosexuality is a SIN. students were strong enough to take excited and proud to choose high-in- Sandy Newton action to make a change. TDSi the TEACHING DIVERSE terest selections that they can read Scottsville, Ky. Jessica Johnson STUDENTS initiative via Facebook and feel happy when they read? A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center Andonia McKinney I have no problem whatsoever with the Teaching Tolerance explores varied efforts aimed at both quality and equality in education. Developed in partnership with the National via Facebook The results are mixed. Read the special section, “The New Segregation,” starting on page 18. m m iltpriggee.co ALLEN B IRN ACH authors as a lesbian couple, but their Education Association and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

6 teaching tolerance spring 2010 springspring 20092010 teaching tolerance 7 w h y I t e a c h i never wanted to be a teacher. I hated teachers. Growing students. I thought about how I was so harsh and unfeeling up, I told myself I would be a movie star, a famous writer and with my past teachers without knowing what they were re- a media mogul in the tradition of Ted Turner. Teaching was ally going through. These were constant concerns of mine, the furthest from my mind, and being a teacher was worse to until one day my wife advised that if I was going to obsess me than almost any other job. I could not understand why about it, I should return to teaching. or how people became teachers, and would never, ever, sub- That was all I needed. I immediately returned to Los mit myself to that type of torture Angeles, and to the teach- and disrespect. ing profession. This time it I grew up in a family of teach- was very different. I was able ers: my mother, grandfather, “My students have to manage my class, and I was aunts, uncles, cousins and god- given me reason, purpose teaching with a fervor and suc- mother were all teachers. My cess that made me forget the discontent with teachers started and triumph that no trials and tribulations of my in the home. During the holidays I first year. It was my calling. would dread sitting with the fam- money could buy.” On the heels of this success, I ily, because it always turned into remembered what my own ed- an oral pop quiz. I would be bombarded with math equa- ucation was like and decided I needed to work with children tions that I should be able to solve without pencil and paper, in high-risk areas and low-performing schools. They are why calculator or fingers. I would have to spell “grade-level-ap- I teach. propriate” vocabulary, which often became an exercise in Throughout all these years in the classroom, I have sought confusion. This fueled my feelings about teachers. Needless out and assisted students in the worst socio-economic situ- to say, I could not wait to return and take it out on the un- ations. I enjoy them and never tire of them. There is never suspecting teachers at school on Monday. a dull moment. They motivate me to be the best teacher for The turning point was when I entered college and had them, in spite of their protestations and refusals to allow me to take general education classes my freshman and sopho- into their lives and minds. It is a constant struggle to reach more years. I began to notice the difference between the great them, but when I do, I feel strong, proud, successful, vital and teachers and the ones who were indifferent to my abilities as needed. In my past, I was chasing dollar signs and notoriety a student. I began to notice my own strengths and attribute without meaning. My students have given me reason, pur- them to the teachers who nurtured and augmented them. I pose and triumph that no money could buy. also noticed my weaknesses, and realized that many of these I teach for students who have no fathers or male role mod- attitudes were also learned in school. I saw a definite connec- els. I teach for children who know neither who they are nor tion between the teachers who loved the work — loved their what they want to be. I teach for students who have gaps in careers, loved their subject matter and loved their students their skills and abilities that need filling. I teach for students — and my own learning in the classes they taught. who feel they are failures and have had teachers who have Reason, Something clicked in me. Upon graduation, I felt an urge not only told them that, but have acted as such with them. I to become a teacher. It was a difficult decision that took me teach for the parents who think teachers do not care. I teach a few months and some urging by my educator mother to because it is my penance for the treatment of my teachers. fully realize. At 22 years old, I still had dreams of making I teach because I can, and because I want to, and because it big as an award-winning actor and winning the Pulitzer I am needed. This is why I teach. Purpose Prize as an author. After months of motivation from my mother — whose lincoln johnson is a special education mathematics instructor at career has taken her from teacher’s aide to associate super- Locke Launch to College Academy in South Los Angeles. intendent — I decided to drive an hour from my home and take the test. I aced it. & Triumph My first day of teaching, I had very high ideals and very ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// little training and experience. That first school year was the hardest of my life. I struggled with classroom management, Share Your Story by Lincoln Duane Johnson lesson planning and relating to the other teachers. I felt de- What motivates you to get up each and feated, and I left the profession to pursue a master’s degree every morning and serve the children in and career in publishing in New York City. our nation’s schools? We want to During the two years I lived and worked in New York, I hear from you. Send your submission was haunted by my failure as a teacher. I thought of class- for the “Why I Teach” column to room management techniques and new ways to engage [email protected].

8 teaching tolerance spring 2010 photography by ron newkirk spring 2010 teaching tolerance 9 a c t i v i t y E X c h a n g e

Write for Us We welcome submissions of Activity Exchange items A Song for Anti-Bullying from classroom teachers. Submissions (up to 400 when students are bullied, they are often reluctant words) should include to let teachers and parents know. Children need to learn at an Using a familiar song with a rhythmic beat can inspire stu- concise information on early age that it’s okay to let others know that they need help. dents to use alternatives to bullying situations rather than specific activities.P ayment This activity involves a simple song that can help younger resorting to name-calling or fighting. It could also serve as of $200-$300 is made for students deal with the issue of bullying and bullies. Before sing- an introduction to this serious topic. Providing a few clues each Activity Exchange item we publish. For ing the song, share a simple definition of “What is bullying?” as signals to defuse a situation may help students lose the submission guidelines, go The melody we use is from a common song that most “bystander syndrome” that perpetuates bullying. to www.tolerance.org/blog/ children know: “If You’re Happy and You Know It Clap Your send-us-learning-ideas- Hands.” Lyrics were created by Francie Shafer with teach- Francie Shafer activity-exchange ers Dani Davis and Leslie Johnson. Southern Illinois University grades Directions for actions to accompany the song are in Carbondale, Illinois 3-6 Send submissions to parentheses. Teaching Tolerance The Color of Freedom 400 Washington Ave.

THE ANTI-BULLYING SONG Montgomery, AL 36104 grades we developed a unit based on common children’s order thinking questions or email editor@ If you need help with a bully, CLAP your hands books on the Underground Railroad and the Civil Rights that will engage students. teachingtolerance.org (Clap twice, 1, 2) PreK-2 Movement. For each book we created a vocabulary list, ac- Here are the ones we de- Allow 1-3 months for reply. If you need help with a bully, CLAP your hands tive learning options and higher order thinking questions. veloped for Night Boat to If you need help with a bully and can’t talk to anybody This helped us develop our unit on these topics to make the Freedom: If you need help with a bully, CLAP your hands content more substantive and the history more engaging. How did the color red There are plenty of books in your school library that will steal Granny Judith away If you’re teased and you’re sad, STOMP your feet work with this approach. As an example, we chose Margot from Africa? (Stomp twice 1, 2) Theis Raven’s Night Boat to Freedom ($6.99 at www.macmillan. What color do you imagine freedom to be? Why do you If you’re teased and you’re sad, STOMP your feet com) to make the Underground Railroad come alive. The book choose that color as the freedom color? If you’re teased and you’re sad and it really makes tells the story of 12-year-old Christmas John and his Granny What images does the author use to describe how quietly you mad Judith. Granny was enslaved when strangers lured her to their Granny and John talked by the fireplace? If you’re teased and you’re sad, STOMP your feet ship with a piece of red flannel. Now on a Kentucky plantation, Why did the people escaping need to use passwords the two aid other slaves in escaping across the river to the free and codes? If you’re happy with yourself, GIVE a smile state of Ohio. John rows the slaves to freedom and, because of What character traits does John possess? (Use fingers and press on cheeks to form a smile) his young age, he avoids notice. Each day as Granny makes a What older person do you know who would send you off If you’re happy with yourself, GIVE a smile quilt, John asks, “What color is freedom tonight?” to freedom? If you’re happy with yourself and can GIVE others help Pull out key vocabulary words and concepts, but also pay Strategically using children’s literature is a way to bring If you’re happy with yourself, then LEND a hand attention to author’s language and use of figures of speech. history alive. And the great news is that your own school li- Here are some examples from Night Boat to Freedom: dye brary is full of amazing books! pots, hanks of thread, indigo, pine straw, bay leaves, “feeble as for more great elementary song a baby” (simile), rawhide, “peace- Judy Roberts ideas, order Teaching Tolerance’s free learn more about the ful as a baby’s cradle” (simile). Hanover College kit I Will Be Your Friend: Songs and Underground Railroad at We find it best to personally Anne Haskins Activities for Young Peacemakers at www.nationalgeographic. respond to the text ourselves Southwestern Elementary School www.tolerance.org. com/railroad. as a way that develops higher Hanover, Indiana

teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 10 Great anti-bias ideas and activities from teachers everywhere! 11 a c t i v i t y E X c h a n g e

grades 7-9

Gender Stereotyping Awareness during my career unit with seventh-graders, i take messages sometimes unintentionally are given to males the opportunity to look at gender stereotyping in the work and females as to what careers they can choose. The les- force. After students have an opportunity to familiarize son ends with the recognition that interests and aptitudes themselves with careers, I challenge their learning with a — not gender — should guide people to their careers. You can game similar to the old game show “Password.” extend this lesson to discuss the effects of gender on educa- I tell students that I will be attaching an index card with tion, paychecks and politics. the name of a job onto their back (painter’s tape works fairly well). Students will then be given an opportunity to mingle Mollie Surguine within the classroom getting clues to the job with which Sonoran Sky School they’ve been labeled. Students look at the back of a peer and Glendale, Arizona talk to them the way they would someone in that profes- grades sion. They can refer to the schooling that is needed to obtain 7-8 that particular job or to the special equip- ment they might use if they did that job. I usually model how to ask questions The Resurgence of Hate without giving the job away. To challenge students’ gender in recent years there has been a resurgence in this Q: Have there been any other examples of backlashes bias, females in class are given ste- country of hate groups. Why have these groups been so power- against immigrant groups over job loss fears in American reotypical male jobs like plumber, ful in American history and why are they gaining in popularity history? A: Chinese American, Japanese American, Italian firefighter and construction man- now? It is a good time to revisit the events of the past and help American and many other groups). ager. Meanwhile, males are assigned students link these lessons to their lives today. The purpose Q: Why did public support of hate groups rapidly decline jobs like librarian, nurse or flight at- of this activity is to take a look at one of the most famous hate during the Civil Rights era? A: Answers will vary but should tendant. Most students accurately guess groups, try to understand why its members believe the way refer to the graphic images shown in media during the Civil what the job they’ve been labeled with they do and learn what can be done to stop hate groups from Rights Movement. quite quickly, but usually not without an returning to their historic levels of power and influence. air of disgust. My female students have re- Begin by showing a 2-minute video clip from the National Q: What effects did 9/11 have on hate groups in America? sponded, for instance, in a horrified tone, Geographic channel on the brief history of the Klan — KKK: A: Answers will vary but will contain thoughts such as in- “Plumber! Yuck!” Male students scrunch Inside American Terror (http://channel.nationalgeographic. creased hate attacks against their faces in disbelief at the thought of com/series/inside/3954/Overview?#tab-Videos/05945_00). Arab and Muslim immigrants. want to help your a male librarian. After viewing the video, allow students to read the A good assignment for a critical students delve deeper I then take the opportunity to re- Newsweek article “rebranding hate in the age of Obama” reflection paper would be, “Why into the causes of intoler- view the definition of a stereotype. (available at www.newsweek.com/id/195085). do you think that hate groups ance? The author of “The We discuss how subtle and overt Have students look for the answers to the following questions: predominantly target people of Rhetoric of Hate” (www. Q: According to the video, what groups did the Klan target during color or immigrants and blame tolerance.org/magazine/ do your students need quick its resurgence in the early 20th century? A: African Americans them for economic problems number-20-fall-2001/rhet- comebacks to fight off gender-based and immigrants from predominantly Catholic countries. that they are not responsible for?” oric-hate) let his students putdowns? Read “Not True! Gender research the rhetoric of Q: Prior to the 2008 election, which group had the Klan and Doesn’t Limit You!” at www.tolerance. Mike Hollis hate groups — and taught similar hate groups begun targeting and why? A: Latino im- org/magazine/number-32-fall-2007/ Texas State University them how to recognize migrants, to capitalize on fear of losing jobs. not-true-gender-doesnt-limit-you. San Marcos, Texas common logical fallacies.

12 teaching tolerance spring 2010 Have any good ideas? Drop us a line at [email protected] spring 2010 teaching tolerance 13 a c t i v i t y E X c h a n g e

What Does it Mean to be an American? american literature is the foundation of our “the American dream.” The group must collectively compose 11th-grade English curriculum. Over the course of the year, a What We Know paper that is two pages in length. This paper we visit many pieces of literature and discuss many themes. summarizes the group’s discussion. Next, the group writes a The focus is to begin considering how the literature we ex- two-page What We Want To Find Out paper that is based on plore reflects our society and our experiences. To this questions that arose during their discussions. These questions end, I ask students to contemplate one of two ques- become the focus of their research. tions: What does it mean to be an American? Each student focuses on the same research questions What do people mean when they say “the that their group generated, but from their differing points of American dream?” view. Invite students to think about how their racial, ethnic Students are placed in heterogeneous and religious identities affect their vision of “the American Linguicism grades groups of three or four and asked to dream.” The research must include: 9-12 brainstorm notions of what it means Connections to class readings we all know each other’s names, but do we know the questions. Here are a few examples: to be an American and what Primary and secondary resources stories of our names? To begin this activity I give students a possible criteria define One personal interview from the community piece of paper and have them write their name on it in big, bold LINGUISTIC PROFILING A “Search” section, which discusses the research pro- letters. Have each student tell the story of how they received www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FLdJHYMgyI&NR=1 Linguistic cess, rationale for choosing materials and how their their name. After this, I ask students, “How important is lan- Q: What type of discrimination did the person on the video suffer? resources shaped their ideas guage?” Most of us would agree that language is important in Q: How do you think the person feels? A “What I Learned” section, in which students re- our society. The ways we communicate and speak are ways for Q: Why does he have to change his accent? veal their conclusions others to know a little bit about who we are. But how accurate Q: In what ways is linguistic profiling harmful? grades “Connections and Conclusions” — a summary of the are our perceptions when language is all we have? 9-12 group’s conclusions Next, I break students into small groups and tell them LINGUISTIC DISCRIMINATION Students can present their collective findings in that they are to create a skit that reveals their answers to www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KCL97s1lJg&feature=related panel discussions — and discuss their different points the following questions: Q: Can you tell a person’s race by the sound of their voice? of view on these questions. Q: What does a smart person sound like? Q: Have you ever experienced discrimination based on the Q: What does an unintelligent person sound like? sound of your voice? Timothy Pletcher Q: What does a villain sound like? Washington High School Q: What does a hero sound like? TV SHOWS South Bend, Indiana After the skits, students reflect and discuss the follow- Q: What television shows can you think of that perpetuate ing questions: linguistic stereotypes? Q: What patterns do you notice in the way each group de- Q: What do these stereotypes do to the people who are being scribed its person? stereotyped? Q: How important is language in determining someone’s intelligence? As a final project, have students come up with a definition Q: Where do we get our perceptions about intelligence and about linguicism based on all the information they’ve learned. language? Ask them to create a skit that Q: What if someone doesn’t speak a language “correctly?” combats linguicism. a perfect compliment to Does that mean they are not smart? this lesson is Sandra Cisneros’ use the pbs website Teen Immigrants, Five Q: What about accents? What does it mean to have a Tanya Madrid-Campbell The House on Mango Street American Stories (www.pbs.org/inthemix/shows/ Southern accent, a New York accent or a foreign accent? and Julianne Hughes ($12.60), especially the vignette show_teen_immigrants.html) to help students Use relevant video clips from the Internet or TV shows The Berkeley School titled “My Name.” Order it at understand more about becoming American. to explore linguicism further, along with a few discussion Berkeley, California www.mcgraw-hill.com.

14 teaching tolerance spring 2010 compiled by jeff sapp • illustrations by susan estelle kwas spring 2010 teaching tolerance 15 If we say we are only going to allow polite discourse in the kate shuster holds a Ph.D. in Educational Studies from Claremont public sphere, we are writing off the first group of women Graduate University. She is the Director of Claremont McKenna who wanted political suffrage, because at the time that was College’s Middle School Public Debate Program (MSPDP), the seen as impolite.” world’s largest program for debating in the middle grades. She has The key word, then, is civility. written 10 books on argument and debate instruction, and is cur- “The idea of civility … originates in Cicero with the con- rently the coach of the U.S. national high school debate team. She cept of the societas civilus,” Lundberg explains. “What it maintains the MSPDP website at www.middleschooldebate.com Toward a More meant was that there are certain standards of conduct towards others and that members of the civil society should comport themselves in a way that sought the good of the city. The old Five Tips for Bringing Current and Civil Discourse concept of civility was much more explicitly Controversial Events into the Classroom political than our current notion of politeness. New curriculum offers step-by-step lessons for engaging Speech was filtered through how it did or did not 1. Select an issue in effective argument on divisive issues contribute to the good of the city.” Try to choose current events that have meaningful connections to other Civil discourse is discourse that supports, course content. For example, if you are reading Farewell to Manzanar, you rather than undermines, the societal good. It might consider following this with a short unit on Guantanamo Bay. In By Kate Shuster, Ph.D. demands that democratic participants respect integrating current events instruction into your classroom, start with less con- each other, even when that respect is hard to troversial issues. Keep in mind that you’re trying to teach students how to be give or to earn. Democratic societies must be effective democratic citizens, and that a good way to begin is with more man- societies where arguments are tolerated and ageable issues as training wheels. encouraged, but this is not always easy. “To engage in a healthy political argument is 2. Break it down here is a pressing need to acknowledge the possibility that one’s own ar- Consider the component parts of the issue. If you want to discuss the death to change the tenor guments could be falsified or proven wrong,” says penalty, you may need to teach students about the criminal justice system, of public debate from Thomas Hollihan, professor at the University including the difference between state and federal jurisdictions. Younger stu- shouts and slurs to some- of Southern California’s Annenberg School of dents are unlikely to understand concepts like “deterrence” and “retribution,” thing more reasoned and Communication. “This demands that citizens which will make it harder for them to grapple with multiple perspectives on the effective. But it is difficult for teachers listen respectfully to the claims made by others. issue. Breaking the issue into parts will allow you to sequence your unit appro- Talready burdened with standardized Name-calling, threats and bullying behaviors do priately and choose materials to assist in learning key concepts. tests and administrative duties to find not meet the demands of effective deliberation.” the time to craft lessons to teach civil dis- This new curriculum — based on lessons 3. Build the vocabulary course in their classrooms. To support teachers working to tested in diverse classrooms across the United Don’t forget to include vocabulary lessons as part of your current events change the terms of our national debate, Teaching Tolerance have been States and proven effective with a wide range instruction, just as you would any other instructional topics. Keep a running list offers a new curriculum entitled “Civil Discourse in the produced throughout of students and topics — will introduce educa- from readings and research. Classroom and Beyond.” human history came from people work- tors to basic tools for teaching civil discourse. We live in a climate ripe with noise: Media outlets and ing together.” It is not subject-specific; on the contrary, the 4. SELECT THE READINGS 24-hour news cycles mean that everyone with access to a Educators are well positioned to provide a counterweight tools of argumentation and discussion lend For many teachers, this is one of the hardest parts of current events instruction computer has access to a megaphone to broadcast their to this loudest-is-best approach. Schools and classrooms themselves to any subject in any classroom. – finding readings that are both accessible and challenging. You’ll have to read views. Never before in human history has an opinion had strive to be safe places where students can exchange ideas, Although it is primarily designed for young ad- a lot of articles, chapters and other materials in order to find readings that will the opportunity to reach so many so quickly without regard try out opinions and receive feedback on their ideas with- olescents, the curriculum can be adapted for represent a balanced and informed set of perspectives. But, the upside is that to its accuracy or appropriateness. out fear or intimidation. students of any age. you’ll probably need only a few readings to create a meaningful context for It is difficult to hear anything when everyone has a mega- Children, of course, often come to school with opinions Using these lessons, students will be able to students to be able to discuss the issue. phone. For young people trying to learn how to speak and or prejudices they have learned in their homes or from the turn their unsubstantiated opinions into rea- listen, this is an especially complicated business. media. Schools can become a place of intolerance and fear, soned arguments. They also will learn how to 5. FINISH WITH FOCUS “The lesson learned is a dangerous one,” says Danielle Wiese especially for students who voice minority opinions. effectively challenge an opposing argument There should be something that students do with their current events infor- Leek, assistant professor in the School of Communications Schools, then, must work to be the site of social trans- — not with fists and fury, but rather with a step- mation, some sort of culminating activity. This could be writing an informative at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich. “First, formation, where teachers and young people find ways to by-step process for refutation. or persuasive essay, working on a group presentation or project, engaging in it’s anti-democratic. It’s not about learning to be exposed to communicate effectively. These tools lay the groundwork for produc- roundtable discussions or debates, or any other activity that gives students the a variety of perspectives in order to draw the best conclusion. This is not simply about being polite. tive, reasoned and lively discussions on a variety opportunity to synthesize what they’ve learned and discussed. Perhaps stu- It teaches young people that if they aren’t the loudest, their As University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Assistant of topics. They also will give students “training dents could write letters to the editor of a newspaper, stating their position opinion doesn’t matter. Second, it shuts down opportunities Professor of Rhetoric Chris Lundberg says, “There are wheels” for learning how to have reasoned ar- on an issue, or write responses to an editorial that they read, agreeing or dis- for collaboration and innovation. Some of the best ideas that times when a certain degree of impoliteness is called for. guments outside the classroom. agreeing with the author.

16 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 17 ia Hall wanted to learn German. Communities, a social justice organization in Santa Barbara, As a student at an elite private school, Hall said he often hears doubts voiced by high-achieving Latino felt that this was a reasonable request. But she students who, like Silva, end up in advanced placement still recalls the teacher who ridiculed her, say- courses in the city’s public schools. ing, “Why on earth would a black kid want to He said students who are accused of acting white by their study German?” peers worry about abandoning their community or selling out. THall didn’t turn to her parents. She knew they’d urge “The one question is ‘Do I belong here? Do I belong in her to be grateful for the chance to attend a top-tier school this class?’” Schwartz said. — even if she felt isolated among the predominantly white On the other hand, the same students feel used by people student body. who point to their academic success to deny the existence She never forgot how it felt to be the “only one.” As an of racism. adult, she married a man who’d had a similar school expe- “High-achieving Latino students will be brought [out] rience. The two thought long and hard before sending their and celebrated, and we don’t see the price until we get with children into the same situation. them and talk to them,” Schwartz said. In the end, though, the North Carolina couple did decide That’s because students of color who are the only ones, The to send their four children to a small private school. Hall’s or one of a few, often become the representative for their son is one of four students of color attending the high school. race or ethnicity, researchers say. (She asked that the school not be identified.) “You’re expected to represent and explain your group, “We really struggled with whether to go that route. be responsible for your group’s actions,” said Ronald Only Because we are very hands-on with schools, it has worked Chennault, an associate professor in the department of ed- to a certain point,” she said. ucation policy studies at DePaul University in Chicago. Tia Hall is not alone. When parents have the power to Tia Hall believes students solve this dilemma by devel- choose the school their children attend, tough questions oping what she calls “the chameleon complex.” They change One follow. What values will my child learn here? How do I know their appearance, speech and demeanor when they change they will be welcome? For parents of color, there is often an environments, but they find they still cannot live up to ev- Where schools are added question: Do I send my child to a school where she will eryone’s expectations. still separate and be in a minority of one? “White children have TV expectations of black people; Educators say Hall’s story is far too common among stu- for example, you have this hipness. You’re all about jokes unequal, parents dents who are the only ones in their school or class. Minority and rhymes and hip hop,” she said. “You’ve got blacks say- often look beyond children in schools where there are few, if any, of their eth- ing, ‘You think you’re white,’ and white kids saying, ‘What nicity or racial group battle to balance the various worlds kind of black kid are you that you don’t do this?’” their local school they inhabit. She and her husband decided that talking about racial for solutions. But Fabiana Kimberly Silva, a college student in Santa Barbara, differences, not ignoring them, was the best way to ensure Calif., said she was the only Bolivian when she attended mid- their children feel comfortable as the “only ones.” She in- when you’re the dle and high school. While seeking acceptance from Mexicans sists that faculty and staff understand that her family often only person of and Anglo students and staff, she almost lost her culture. has a different experience and point of view from the ma- “I had faced discrimination and racism from Mexicans jority, and that the point of view is valid. color in your class, in school because they didn’t understand my culture. They That’s why, for example, she demanded a teacher con- school can become saw me as an intruder,” she said. “And also from white front the presence of the n-word, when it came up during Americans because I was a Latina and they usually thought the reading of “Sounder.” a struggle between I was Mexican. “I approached the teacher, because you can’t have a book two worlds “I had to adapt to these cultures by interacting with both, like that and not deal with the word,” Hall said. mixing my Spanish with the Mexican way of talking and She said other parents should adopt a similar assertive- learning English at the same time.” ness, if their children are “the only ones.” Silva said the prejudice made her question her abilities, “We black people shouldn’t be ashamed to have these but her mother and school counselors supported her. conversations,” she said. “I’m a consumer, and I have just as Jarrod Schwartz, the executive director of Just much right to speak to the quality of my child’s education.”

by Afi-Odelia E. Scruggs illu stration by scott bakal

18 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 19 In third grade, Julia Horsman’s entire science project consisted of being herded outside with the other kids with disabilities and rolling soda cans down a ramp, some empty, some full, to see which would travel farther and faster.

Fast-forward a year.

This time, her science project involved freezing water, juice and milk, seeing which one froze the fastest. She poured and measured and gave a presentation about her results. And she did it all on her own.

Same kid — one who, according to the state of Maryland, has mild mental retardation.

Two very different classrooms. Into the

Mainstream By Nirvi Shah photography by john healey 20 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 21 t has been more than 30 years since the federal gov- ernment first declared that children with different abilities shouldn’t be automatically separated from one another in school. Julia Horsman’s parents, and others all over the country, are still fighting Ito have the law enforced. Too often, they say, school ad- ministrators’ first instincts are separation, not inclusion. “But when you read the law it’s so clear cut,” says Julia’s mother, Lisa Horsman.

The problem is that the radical changes the law promised julia horsman joins never sunk in at the ground level — namely, in teacher-ed- in regular activities ucation programs, says Kathleen Whitbread, an associate at school. professor of education at Saint Joseph College in Connecticut. The latest figures from the U.S. Department of Education show that, overall, almost 57 percent of students with disabili- Horsman said. “They had nothing to look at, nothing to fol- ties spend the majority of their day in traditional classrooms. low. They were seven or eight little zombies sitting there, But that number masks a wide range of outcomes for a diverse with their desks cleared off.” group of students. For students with mental retardation, for After watching Julia languish in that separate room — steve sabia, who reads Shakespeare and likes example, the inclusion rate is less than 16 percent. where all the other students were boys — she decided she Green Day, studies at home. Selene Almazan “Change is slow, yes,” Whitbread says, “but this is ridiculous.” couldn’t let the school district in Prince George’s County, (below), an attorney with the Maryland When Whitbread was studying to be a teacher in the early Maryland, make decisions for her anymore. Coalition for Inclusive Education, took on 1980s, her special education classes didn’t include teachers “I [had done] what I thought was best for my kid, what Julia Horsman’s struggle for inclusion. learning to be math or kindergarten or chemistry teachers. the doctors told me, what the school told me,” she says. “And “All of the students in my classes were special-ed teach- I was punished for it.” ers,” she said. “We were focusing on things like behavioral Horsman called the Maryland Coalition for Inclusive “There’s been some progress, but it is not modification, functional skills, teaching kids how to tie their Education, where attorney Selene Almazan took on Julia’s case. uniform across the country. There is this shoes and brush their teeth.” “I represent families who want their children to go to whole idea that with kids with disabilities, Then she met an inclusion activist who put things in per- their neighborhood school,” Almazan says. “Really, it’s just spective for her. an enforcement of what their child is legally entitled to.” you need to take care of them ... rather “She said, ‘Is the child breathing? Then they belong in “There’s been some progress,” she says, but “it is not uni- than looking at each individual child.” a regular class,’” Whitbread says. “I think that people re- form across the country. There is this whole idea that with spond to the civil rights argument, that it’s wrong to separate kids with disabilities, you need to take care of them. It really children. Would you put all the blue-eyed children in one is rather paternalistic in many ways, rather than looking at for years — on top of her work as a lawyer and on the staff classroom? Of course you wouldn’t.” each individual child. I’m hard-pressed to find where there’s of the National Down Syndrome Society. While St. Joseph and a small number of teacher-train- good education in these segregated classrooms.” Her son, Steve, is in the 11th grade and has Down syn- ing programs no longer have separate tracks for special It’s no wonder, she says, that many schools continue to drome. When the rest of his class read the Odyssey, Steve Wrote Holden Caulfield?’” she says. “He knew what that was.” education teachers and everyone else, Whitbread says the assume these same children won’t be successful in a regu- read the 130-page abridged version, watched the movie and Sabia says the development of curricula designed for all combined approach remains uncommon. lar classroom, she says. used a computer program that tested his comprehension. kinds of learners is finally happening on a large scale, such She and other advocates say the time has passed — though “I’ve found that the opposite is true,” she says. When his class read Shakespeare, she found something called as Universal Design for Learning, created by the Center for not everyone has accepted it — for special education to be As with Julia. “No Fear Shakespeare,” which had the original text on one side of Applied Special Technology in Massachusetts. It offers a blue- thought of as a place, instead of a service. And an experience like Julia’s is possible only if schools the page and its modern English translation on the other. print for teachers working with students with varying needs. “Teaching is about taking the child that you get and using put in the effort to make inclusion meaningful. “Why should he read Shakespeare? Why is that impor- “Their idea is the curriculum is what’s broken, not kids,” what you’ve learned to reach this child,” Whitbread says. “As kids started to spend more time in regular classes, tant for any kid?” Sabia says. “To broaden his horizons. To she says. “Schools should look at who are in their classes “This is what we should have been doing in 1976.” then we had to fight for teaching them,” Whitbread says. have common experiences. To see what he likes and to shape now. We’re not designing curriculum for them all.” “That to me has been the more frustrating fight.” what he is going to do. When he’s on the subway and he sees Even without an investment in a readymade curriculum like The Case for Inclusion a picture of Shakespeare, he knows who that is.” Universal Design, the inclusion process might go more smoothly Early on, Julia was in a separate classroom but the teacher Who Wrote Holden Caulfield? Getting through The Catcher in the Rye was particularly if all teachers in a school were to collaborate, Whitbread says. seemed passionate and her daughter seemed to be learning, For many parents of children with disabilities who manage difficult, she says, because she couldn’t find this novel — -cen Well-trained special education teachers already know Lisa Horsman recalled. Isolated, but educated. to get their children included, their work is far from over. tered on one character’s feelings of alienation — in any other many unique ways to reach children who have different Then the teachers seemed to stop caring. Many say they have turned into part-time teachers once format. Still, her son plodded through it. And the experience learning styles, Whitbread says. If one approach doesn’t And Julia stopped learning. their kids make it into a regular classroom. stuck with Steve, a boy the Maryland school system wanted to work, they will know of another. “I went in there to watch one day and the teacher said Ricki Sabia says creating study guides and finding sup- teach how to sweep floors, run a washing machine and cook. But if individual classroom teachers continue to be con- ‘Let’s go back to the reading we were reading yesterday,’” plemental materials for her son has been a part of her life “He likes the band Green Day, and they have this song, ‘Who fronted with reinventing these approaches each time they

22 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 23 have a student with disabilities, inclusion can seem impossible. The teachers in the special-ed classroom “don’t hear it “It’s always been ‘Special education? You go there,’” anymore,” Davis-Killian says, while in a regular classroom, says Sharon Leonard, an educational consultant at the it wouldn’t be tolerated. “That behavior will incredibly limit Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network. what you can do in life,” she says. Instead, Leonard says, teachers should see special educa- From her life of inclusion, Lisa has learned hip lingo, and tion as a service they bring to the student. “We can’t get a she knows how to send text messages to her friends — and better placement than that general education classroom.” how to delete the call logs so her mother doesn’t know she made calls after bedtime. Learning the Ways of the World “It’s not that she doesn’t do anything different — she does For Julia Horsman, life at her old school, in that separate class- have Down syndrome,” her mother says. “But that’s the as- room, was lonely. As the only girl, she was already isolated. She pect that inclusion can’t quantify: She still doesn’t realize learned some vulgar words from the boys in her class, which that she’s different.” she repeated at home. Her sweet temperament turned sullen. She stopped smiling, says her mother. Staying Included But school district administrators warned that Julia After all the years of fighting over Julia Horsman’s placement would be just as isolated in a regular class. They said she in her neighborhood school, her inclusive status will become would fail. They said she would be miserable. uncertain again when she heads to middle school next fall. The Horsmans consulted a neuropsychologist, who had The school district only agreed to a two-year trial, at the a different vision. He expected Julia to blossom, and pre- end of which they will evaluate Julia to see whether she dicted that other kids would be nurturing. should go back to a segregated setting. “It was exactly the way the neuropsychologist said,” Lisa Tina Progar’s son Patrick was included from kindergar- Horsman says. “The teacher said, ‘Whenever I would tell ten through middle school. But when Patrick, who has Down the kids to pair up, everybody would be fighting over Julia.’” syndrome, entered high school two years ago, the district Almazan, who helped get Julia into her inclusive setting, balked. They say they don’t have the resources to make gen- notes that Julia didn’t just raise her reading level during her eral education classes fit Patrick’s needs. So now he spends first year in a regular classroom. most of his day in a special education classroom with other “She got birthday party invitations,” Almazan says. “When teenagers who have a variety of disabilities. a child is a part of the classroom and accepted by peers, peers “Pat’s life is now part of a group,” says Progar, of Maryland. get it. Kids know when another child needs help. Kids are the “He is now a special-ed kid.” GENDER SEGREGATION ones that can tell another kid, ‘You’re not supposed to hit.’” Her once-independent son with a knack for technology, a host Sue Davis-Killian’s daughter Lisa has Down syndrome, of friends and a sharp sense of humor has become withdrawn. and Davis-Killian insisted on full-time inclusion in Florida And Progar is exhausted. As she continues to plead with schools. Beyond her firm belief that Lisa will get a real ed- the school to let Patrick spend more time in general educa- ucation in an inclusive setting, Davis-Killian wants her tion classes, she is working on another project. She wants Separate But Effective? daughter to learn the ways of the real world. to find a place for Patrick to spend part of his day volunteer- “Most adults with cognitive disabilities are unemployed,” ing, which would give him the opportunity to socialize and Gender-segregated classrooms are on the rise in the U.S. — Davis-Killian notes. “And the biggest reason that they lose their regain some of his independence. jobs is that they don’t understand the rules: They don’t show up “I have gone before the school board. I joined a group especially the Southeast — but research regarding their on time or don’t show up at all. They don’t listen to the boss.” that’s working for the least restrictive environment for kids In segregated classes, Davis-Killian says, too often there is no with disabilities,” she says. “All of these families are getting effectiveness remains inconclusive reinforcement of basic social norms, like being on time. Special burned out. And I cannot wait for my son to get out of school. education buses often arrive at school late and leave early, she “Inclusion can be law in the books, but this is an attitude issue.” By David Holthouse says. But for Lisa, an eighth-grader, school starts at 9 a.m., period. “She knows she can’t just go walking into class whenever For now, Julia Horsman is just one of the kids at her school. ast October, more than 450 public school teachers, single-gender programs in conservative, rural communities.” she wants,” Davis-Killian says. Julia still takes time out of class for occupational therapy, principals and central administrators from across Attendees ranged from Chicago and Philadelphia inner- Behaviors that can draw attention to a particular disabil- so she can master things like opening zippers, but otherwise, the United States — as well as from Argentina, city high school teachers to elementary school principals ity aren’t curbed in segregated classrooms, she says. her mom says, “I almost forget she’s in special ed. There’s so Bermuda, Canada and Poland — came together from small towns in Idaho and Indiana. They represented a Like many people with cognitive disabilities, Lisa had her much less fighting to do.” in Atlanta, Georgia, for the fifth annual convention of the fraction of recent converts to the Single Sex Public Education own soothing behavior. Lisa would put her head down and At a parent-teacher organization meeting last school year, L National Association for Single Sex Public Education. (SSPE) movement, which has expanded at a remarkable pace. make a humming noise. Lisa Horsman ran into Julia’s principal, Justin FitzGerald. Dozens of presentations extolled the superiority of gender- In 2002, only 11 public schools in the United States had “It took me and the school two years of saying, ‘Get your “I know there was some reluctance to have her,” Horsman segregated classrooms and entire schools, with lecture titles such gender-segregated classrooms. As of December 2009, there head up’ to stop her from doing that,” she says. ““I saw another told him, but “she’s where she belongs.” as, “Burps, Farts and Snot: Teaching Chemistry To Middle School were more than 550. girl in a segregated classroom and watched for 15 minutes as He looked at her and replied: Boys,” and “Just Don’t Say ‘SEX’ — tips on how to implement The movement is based on the hypothesis that hard-wired she hummed to herself. She was 6. Nobody ever said anything.” “Absolutely.” illu stration by melinda beck

24 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 25 differences in the ways that male and female brains develop Carolina has 173 SSPE schools, by far the most of any state. will be a quick fix for failing schools, in reality they are in- Education analysis by pointing out that most of the studies re- and function in childhood through adolescence require class- Last year, the largest school system in Alabama, the herently unequal and shortchange both boys and girls,” said viewed by the DOE involved merely segregating boys and girls in rooms in which boys and girls are not only separated by gender, Mobile County Public School System, with 66,000 students, Emily Martin, Deputy Director of the ACLU Women’s Rights different classrooms without deploying SSPE teaching methods. but also taught according to radically different methods. implemented SSPE programs in eight of its 93 schools with Program. “There is no reliable evidence that segregating stu- “The most obvious explanation for the variation is that For example, SSPE doctrine calls for teachers in male class- no parental notification. The most extreme program was at dents by sex improves learning by either sex. “ merely placing girls and boys in separate classrooms accom- rooms to be constantly moving and speaking in a loud voice, even Hankins Middle School in Theodore, Alabama, where boys It is fair to say the supposed benefits of gender-segregated plishes little,” he said. “For the single-sex format to lead to to the point of shouting, while teachers in female classes should and girls ate lunch at different times and were prohibited education in public schools claimed by SSPE supporters are improvements in academic performance, teachers must un- be still and use a calming tone. This differentiation stems from from speaking to one another on school grounds. unproven. On the other hand, there is no solid evidence that derstand the hard-wired differences in how girls and boys the central tenet of SSPE ideology that young males thrive on Hankins teachers were directed to create “competitive, SSPE is harmful to the learning process of either gender, as crit- learn and incorporate the best practices for all-female class- competition and confrontation, while young females require a high-energy” classrooms for boys and “cooperative, quiet” ics argue. SSPE is such a relatively new phenomenon that no rooms and all-male classrooms.” more nurturing and cooperative learning environment. classrooms for girls. Boys were to be taught “heroic behavior.” major credible studies have been conducted of its long-term Dr. Sax has made a cottage industry of training public “When most young boys are exposed to threat and con- Girls were to learn “good character.” Sixth-grade language efficacy. Likewise, research into gender-segregated education school teachers in those classroom practices. He maintains frontation, their senses sharpen, and they feel a thrill,” arts exercises called for boys to brainstorm action words in general, let alone the controversial teaching methods pro- that two days of training, 14 hours total, is all that’s needed explains Dr. Leonard Sax, the founder and executive director to prepare the staff of a public school to switch from coed- of the National Associate for Single Sex Public Education. ucation to SSPE. Since 2002, Dr. Sax by his own count has “When most young girls are exposed to such stimuli, how- Teachers were directed to create “Our kids were basically being led such two-day conversion seminars for more than 300 ever, they feel dizzy and yucky.” “competitive, high-energy” class- taught ideas about gender that schools in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In a landmark essay published in the Spring 2006 edition One of them was Carman Trails, an elementary school in of Educational Horizons, just as the SSPE movement was gain- rooms for boys and “cooperative, come from the Dark Ages.” the Parkway School District, which is in the St. Louis area. ing strong momentum, Dr. Sax detailed the different ways Despite a lack of test data to prove the program is working, elementary school teachers should address their students in quiet” classrooms for girls.” moted by the SSPE movement, has been inconclusive. SSPE at Carman Trails has won over teachers, parents and gender-segregated classes. “[The teacher] may move right in A 2006 study completed at the College of Education at students. The program is expanding. When it began two years front of a boy and say, ‘What’s your answer, Mr. Jackson? Give used in sports. Girls were instructed to describe their dream Arizona State University showed that most of the research ago, it was limited to first grade. For the 2008-2009 academic it to me!’ Far from being intimidated, boys are energized by this wedding cake. Electives were gender-specific. Boys took com- into gender-segregated education thus far has been of ques- year, first- and second-graders were segregated by gender. In teaching style. With girls [teachers should] speak more softly, puter applications. Girls took drama. No exceptions. tionable value. According to the ASU study, the “research February 2009, at the urging of enthusiastic parents, princi- use first names, terms of endearment and fewer direct com- Mark Jones, whose son Jacob attends Hankins, said that … is mostly flawed by failure to control for important vari- pal Chris Raeker grew the program to include the third grade. mands: ‘Lisa, sweetie, it’s time to open your book. Emily, darling, when he complained to the principal about the changes, ables such as class, financial status, selective admissions, Raeker said that since implementing the SSPE program, would you please sit down for me and join us in this exercise?’” she told him they were necessary because “boys’ and girls’ religious values, prior learning or ethnicity.” The ASU study fewer boys are being sent to the principal’s office, their over- The title of Dr. Sax’s essay was “Six Degrees of Separation,” brains were so different they needed different curriculum.” also found that the methodology of less than 2 percent of the all attendance is up and they are participating in school a reference to the SSPE guideline that while the perfect “Segregating boys and girls didn’t make things any bet- more than 2,000 quantitative studies of gender-segregated clubs in higher numbers. First-grade teacher Alicia Wall said ambient temperature for a male classroom is 69 degrees ter for our children. In fact they made things worse,” Jones education was of high enough quality to meet the standards the program is benefiting girls in different ways. “I definitely Fahrenheit, females learn most effectively at 75 degrees. said. “Our kids were basically being taught ideas about gen- of the National Center for Education Statistics. see a self-confidence thing,” Wall said. “The girls are ready der that come from the Dark Ages.” In 2005 the Department of Education released a com- to learn and ready to work. In coed classes, they’re afraid to Heroic Behavior vs. Wedding Cakes Another parent, Terry Stevens, also objected. “The real prehensive meta-analysis of gender-segregated education say something. They’re afraid to be wrong.” Separating boys and girls is a longstanding tradition at private world is integrated, and it’s important to both me and my scholarship, titled “Single Sex Versus Coeducational Schooling: The anecdotal success stories from schools like Carman and parochial schools. The concept began to gain traction in son that he learn in a coed environment,” Stevens said. A Systematic Review.” The DOE found the results “equivocal.” Trails fail to sway opponents of SSPE, which include mem- American public schools earlier this decade as schools began to Other parents and students disagreed. “You learn more like “There is some support for the premise that single-sex bers of the American Civil Liberties Union and the American experiment with SSPE in oft-desperate attempts to reduce dis- this,” 11-year-old Brenda Orduna told the Mobile Press-Register schooling can be helpful especially for certain outcomes re- Association of University Women. They argue that SSPE is not ciplinary problems and improve test scores. The Department after making the honor roll at the end of the first quarter for lated to academic achievement and more positive academic a silver bullet for improving performance in public schools. of Education accelerated the trend in 2006 by altering the Title the first time in her academic career. “When boys are around, aspirations,” the DOE reported. “For many outcomes, there Further, they point out that segregating students by race based IX provision of the No Child Left Behind Act to ease restric- you’re shy. And you won’t ask questions if you don’t get it.” is no evidence of either benefit or harm. There is limited sup- on supposed differences in brain function between, for exam- tions on gender-segregated education in public schools. port for the view that single-sex schooling may be harmful.” ple, Asian students and African American students, would be Since then, advocates like Dr. Sax, a child psychologist who Muddled Results The DOE report included the caveat that most research decried as racist and arouse widespread protests. never set foot in a classroom as a teacher, have stepped up The Mobile County SSPE experiment was short-lived. The dis- into gender-segregated education has been conducted in “School districts across the country are experimenting with their promotion of SSPE as a panacea for public education. trict terminated all eight of its SSPE programs last March after private Catholic schools, which hardly makes for an apples- sex-segregated programs, which rely on questionable brain sci- With scant evidence backing them up, they herald SSPE as the the American Civil Liberties Union threatened to file a lawsuit to-apples comparison to public education. ence theories based on outdated gender stereotypes,” said the most effective way to narrow the achievement gaps between on behalf of Jones and Stevens. The ACLU took the position “Sex segregation doesn’t make public schools more like pri- ACLU’s Martin. “Instead, these districts should focus on efforts rich and poor students and black and white students that per- that the Hankins program violated even the slackened Title IX vate schools,” says Allison Neal, staff attorney with the ACLU of that we know can improve all students’ education, like smaller sist eight years after the passage of No Child Left Behind. provision. (The other seven Mobile County SSPE programs ei- Alabama. “If some private schools provide a better education, classes and more teacher training and parental involvement.” Although SSPE programs are now in place at schools in ther offered all elective courses to both genders, in single-sex it’s because of their resources, not because they’re single sex.” 39 states and the District of Columbia, they are particularly classrooms, or made their SSPE programs optional, with co-ed david holthouse is the former Senior Editor of the SPLC’s popular in urban districts with large minority populations, alternatives. At Hankins, they were mandatory.) ‘A Self-Confidence Thing’ Intelligence Project. He now lives in Alaska where he works and most concentrated in the Southeastern U.S. South “While schools might think that sex-segregated classes Dr. Sax counters the mixed results of the Department of as a freelance journalist.

26 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 27 Unmaking Brown America’s schools are more segregated now than they were in the late 1960s. More than 50 years after Brown v. Board of Education, we need to radically rethink the meaning of “school choice.”

by Tim Lockette

o much depends on a yellow bus, winding its way “While people embraced diversity, they were absolutely across the North Carolina landscape. tired of losing their choices.” For decades, this was how Wake County in- tegrated its schools. Buses would pick up public The New Segregation school students in largely minority communi- Stories like that are bound to get a reaction from Amy ties along the Raleigh Beltline; in affluent Cary, a Raleigh Stuart Wells. Ssuburb; in dozens of small towns and unincorporated com- A professor at Teachers College at Columbia University, munities around this fast growing state capital. Wells has spent much of her career studying the resegrega- Most of the students would travel to schools not far from tion of American schools — writing the history of the steady home. But every year, a few would cross the county to a new march back to separateness that has left our educational school, in a neighborhood very different from their own. system more racially segregated now than it was in 1968. The system won Wake County praise from many integra- “We don’t have to accept this juxtaposition that puts tion advocates — but locally, people were less enchanted. school choice on one side and a civil rights approach to inte- In late 2008, a wave of anti-busing sentiment swept in new gration on the other,” Wells said. “Our approaches to school school board members who promised to support neighbor- choice over the past 20 years have been pretty unimagina- hood schools and keep kids closer to home. tive — and children are paying for our lack of imagination.” Cathy Truitt worries about what will happen next. For Wells and other experts on school integration, the “If we end busing abruptly, we’ll be taking a rapid step Wake County school board election is just another phase back to resegregation,” said Truitt, a retired teacher who in a long-term, city-by-city struggle over how to integrate was defeated in her bid for a school board seat. our schools. It’s a struggle that the entire country has been While Truitt worries about the effects of an end to busing, losing for the better part of two decades. she says voters were exasperated with a system that seemed Today, one-third of black students attend school in places to randomly reassign their children to schools far from home. where the black population is more than 90 percent. A little “A child could be reassigned for three out of four years, less than half of white students attend schools that are more while another family would go untouched, “ Truitt said. than 90 percent white. One-third of all black and Latino

I L Lu stration by mick wiggins

28 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 29 tionwide has increased.” at their most integrated. In the mid-1960s, 80 percent “We have never been able to implement Plessy v. of American students were white. Ferguson,” Frankenberg said. “Separate schools have never Today, due to immigration and been equal. Yet we keep trying to make a segregated sys- other factors, children of color tem work.” make up almost 40 percent of the student body. While the student A Hidden History of Choice body as a whole has grown more How do we reverse a 40-year trend, one that is embedded in much more diverse, many major- our residential landscape? And how do we integrate schools ity-white schools have seen only when the Supreme Court has ruled that race and diversity a slight bump in their minority can’t be a factors in school assignments? enrollment. The solution might be as simple as changing the way we Meanwhile, growing numbers of think — particularly the way we think about school choice. black, Latino and Asian American “We need to rethink what choice means, and we need to students are finding themselves in realize that it isn’t inimical to the ‘civil rights’ approach to what Orfield calls “intensely seg- integration,” Wells said. regated” schools — schools where Experts such as Wells and Orfield point out that many students of color make up more fundamentals of school segregation haven’t changed all that than 90 percent of the student much since 1990. There was residential segregation then, and body. Typically these schools have many racially homogenous districts date back to the 1970s. high concentrations of students in What did change was a paradigm shift. Court rulings poverty — what Orfield calls “dou- weakened local integration plans, and Americans increas- ble segregation.” And increasingly ingly began looking for solutions that appealed to their there is “triple segregation” as free-market instincts. Charter schools and vouchers began English language learners in pov- to look like the best way to liberate students from intensely erty find themselves concentrated segregated schools — and the best way to create innovative, in certain schools. effective schools. “These schools are just fun- By and large, it hasn’t worked, Orfield contends. damentally different from other “Charter schools are the most segregated segment of the schools,” said Erica Frankenberg, a school system,” he said. “They often appear in highly segre- scholar on the Civil Rights Project. gated areas, and they tend to increase segregation.” students attend high-poverty schools (where more than 75 ilege. And Americans still are choosing — or being steered “In terms of AP classes available, number of veteran teach- Again, so much depends on a yellow bus. By not providing percent of students receive free or reduced lunch); only 4 toward — home ownership in communities where every- ers, graduation rates — on almost every measure you see an transportation and other services commonly found in tra- percent of white children do. one looks like them. indication of a school in severe stress.” ditional public schools, charters were limiting their student Things have been better, and not so long ago. In 1990 And there are new challenges. In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Students in these body to kids who lived more than 40 percent of black students in the South were Court effectively guttedBrown by declaring that school dis- intensely segregated en- nearby — and to parents attending majority-white schools. Today, fewer than 30 per- tricts can’t consider racial diversity as a factor in school vironments are far less “Our approaches to school who had the right social cent of students do — roughly the same percentage as in the assignments. (Where busing still exists, it’s done on the basis likely to graduate, or to go networks. late 1960s, when many districts were still refusing to imple- of family income.) And as the suburbs have spread, we’ve on to college. It’s a prob- choice over the past 20 years “With charters, re- ment 1954’s Brown v. Board of Education. seen residential segregation on steroids. lem that is well known have been pretty unimaginative cruitment is largely That trend isn’t limited just to the South, according to “The old paradigm of black cities and white suburbs is no to many people of color. word-of-mouth, and, as a Gary Orfield, director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA. longer true,” said Orfield. “Black and Latino communities are Frankenberg says its time — and children are paying for result, these schools aren’t According to Orfield, some of the deepest racial divisions expanding into the suburbs — but they’re concentrated in spe- for the entire country to as accessible as they could in America today are in the Midwest, where old patterns of cific areas. We’re seeing a suburbia that is divided by ethnicity.” realize that this is a crisis our lack of imagination.” be,” Wells said. “white flight” have shaped the suburban landscape, and a for each of us. Orfield notes that char- new generation of immigrants is settling into communities Separate is Still Unequal “If we don’t start educating black and Latino students ters aren’t bound by civil rights mandates, the way magnet that were never under orders to desegregate. Depending on where you stand, the drift back to segregation better than we are doing now, we are going to see an intergen- schools are. But even magnet schools — with their implied Most of the decades-old obstacles to integration still may be obvious, or it may be entirely invisible. erational decline in the percentage of high school graduates in mission of providing alternatives — don’t have enough capac- remain. Wake County’s debate over active integration mea- “Many white students attend schools that are over- the adult population for the first time ever,” she noted. ity to provide parents with a true choice. With waiting lists sures is a rarity these days: Most busing programs were whelmingly white, and those schools are actually seeing an There’s strong evidence that integration could help us at every magnet, it’s the schools that are doing the selecting. killed by white backlash in the 1970s. Our schools are still increase in diversity,” Orfield said. “We have the irony that eliminate the “achievement gap.” Frankenberg and Orfield “The laissez-faire, market-based approaches of the past governed by a hodgepodge of districts, some giant and some white students can feel that their educational experience both note that the gap was lowest during the late 1980s and 20 years have done a really good job of providing schools tiny, many of which were created as enclaves of white priv- is more integrated, when in fact the level of segregation na- early 1990s — the period in history when our schools were with a choice of students,” Wells said. “But they haven’t done

30 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 31 How do we teach a good job of providing students with a choice of schools.” Rethinking Districts the significance It didn’t have to be that way, Wells said. Wells is quick to point out that these are programs that bus “The problem is that there’s a whole history of school students from one district to another. School district bound- of the Civil Rights choice that has been hidden and forgotten,” she said. aries, she says, are “the new Jim Crow,” separating poverty Wells recently co-authored a major study on school sys- from wealth and white from black and brown. Movement in tems that still have voluntary busing. Eight major cities Frankenberg agrees. She notes that the most segregated communities that — including Indianapolis, St. Louis, Palo Alto and others states today are the ones with the greatest profusion of dis- — still have voluntary busing systems that allow students tricts — a legacy of a post-Brown movement to establish are still largely from intensely segregated schools to choose to attend other white and affluent enclaves in the shadow of major cities. schools — even across district lines. Frankenberg, who grew up in Mobile, uses her home state segregated? “These programs aren’t thriving — in fact, they’re strug- as an example. Alabama has 67 counties and 167 school dis- gling, politically, to survive — but they’re hanging on in large tricts. Neighboring Florida also has 67 counties — and 69 part because of support from parents,” Wells said. districts (one for each county and two special districts for That includes parents in white, affluent suburbs who want university laboratory schools.) According to Frankenberg, students from other districts to be brought into their schools. Alabama is the most segregated state in the South — the only “A lot of white parents in the suburbs bemoan the fact Southern state that consistently shows up in the top 10 of that they’re raising kids in an all-white, privileged context,” most segregated states. Wells said. “Even the kids realize they’re in this bubble.” Consolidating districts in highly segregated areas might For Wells, the voluntary busing programs represent an be a difficult political battle, but complete consolidation approach to school choice that once was well known — one isn’t the only option. most parents have forgotten, or believe to be a failure. And “We need to rethink our attitude toward districts,” Wells says. that’s a shame, she said, because for students in these pro- “The boundaries can be more permeable than they are now.” grams, the achievement gap has shrunk. In an age of economic hardship, that approach may be more “Not only do these programs provide meaningful choices, welcome than ever before. Well points to Long Island, New they provide the intangibles — high expectations, higher York, which has 125 individual school districts. academic aspirations, exposure to more ways of seeing the “People are starting to understand that this system is world,” she said. wasteful,” she said. “Districts are starting to talk about sav- ing money by consolidating back-office operations. There’s even talk about consolidating certain employment func- By letting students ‘do’ history for themselves tions, though I’m not sure the union will approve of that. “If districts can share these services, why can’t we find ways What Educators Can Do to allow students to attend school across district lines?” she said. “Why can’t we create interdistrict magnet programs?” Teach the history of resegregation. Encourage students to research what factors have led to resegregation. Have them Uncovering A Paradigm Shift ask adults about their memories of school (keeping in mind Wells, Orfield and Frankenberg all say they’re hope- that schools were at their least segregated 20 years ago). ful things will change now that America has its first black Have them ask parents how they decided where to live. president. So far, though, the signals from the Obama Administration have been mixed. Know how to respond to bias incidents. When bias inci- Wells says she hopes a new generation of research on dents — or rumors of them — go unacknowledged and the Movement the benefits of a diverse education will help “put integra- unaddressed, they can grow into ugly controversies that by Afi-Odelia E. Scruggs tion and civil rights back on the public radar.” She cites the brand a school as an unsafe place. Fear of racial tension is a work of Scott E. Page, a mathematician who has used com- factor in driving parents away from diverse school, Orfield vickie malone’s students see integration when they gather in her classroom puter models to show that diverse groups of thinkers come says. “In the early days of integration, everyone knew you at McComb (Mississippi) High School. Black and white youngsters talk and study with peers up with better solutions than homogenous groups. had to address this,” he said. “We seem to have forgotten they’ve known since elementary school. But the testimony of teachers and parents is just as im- the importance of in-school race relations.” But Malone doesn’t want her students to see integration. She wants them to think portant. If debates like the one in Wake County reach an about it, to understand their families’ roles in the struggle that, to some extent, con- unhappy ending, it may be because we’re losing sight of the Testify. The educational benefits of a diverse learning envi- tinues in their Mississippi town. perspectives that only educators can provide. ronment are well-documented, but the public often doesn’t She doesn’t want them to learn history; she wants them to do history. “We need to be politically active in seeking a change,” see diversity as a “must have” in a school. Share your own class- She accomplishes that goal by prodding, poking and challenging her students to de- she said. “And teachers need to be prepared share what they room experiences with the public, and help shift the paradigm. velop critical thinking skills. She has them troll through public documents and conduct know — to explain why diversity is important.” photography by amber sigman

32 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 33 oral histories with community residents. She pushes them These students are segregated by class as well because “the courses in fine arts. “I spend nine weeks building community, so they get a to search and search, until they discover that one answer average black and Latino student is now in a school that has When it came to civil rights history, however, both said lot of background about when and why (McComb) began,” invariably leads to another question. nearly 60 percent of students from families who are near, their students shared a trait: ignorance. she says. By the time students get to what Malone calls “the Malone’s classroom is located in one of the battlegrounds or below the poverty line,” according to the organization’s “Most of my students came in with no knowledge about stuff that’s heavy” — issues of family history and ongoing of the Civil Rights Movement — but her dilemma is one faced January 2009 press release. “After two decades of a hostile the Civil Rights Movement.” Bryant says. “They were blank injustice — students are already accustomed to talking in a by teachers all across the country. The Movement happened Supreme Court, and two terms of a presidency committed to about it.” frank but sensitive way. here, yet there’s more that should have happened. Jim Crow reversing civil rights gains, only the nation’s small towns and The McComb students bluntly ad- Students start by researching their was outlawed, but much is still separate and still unequal. rural areas retain substantially integrated schools.” mitted they knew nothing about the names, and writing a poem about them- Schools were integrated, but many lives remain segregated. The trend is evident in Mississippi, which arguably has a tumultuous time in their city. selves. Then they look into their families For the past three years, Malone has taught a class on her dual school system. The public schools are 50 percent African “I wasn’t really familiar,” Marcus and create a real narrative. Relating town’s local history, inviting students to find out what really American, 47 percent White and 2 percent Hispanic/Latino. Spears said in a documentary about those stories helps break down defenses happened, and why. The state also has a sizable system of private schools, most of the school’s civil rights class. “But that students have erected to protect “I create an environment that allows them to do the re- which have few African American students. when we got into the class, I real- themselves from their situations, and search and the thinking, and ask the questions,” says Malone, “There are private schools … that have a predominately ized the things that happened, it from each other. who also teaches psychology and sociology. “But I don’t give Caucasian student body, but are in an area that is predomi- was right in my own neighborhood.” “Before they come in the class, there them the answers. They arrive there on their own.” nately African American. I think a lot of people are resigned Malone blames such lack of are lots of attitudes from the boys and It’s her way of adhering her school’s philosophy of teach- to that reality because they are private schools,” says knowledge on the way subjects are the girls,” she says. “Once they begin to ing with rigor, relevance and relationship. The rigor comes Chauncey Spears, who directs advanced learning and gifted taught. “The reason they don’t know share from the heart about their own from conducting research and shaping questions. The rel- programs at the Mississippi Department of Education. very much is that they learn certain personal experiences, the kids respond evance comes from showing students how events connect “It’s not to say there isn’t a private school option for things for tests. The style is stand [to each other] in such a different way.” with their own lives. The relationships are the bonds between African Americans, but many can’t afford the tuition, or and deliver,” she says. “They get When the walls begin to crumble, classmates, students and the people they meet and interview. meet the enrollment requirements,” he says. the information from the teachers, Malone sends her students out once Two states away, in Louisville, Ky., Louis Bryant worked Malone and Bryant stand on either side of those lines. by and large in a factual way. They more, to ask about their families’ in- at accomplishing the same goal during his 14 years teaching Bryant is an African American whose students are pre- haven’t had information down to Louis Bryant helps 17-year-old sophomore volvement in civil rights. The stories African American history at Ballard High School. dominately white and affluent. Ballard High School is a the level where they own it.” Sean McCoy at Ballard High School, where he that come back show why creating encourages students to ask questions about His students didn’t have to go outside the classroom to comprehensive high school that offers courses in six lan- Malone and Bryant agree that pro- the Civil Rights Movement and see where the community is so necessary. find primary sources; they talked to one, every time they guages, cultural arts and health careers. moting ownership requires a specific answers lead them. One of her former students only spoke to Bryant. The Mississippi native was active in the Malone is a white teacher whose students are predom- setting. The class must be student-cen- shared when Malone insisted. He Civil Rights Movement when it came to his home state. inately African American, and moderate- to low-income. tered, where the teacher is a leader or guide instead of an revealed that his family had once gone through his great- “(The students) were in awe,” he says. “Their minds are McComb High School has 815 students, according to its web- authority. grandfather’s belongings. There, stored in the attic, they eager to learn, and then someone is standing in front of them site. The school offers two foreign languages and numerous “I let my students have control of the everyday experi- found a red Klan robe; the student’s relative was an official who had been a part of the ence, and lead the discussion,” Bryant says. “I lead into it by in the white supremacist organization. movement. It’s a one-on- question and answer.” Malone immediately steered the discussion to the stu- one thing,” says Bryant, who The classroom must also become a safe space, because dent’s feelings. Vickie Malone chats now serves as a liaison for with former student exploring civil rights history exposes intense and conflict- “We talked about how it makes you feel to know that the school’s online division. Daryl Porter, who ing emotions. and the fact that he’s not responsible (for his great-grand- Bryant and Malone have still remembers the Bryant started his classes by setting ground rules about father’s membership). There’s nothing he can do about it, crafted solutions to a prob- empowering nature of language and behavior. but the awareness makes him a different person,” she says. lem that plagues any history Malone’s civil rights “My philosophy is respect for one’s opinion. It’s a two-way “We don’t have any control over the past, all we can do is lessons. “It’s about the teacher: making the past rel- only class in McComb thing: you give respect and respect comes back to you,” he says. grow from the knowledge.” evant to students thoroughly that you can actually He also forbids casual use of racial slurs. “We had to get As students begin to uncover the injustices of the past, grounded in the present. But communicate with the rid of derogatory terms: the n-word, the cracker word. I’m it’s natural for them to feel a certain righteous anger. But teaching the importance of teacher in a back-and- up front. I let them know we will not use those words, and if that anger plays out in different ways, depending on where integration is possibly even forth dialog,” he said. the words come up in a book then we will talk about them.” the student stands. more vexing, now that pub- Malone arranges the classroom so everyone is on equal “The black students were not angry at the white students; lic schools are re-segregating terms. She’s abandoned desks for a table where she joins they were angry at the times. They wanted to know, how this at an increasing pace. the students. could be,” Bryant says. White students, Bryant says, blamed Research by the Civil “We sit around and table, and I sit with them so we’re all themselves for their grandparents’ behavior. Rights Project at UCLA re- at eye level. Nobody can look at something else, nobody can “I never let any student leave class with their dignity not vealed that 40 percent of lay down on the table,” she says. intact,” he says. “If something is said that offends [any] stu- Latinos and 39 percent of In fact, the seating arrangement is one step toward cre- dent, we talk about it.” African Americans go to “in- ating community. Malone says she spends at least half of the The power of the class isn’t in the knowledge transmitted, tensely segregated schools.” semester creating a trusting, open atmosphere. but in the transformations the students undergo, Malone says.

34 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 35 who want LGBT kids to learn and live free from harm. For some gay-rights advocates, LGBT-oriented schools smack of “separate but equal.” Others believe LGBT-friendly schools offer a refuge and a blueprint — a chance to reach kids whose lives, sometimes literally, are at risk. “Across the country, folks who support gay rights are starting to think about these issues,” says David Stovall, an associate professor of educational policy studies and African American studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “In popular culture we’ve seen a shift toward more widespread acceptance of LGBTQ spaces,” Stovall says. “Now we’re at the point where people are asking, should the focus be on taking care of our own concerns, or should we be pushing for a more integrated model?”

The Alliance School Ninety miles north of Chicago, in a commercial section of central Milwaukee, The Alliance School sits at the back of a parking lot, an older, boxy-looking building the color of gray chalk. Alliance opened its high school five years ago as part of the small-schools movement. In September, it moved ‘HOMO into a bigger building and added a middle school after frequent requests from parents and other educators to expand. The school operates on the Summerhill model — democratic governance, student-led curricula, peer mediation, high academic expectations, no official prin- cipal and teachers called by their first names. Though it’s commonly called Milwaukee’s “gay oon after the Center on Halsted opened in 2007, Some gay-rights advocates — including Garcia — pub- HIGHSome people argue ’ school,” Tina Owen, Alliance’s lead teacher and founder, Rick Garcia, whose office overlooks Halsted Street, licly questioned whether the district’s plan to protect is quick to clarify that the school is not about sexual ori- began to notice something troubling. LGBT students only worked, in reality, to segregate them. “gay-friendly” schools entation. “We’re about creating a safe space free from The Center, near downtown Chicago, is per- “If we create ‘Homo High,’ we don’t have to prohibit bullying,” she says. haps the Midwest’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual this behavior in other schools,” Garcia said recently, re- offer needless segregation. Owen prefers the term “open and affirming,” a phrase and transgender community center. “All of sudden,” says counting his opposition. “The reality is, we have to live she borrowed from her church. “We’re open to everyone,” SGarcia, political director for the LGBT advocacy group Equality as neighbors. We have to learn to tolerate one another, if Others say they’re the she says, “and everyone is valuable for who they are.” Illinois, “the street was inundated with kids — kids who’d been not accept one another. All our kids should be safe in all Owen started Alliance after teaching in another only chance some kids abandoned by their families, who had nowhere else to go. All I our schools; segregation is not the answer.” Milwaukee school where administrators did little to address could think was, ‘Why aren’t these babies in school?’” Officials eventually withdrew the proposal. If it the bullying and harassment of LGBT students. When she have to make it. Chicago’s public school system had a problem. LGBT stu- had passed, the new campus would have opened this proposed Alliance — whose name comes from gay-straight dents were three times more likely than straight peers to miss September, becoming one of only a handful of LGBT- alliance — “some people were skeptical, but we received By Carrie Kilman school because of threats to their safety, according to a 2003 dis- friendly public high schools in the United States. mostly support. Everyone could remember a time when trictwide survey; and students who faced regular harassment Anti-gay backlash played a large role in the opposition illu stration by sean m c cabe they didn’t want to go to school because of a bully.” were more likely to drop out. For these kids, schools were failing. to Chicago’s proposed Pride Campus. Two other LGBT- Alliance is tiny for an urban school, with 20 staff and In fall 2008, Chicago officials took a drastic step. They pro- friendly schools — New York City’s Harvey Milk High 166 students. Almost 80 percent of students here qual- posed a “gay-friendly” high school where students of all sexual School and The Alliance School in Milwaukee — have also ify for free or reduced lunch, and 40 percent are students orientations could learn in bully-free classrooms where a safe sparked ire from social conservatives. of color. While teachers legally cannot survey students’ and welcoming environment was the norm. But these schools can also be troublesome for those sexual orientation, they know anecdotally their students

36 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 37 represent a diverse mix of orientations and identities. raise these questions so that one school doesn’t become a Oxnard, Calif., boy who was shot in the head by a classmate “I spent more time chasing girls than chasing grades,” he “You can be yourself here,” says Nona, a ninth-grader, dumping ground for ‘problem’ kids, and so we don’t absolve after coming out as gay; the Massachusetts 11-year-old who says. Jahqur’s brother, already at Alliance, told him about “and the teachers help you learn to work together.” other schools from having to create safe spaces.” hanged himself after enduring anti-gay bullying at school. the open campus, the small classes, the helpful teachers. The weekly class representatives’ meeting proves Nona’s Ryan Roemerman, executive director of Iowa Pride Attempts to tackle anti-gay harassment can elicit strong, Jahqur enrolled at start of his freshman year. point. Six students, a mix of straight, gay and transgender, Network, which worked to make Iowa one of the few states often coordinated, opposition from social conservatives. In “When I came here,” he says, “I thought all gay people gather around a table in the empty Spanish classroom, de- with an anti-bullying law that includes protections for sex- this context, safe schools advocates argue, “gay-friendly” were nasty. I used to say snide things. But I got to know them bating themes for the upcoming Homecoming dance. The ual orientation and gender identity, supports the mission schools become a crucial stopgap. instead of judging them. Now I realize they’re just like me.” group includes a teen mom with a nose ring, a pony-tailed of schools like Alliance. He understands the criticism, too. Harvey Milk High School, for example, opened 25 years Last year, when a conservative Christian group picketed girl with tattoos around her neck, and a freshman who fre- “Can we make sure training is being provided to teachers ago — the first explicitly gay-friendly school in the country the campus, it was Jaqhur who led the response. “The pro- quently pauses to check his hair in a mirrored compact and counselors on mainstream campuses, so they’re edu- — to address the alarming number of LGBT kids for whom testers were saying this school was teaching us to be gay and plucked from the bottom of his purse. cated on these issues?” he says. “What about the students school was a dangerous place. The school continues to serve that we were all going to hell,” Jahqur recalls. “I didn’t think They might easily be considered misfits in other schools. who can’t go to that high school? What happens to them?” LGBT students at risk of dropping out. Most students re- that was very a Christian thing to say. So we got all the stu- They’re the ones who might watch their backs, avoid locker On the other hand, Cindy Crane, executive director of port “negative experiences in other schools,” says Harvey dents to go outside and show them: Gay, straight, trans, goth, rooms, and feel unwelcome at school dances. These are kids the Wisconsin-based GSAs for Safe Schools, which sup- Milk principal Alan Nolan. “They’re seeking a safer, more emo — we’re all one.” who, judged solely by the super- ports gay-straight alliances in accepting environment.” ficial, might get written off. middle and high schools, finds Adds GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard: “Given the Not Either/Or “Many of our students were the segregation argument “al- inequalities in the existing system, these schools are essen- Who is right? Proponents like Tina Owen, or skeptics like unhappy in school,” Owen says. LGBT students were most offensive.” tial resources of last resort for students who may otherwise Rick Garcia? At the end of the day, they aren’t that far apart. “Here, they can focus on getting seven times more likely “Students in minority groups not graduate. They fill a pressing need.” “It doesn’t have to be ‘either/or,’” says Cindy Crane, their education, and they have can experience a particular kind from GSAs for Safe Schools. “If these schools help students people who support them.” than straight kids to skip of long-term stress that creates ‘I Always Got Picked On’ thrive, let’s do it — but we should work on the existing struc- Local data suggest it’s work- barriers to thriving academi- After school on a recent Monday, the basketball club ture, too, so all schools can be safe places for all students.” ing. The suspension rate at school to avoid bullying. cally and socially,” Crane says. practices in the gym. The musical club watches Rent on a At their best, what Alliance and Harvey Milk offer the rest of us Alliance is 18 percent lower than In all, 61 percent felt “If there is a way to help stu- classroom TV. And Alliance sophomore Tarrell Hogle pores isn’t the suggestion they be replicated from scratch in other com- the district average. In its first dents avoid that stress so they over his science presentation in the computer room. munities, but that existing schools learn from their success. year, 90 percent of Alliance se- unsafe at school. can thrive, we should do it.” It’s hard to call anyone “typical” here, though in many “This is an environment we want to create in all of our niors graduated, compared to Besides, she argues, “the ways, Tarrell comes close. At his old school, with few openly schools — inclusive, safe, welcoming,” says Nolan, from Harvey the district’s 69 percent average. thought that all gay kids would gay classmates, Tarrell was hounded by bullies. He skipped Milk. “I believe that should be every administrator’s goal.” And, notable for a school accused by some of segregation, want to flock to a gay school is silly — and mistaken. A gay so often he faced regular suspension. His grades plummeted. In Milwaukee, officials are paying close attention to Alliance is one of the most racially integrated campuses in school might be the answer for some students, but it cer- “It’s hard to pay attention when other people are taking your Alliance, turning the school into something of an incubator. one of the nation’s most segregated cities. tainly wouldn’t be the answer for all. Being gay is only one things and trying to provoke you,” Tarrell says. Already, several campuses have adopted Alliance’s restor- Demetris Green, a tall, studious-looking 12th-grader, part of our identity. Kids who are gay are also a lot of other He transferred to Alliance midway through ninth grade, and ative justice model, to which Owen credits the school’s low transferred to Alliance at the start of his senior year, in things, and there may be other parts of their identity that the harassment stopped. “Growing up, I thought all straight suspension rate. And Alliance students and staff regularly search of teachers who would expect more of him. “For 11 guide school satisfaction.” kids were bullies,” Tarrell says. “But I have straight friends here. travel to other schools to help educators learn how to im- years,” Demetris says, “I didn’t believe in myself, because Yet in the beginning, even Owen questioned whether a I never thought in a million years that could happen.” prove the climate there. “All we’re doing is offering best my school didn’t believe in me.” separate school was wise: “Are we just taking students away Here, Tarrell hasn’t missed a day. He seeks out extra practices that haven’t become institutionalized in most from the problem, and leaving the problem there? But I was credit, loves math and recites the periodic table like most places,” Owen says. “These are practices all students bene- ‘The Problem is the Bullies’ finding that the victims of bullying in any one school didn’t people rattle off their birthdates. “I used to hate math,” he fit from, not just gay students.” These are the concerns: By creating a separate school for have the tools to change the powers-that-be.” says. Now, he wants to be a forensic scientist. Back in Chicago, proponents haven’t given up. A new pro- LGBT kids and straight allies, districts give other schools “I used to leave my house early and steal my report card posal is in the works, though Stovall says they’ve learned a free pass, do little to help students get along and respect Examining the Risk from the mailbox,” Tarrell says. “I never brought home a test some important lessons. each other’s differences, and leave a lot of LGBT kids behind. Bullying for any reason can be harmful. For LGBT kids, the paper. Now, I run home, because I can’t wait to show my dad.” “I don’t think we were explicit enough the first time around “We can’t fit every gay kid in a gay school,” says Equality stakes are arguably highest. Classmates share similar stories. “I always got picked on,” that we wanted to create a training ground for other schools,” Illinois’ Rick Garcia. “The problem isn’t gay kids; the prob- According to the National School Climate Survey, re- says Emiliano Luna, a pink-haired freshman wearing lime Stovall says. “There are schools that have no clue how to ad- lem is the bullies. If we’re going to create a special school, leased last October by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight green pants. “It made me feel so angry, inside and outside. dress LGBT students’ issues and concerns. We can use this let’s create it for them.” Education Network, almost nine out of 10 LGBT students Here, the way I look isn’t a big deal.” campus to help them learn how to address those issues within Ten years ago, while serving on the governor’s hate experienced harassment during the previous year. LGBT Not everyone comes to Alliance to escape harassment; the walls of their own schools. Therein lies the power.” crimes commission, Garcia traveled to high schools across students were seven times more likely than straight kids some come because the smaller class sizes and support- Illinois, asking kids about racism, sexism and other forms to skip school to avoid bullying. In all, 61 percent felt un- ive learning environment offer them a chance to succeed carrie kilman is a writer and activist based in Madison, of intolerance. Almost everywhere, anti-gay slurs were the safe at school. that can elude them in larger, traditional schools. And while Wisconsin. She is the author of Epitaph for the Living, a mem- No. 1 complaint. From these statistics emerge horror stories: the potential students are told of the school’s LGBT-friendly oir about voice, family and displacement. She received an MFA “Kids can’t wait for our system to be perfect,” Garcia says. Minnesota student who was repeatedly harassed by teach- mission, some come with homophobic views. in Creative Nonfiction fromG oucher College and a graduate “Something has to be done quickly, but someone needs to ers who assumed the student was gay; the 15-year-old Jahqur Ammons, now a junior, failed seventh grade. certificate from the SaltI nstitute for Documentary Studies.

38 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 39 immigrant charter schools A Better Choice? Charter schools tailored to the needs of newly arrived immigrants are getting a lot of attention. But are they working? And will they lead to a new kind of segregation?

by Camille Jackson

hird-grader Jaime of Denver, Colorado, was to charter schools to provide their children with a school ex- having a hard time concentrating in school. perience that meets their academic needs and honors their The son of Mexican immigrants, he had cultural heritage. And as more immigrant parents seek alter- learned to speak English perfectly in his dual- natives, charter schools are becoming increasingly focused on language public school, but reading and writing serving specific immigrant populations. For example: was another story. At Twin Cities International Charter School, founded T“The teaching method wasn’t working for him,” said by East African immigrants, school lunches meet Islamic Jaime’s mother, Xochitl Rico. She was anxious to change dietary requirements, girls can wear headscarves without schools, but, due to the economy, could not afford to spend being teased, and officials are trained to help students who extra money on the English tutoring he would need. have grown up in refugee camps. “I had to choose between paying for health insurance and At Hebrew Language Academy Charter School in tutoring,” Rico said. Brooklyn, immigrant students from Russia and Israel can A friend told her about Cesar Chavez Academy, a new tu- learn subjects such as art, music and social studies in a dual- ition-free charter school where the majority of students are of language, Hebrew/English environment. Hispanic origin. She enrolled Jaime in the fourth-grade class Immigrant parents often praise these schools for provid- and his younger brother into the first grade. Within months, ing a sensitive transition to English language proficiency. In she said, the difference was “amazing, something like magic.” a country where students of color succumb to an “achieve- “I was surprised. They are motivated and want to be ment gap” and ELLs are often underserved, the hopeful number one in the class. My oldest is writing and reading image of immigrant students in friendly schools has drawn in English. It was everything I was looking for,” Rico said. national media attention. Stories like Rico’s are becoming increasingly common as But even if immigrant-focused charter schools are in- parents of English language learners, or ELLs, are turning deed “something like magic,” some educators worry the

illu stration by anita k u nz

40 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 41 trend will only increase the pervasive de-facto segregation publicly funded school in Chinatown North. effectiveness of charter schools. The study looked at all char- But she wouldn’t trade her sons’ school for anything. in America’s schools. “We wanted to serve immigrant children and families in a ters — not just charters with an ethnic focus. “I want my children to have good opportunities in this coun- “I think there are some reasons to worry that programs way that honors their culture and provides education,” said The study indicated that charter school students were not try so they can go to college like everybody else,” she said. that expand parental choice over schools could also expand Wei, principal and CEO of FACT. “And we wanted a multi-ra- faring as well as students in traditional public schools. However, segregation,” said Robert Bifulco, Jr., an associate profes- cial diverse school, not just Chinese and not just immigrant.” there were some notable exceptions. According to the CREDO camille jackson is a former writer for Teaching Tolerance sor of public affairs at Syracuse University who has studied The school is indeed diverse — with students of Chinese, report, English language learners performed significantly bet- and now works as a communications specialist at Duke school choice and segregation. “But do they do better in seg- Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian and Hmong heritage, many ter in charter schools. University. She also has worked as a staff reporter for the regated schools? It depends on what you mean by better. of them immigrants. Yet with a student body that is 71 percent It’s hard to say why. Perhaps it is the individualized attention; New Haven Advocate in Connecticut and holds a master of Better in what? Asian American and a curriculum that emphasizes connec- charter schools are often smaller than traditional public schools, science degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University. “They may do better in tions to home culture, it’s with lower levels of bureaucracy. Students seem some ways and not in other “We wanted kids to know that easy to see why this school to feel empowered in schools where they can ways; there’s a tradeoff.” is a particularly com- share their cultural knowledge. Tips From Immigrant-Focused Urban sociologist their own communities and fortable place for Asian Some say that even when charter schools Pedro Noguera of New immigrant students. do work better for ELLs, the public shouldn’t Charter Schools York University describes The school brings in think of them as a “magic bullet.” Because families have valuable knowledge Immigrant-focused charter schools work well for many ELL students and how parents are compelled artists, storytellers, danc- there just aren’t enough charter slots to go their families — though experts say it’s unlikely that there will ever be enough to consider that tradeoff. that can and should be shared.” ers and musicians who are around, in some districts, ELLs often aren’t of these schools to serve every ELL student. Here are a few common char- “You want students to experts in their field but getting the slots that do exist. ter-school themes that might work well in your own school: be in class with educators who care about them and are skilled, who also are recognized in their own communities. Artists “ELL students in particular get the short but in integrated schools, you don’t necessarily have people with who come to the school must meet a set of folk standards, sim- end of the stick when it comes to charter Language immersion — Students are immersed in a new language for part skills to meet the needs of immigrant students,” said Noguera. ilar to standards used for other subjects such as English and schools,” said Noel Anderson, an associate of the day. Dan Gerstein, a spokesperson for Hebrew Language Academy, Clearly, parents find the charter schools appealing. Many math. For Wei, it is a stark contrast to what might be called professor of political science at Brooklyn said parents embrace the opportunity for their children to learn a second engage parents in their native language and focus on the “international day” at a traditional public school where stu- College. “Because admission is determined language. “Some parents, for example, Israeli and Russian immigrants, really children’s English language development with customized dents are asked to dress in costume and eat ethnic food. by lottery, often there is an information void want their children to learn Hebrew,” he said. teaching methods. Educators at these schools are better “We wanted kids to know that their own communities about the how to apply to the school. It is a equipped to address special circumstances experienced by and families have valuable knowledge that can and should highly competitive process.” Cultural exchange — Students share knowledge from their home cultures immigrant families, such as refugee trauma. And the stu- be shared,” said Wei. “We felt this aspect was particularly The state of Massachusetts has been — which helps them stay in touch with their home cultures. “At FACT they dents seem to thrive. important because of the disconnect between generations. struggling with ELL access to charters. An would always tell me to keep up with my home language,” said Maitrivia Noguera said he has seen “a lot of really good public It’s really exacerbated in immigrant communities because article in The Boston Globe last summer re- Liem, originally from Indonesia. “They said that just because I’m learning schools that are segregated. of the marginalization of immigrant culture as the kids turn ported that in Boston, which hosts a quarter English doesn’t mean I have to speak it all the time. Sometimes I thought if I “But we have to be concerned about segregating the schools ‘American.’ Parents are watching their kids grow apart from of the state’s charter schools, ELL students went to another school, there might not be anyone telling me that.” because these students don’t get the same kind of exposure them, and we wanted to interrupt that.” represented less than 4 percent of the stu- as they would in an integrated setting. Immigrant kids learn Wei and her colleagues engage in a 45-minute community dents in all but one of the city’s charter Individualized learning plans — School officials collect data to identify and from being on the playground and being around kids who speak building session each morning to create the kind of climate schools. This, in a school system where ELLs assess the needs of each student, devising an individualized learning plan. English,” he said. “Segregation is not in their best interest.” that allows all students to feel comfortable and supported. comprise nearly one-fifth of all students. “There is a high emphasis on strategies to teach ELL students,” said Randall “It takes a lot of work,” Wei said. Her multilingual staff Some allege that the charters are less likely Eckart, director of Twin Cities International in Minnesota. Reconnecting the Generations translates all written material into four other languages to enroll ELL students because they might Principal Deborah Wei wants a diverse school, a multi-racial besides English, and the school subscribes to a telephonic negatively affect test scores. Community building — Teachers create a warm and inclusive environment. school where immigrant and non-immigrant students can transcription service that helps teachers talk to parents with Noel Anderson believes the innovative “In a charter school we can build the type of climate that we want to have,” excel. But in many ways, her school is a perfect example of the help of a translator. spirit woven throughout schools like FACT said principal Deborah Wei, who created “lunch families” at her school. “The the advantages of immigrant-focused charters. Wei said she’d like to see more racial diversity in the should be present in all schools, not reserved older kids eat lunch with the younger kids, and they really learn how to take The Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures Charter School, or school, where black, Latino and white students make up for a select few entered into a lottery. care of the younger ones.” FACT, was born out of years of parent dissatisfaction with 29 percent of the population, but diversifying has been a “We talk about charter schools as the the outcomes of Asian American students in Philadelphia. challenge. Outreach, she said, is something charter schools only answer, but there is a tremendous Cultural competency — Teachers respect and honor the cultures repre- There was no school in the city’s Chinatown, and none on the don’t do well enough. amount of work going on in public schools,” sented in ELL classrooms. “We don’t look at ELL as a barrier. We look at it as construction schedule for a number of years. Things were so Anderson said. “We can’t look at charter an advantage. Every one of our children speak two languages, some speak bad for the growing number of immigrant Asian American Do They Work? schools as the end of the movement be- three languages, some speak four,” said Twin Cities’ Eckart. students that the nonprofit group Asian Americans United While immigrant-focused charters have generated lots of cause we can never, ever satisfy all children (AAU) filed a lawsuit requesting equal access to district positive buzz from parents and the press, the jury is still out through their expansion.” Parents and grandparents are engaged — Teach students to respect schools, as well as other reforms. on their effectiveness. Many of these schools are relatively Xochitl Rico wishes more parents knew the wisdom of their elders. Students at FACT “come from cultures where Some reforms were instituted, but AAU eventually new, and data is scarce. about charter schools because in her com- seniors are in the prime of their life,” said Wei, who hires local elders to spend decided to take matters into its own hands. The group part- In 2009, Stanford University’s Center for Research on munity “we don’t have a lot of support or time with students, sharing oral histories and cultural traditions. nered with The Folklore Project to create FACT, the first Education Outcomes (CREDO) released a report on the information about schools.”

42 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 43 Check theLabels A simple writing assignment sharpens students’ minds — and challenges their biases

by Bob Blaisdell ILLU STRATION BY DANIJELA DOBRIC

44 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 45 “If you are describing any occurrence, or a man, able details. Notice the kinds of details that you make two or more distinct reports at different times. notice.” Diana: “So we’re just Though you may think you have said all, you will supposed to describe to-morrow remember a whole new class of facts which people? It’ll be like painting.” perhaps interested most of all at the time, but did not “Yes.” “How are we sup- present themselves to be reported.” posed to know how old — henry david thoreau, journals somebody is?” “How do you show that in a painting?” ask my students to go find a place on campus where “Oh, come on,” says Daniel, who did write it. “You know Diana: “Their skin they can comfortably sit down, a place where any- what I mean …” He’s smiling. “I know you do. We all do.” — if they have wrinkles. body associated with the school can go — so that “I do — but I don’t want to! I don’t need or want my ste- Gray hair. I don’t know!” means no offices, no restrooms, no club-rooms — reotypes confirmed. I want knowledge.” “No, you do know. Out and without leaving this spot to write for 30 minutes, “Knowledge?” says Prita. “How am I supposed to know in the halls, out on the non-stop, about everything they see, hear and smell. “You’re someone’s Chinese?” streets, we use lots of Ia video-camera with smell-sensors,” I tell them. “Record “Right,” says Daniel. “How am I supposed to describe him, little details to tell us what you see, hear and smell — not what you think about then?” someone is old — as old what you see, hear and smell. Got that?” “Yes, describe him — don’t label him.” as me or as your par- It’s confusing, so I explain it again. I tell them it’s an ex- “I said he was Chinese, but I didn’t say he wasn’t American.” ents! We see how they periment, that I’m not grading this but using it for them as I laugh and nod. “But if you were describing me, would walk, the way they move ple are generous, it’s like you get to be a half-American.” practice for their upcoming research paper. I try not to ex- you say — maybe after ‘old guy,’ ‘professor-type,’ ‘tall their hands — their clothes! — we hear the kinds of words This is very troubling. We all sink into these prejudices. I plain too much, but I’m emphatic that it’s not about their man with gray hair in green plaid shirt’ — would you say, they use; we hear vibrations in their voices. So collect the often feel sunk myself by them. The only way out that I have opinions. They’re reporters, not interpreters. ‘American’ or ‘Brazilian’ or ‘Brazilian American’?” details that tell you they’re old. Yes, ‘old’ is a judgment word.” found, the only way to overcome it, is to stick with what I Then I see what happens, which as variable as my classes “I didn’t know you were Brazilian,” says Ivonne. I tell them that journalism, for all its limitations, is really like to call “Art.” Others might call my approach “Objective and students are, is invariably fascinating. “I didn’t know I was either. I’m not.” quite wonderful in this, in that someone’s color is not men- Observations.” If my students want to distinguish between When the students drift back to class, some of them The class laughs. tioned in a story unless color or race or ethnicity is part of people of different ethnic backgrounds, I want them to cre- amused and pleased, some of them annoyed and confused, Soo Young, a female student sitting to my right, in a beret, the story — and it almost never is. ate something to show the difference. I read aloud from as many of the observations as we have blue and white bold-striped shirt, black slacks, and open- This experiment gets us into these interesting arguments, And then, if readers can’t distinguish what somebody is, time for. (Other teachers might prefer having students read toed sandals, raises her hand. “Am I American?” and I’m pleased because they seem to me to be about artistic our sighing resignation doesn’t seem so bad. We accept that their own aloud, but I find I can get us to savor particular “Okay, class, is Soo Young American? Or Japanese? Or matters, which (and this is my prejudice) trumps political we don’t have enough information to know. details just by reading clearly and well.) Some students who Vietnamese? Or ‘other’?” and sociological ones. That is, we know that in our culture “I’m not even going to try to describe anybody by race, by have never written anything interesting in my class will “If you’re born here,” says Ivonne, “you’re American.” and country color and race matter so much, but it’s more nationality, by nothing,” says Jewel. “Everyone will just be have written beautiful, artistic, coherent observations. It’s “Then you can’t become American?” interesting to go at this like reporters or painters, where male or female, young or old, tall or short.” thrilling. We see the campus anew through their words — “Hmm,” says Ivonne, thinking that over. skin color is just tone; where if we want to mention some- Harvey is in the mood for participation. Smiling, he says: the trees, the litter, the birds, the flowers, the variety of the “So, what is Soo Young?” one’s ethnic background, we have to work really hard and “How you know somebody is female or male? You don’t al- student body. Overhearing recorded conversations, we’re “Uh-uh, professor,” says Daniel. “I’m not sticking my neck out.” know an awful lot about the person and their background. ways know.” reminded of the pervasiveness of idioms and colloquial Ivonne answers, “A human being, that’s all.” So from the observations, when Nicole writes she saw “So what are we supposed to do, professor?” says Daniel. phrases we usually ignore. We call to mind those smells “A safe guess,” I say. “But sometimes we know more than “this Dominican guy,” I can say (or write in the margin), “Think of it this way: Does your digital camera label people?” that are particular to particular areas of the campus. I try an animal’s species and can identify a human being’s na- “How do you know he’s Dominican?” “It does!” says Harvey. “I got this program — it goes to resist stopping and commenting, but after a page or two tional origin. Okay, so your parents are from Korea — right, Nicole laughs. “Professor, I know because I’m Dominican! around in my photos on my computer and it finds faces I usually can’t hold myself back. Soo Young?” It takes a Dominican to spot a Dominican. We have this way and it labels them: ‘Grandma,’ ‘Grandma,’ ‘Girlfriend,’ ‘Ex- I read: “I see a Chinese guy” I say: “How does the observer Soo Young nods. we talk, these ways we move — no,” she says, glancing at Girlfriend,’ ‘Brother,’ ‘Me,’ ‘Me,’ and my favorite, ‘Me’ …” know the guy’s ancestors aren’t from Korea?” “But why do we say Soo Young is ‘Korean’ or even ‘Korean Harvey making a motion, “not like that. We move different Prita asks, “It says ‘Girlfriend’ or it says her name?” “What?” American’ and not ‘American’? Why, just because my skin from that. And we have these what-you-call-‘em expres- “All right,” I say. “So you see the problem we have with labels.” “How does he know ‘the guy’ is not American?” is pale and my eyes are round, do I get to be American and sions nobody else uses. And this dude I saw, he was wearing Diana: “Isn’t everything a label? Aren’t all words labels?” “I don’t know!” says Ivonne, who didn’t write this. Soo Young, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, is Korean?” sandals without socks — so I know he wasn’t Puerto Rican, “They can be, but they can be judgmental or more or “So why is he ‘Chinese’?” “Because America is prejudiced,” says Harvey, who doesn’t which would have been my second guess.” less neutral descriptions. But we know it’s a lot harder to The students sigh. usually talk in class. “Because in America, face it … yeah, face “Have you ever been wrong, Nicole, in your instant describe someone if we stick to facts — observable, confirm- “How can you see ‘Chinese’?” it, if your face isn’t white, then you’re not American. If peo- detections?”

46 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 47 TEACHING DIVERSE STUDENTS INITIATIVE www.tolerance.org/tdsi “Yeah. But usually it’s not my fault, like because their opinion words (fat, ugly, beautiful, tall, nerdy). mom’s Puerto Rican and their pops is Dominican. Or they’re I ask my students to write about what the people walking Dominican, but they grew up white — sorry, professor! — by would have noticed about them. What were they wear- around a lot of … pale-skinned people” — the class laughs ing? (Marcella accounted for this too; her own hijab and — “and it’s hard to see the D.R. in them.” those of her daughters were as natural and matter-of-fact When a student from Russia spots a Russian, we discover as the leaves and bark on the trees, as the baseball caps on that the details that they picked up on would not be readily the heads of young and old walkers.) apparent or meaningful to outsiders. I ask Oksana, “But how Then I send them back to that very same spot — they did you know at that playground the woman was Russian?” must stick to the same spot, just as surely as landscape art- She explains: “She was having these earrings that Russian ists — for another hour. I don’t tell them that they might get women have — from Italy, these designy things — I myself bored this time. I tell them to do it again, but perhaps at an- have two pair, by the way — and with dangles there. And other time or day of the week, and I ask for more details to then I heard her say something to her daughter in Russian.” clear up evaluatory vaguenesses in their earlier report (“a “But you didn’t write that down.” lot,” “really smelly,” “hardly any,” “always jumping around”). “There’s so much to write down. So much things!” The landscape is different the second time around. Trees Yes, the world is full of details. This assignment brings out have sprouted more leaves. The weather has changed! A scaf- what students of all levels can do. They describe as well as folding has gone up. The dog-walkers appear. The after-school they can, with their own everyday words. Nouns and verbs children take over the previously desolate playground. naturally take precedence — and the adjectives and adverbs The focus usually narrows in the second observation. require facts rather than judgments. How happy I am that From the previous hour, when they noticed “a lot of garbage for an hour or two we are overwhelmed not by electronic cans,” this time they count them: “There are 19 green bar- overload but by sitting on a bench and trying to notice all rel garbage cans between the playground and the handball the details of the world right there in front of us! courts, 12 on the east end of the park and seven elsewhere.” For the research project, I send them out into pub- They know something! “There are 16 children — no, 17! — lic spaces to observe. The rules are the same as we had on and four nannies (yes, I know, professor, ‘opinion word’) campus, except this time, the observation is for an hour. We — all I’m saying is the women are much darker in skin-tone discuss what “public spaces” means: no one can be excluded than the children they’re minding!” (This, I point out to from that space (we argue about whether or not the public Marie, would be a good point to research in periodicals. How library is a public space, and we decide it is) except when no many nannies are there in Park Slope? What are the demo- one can be in that space (parks in my city, for example, have graphics of nannyhood in New York City?) “closing” times even when they don’t have gates). Is a private The students’ final research projects involve not only space that “everyone” uses okay? I usually try to dissuade reading about the area and returning to their spot to confirm my students from the subway, because besides needing the or clarify details, but interviewing residents of the neighbor- fare to get in, my students sometimes get suspiciously ob- hoods surrounding the sites they wrote about: Marine Park, served themselves there, and I don’t like putting them into Crown Heights, College Point, Roosevelt Island, Brighton uncomfortable situations. Beach, the East Village. I want my students to have their This project is the most effective way I’ve found for stu- own experiences through which to filter the observations, dents to finally get out into their own neighborhoods — into rather than the other way around. I want my students to public parks, onto city benches — or to relearn and appreci- see and know something, to trust their curiosity to be their ate bits they used to know. Some are frightened about doing guide to further research. I want them to be informed writers, so, and I suggest to them that they bring a companion. (Later, to be Thoreaus rather than retailers of processed impres- we discuss how the companion affects the way the observer sions and information. herself is seen.) They know something under their noses that always One of my favorite students of the last few years, Marcella could have been known — but probably no one else in the Mohammed, ventured into Prospect Park for only the sec- neighborhood knows either. There is plenty of research ma- ond or third time in her several years living close by to it. terial, mountains of paper and jillions of gigabytes, on New Marcella so delighted me because just as she described York City neighborhoods, but to my great satisfaction, my the Prospect Park trees and their colors, the yellows, tans, students discover that not everything out there is “known,” Whose Student is She? browns, oranges, she also described the skin of the people that in fact they themselves have recorded previously un- No Child Left Behind is plunging many English language learners into she saw. We were trees, or the trees were people. Anyway, documented details. They learn that whatever they find in there we all were, growing and alive. an article or book had its origins in some particular person the educational mainstream — and sometimes getting them in over their After this hour’s work I read off the observations and make having gone out and looked at and listened to and taken in heads. Teacher collaboration may help such students stay afloat lots of marginal comments, bracketing off their unhelpful the world with her senses. by Elizabeth Varela illu stration by james g u lliver hancock 48 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 49 but with little or no opportunities for students to be pulled out peers, but learning alongside them as well. into their own classes for specialized instruction. In this way, we all take “ownership” of students, and ev- And rapid mainstreaming seems to ignore what the eryone can become a language teacher. research tells us: It takes five to seven or more years for stu- dents to pick up the academic language needed to survive An Effective Tool in grade-level classes. At Claremont Immersion Elementary School in Arlington, No matter how we feel about the trend toward main- Virginia, where one-third of the students are English learn- streaming, it is happening. If English learners are to be ers, I am responsible for the professional development of a mainstreamed into grade-level classrooms, we must look staff of 50 grade-level teachers, specialists and special edu- at the ways in which grade-level teachers can be taught basic cation teachers in grades Pre-K through 5. second language acquisition theory and research. We must Our professional development is centered on the give teachers the tools to incorporate effective and essential Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol, or SIOP, which strategies and techniques into lessons so that English learn- has been proven to be an effective tool for improving ELL ers are not simply sitting alongside native English-speaking student learning.

SHELTERED INSTRUCTION OBSERVATION PROTOCOL (SIOP) The Components of ELL Instruction

1. Lesson Preparation and discussion between teacher and student and among stu- Clearly define content objectives dents and encourage extended student discourse about the Clearly define language objectives lesson concepts Select content concepts that are appropriate to learners’ age Carefully configure the grouping of students to support lan- and educational background guage and content of the lesson Olivia Contreras remembers being afraid. Administrators and teachers have responded by taking a Use a variety of supplementary materials to make the lesson Consistently provide sufficient wait time for student responses As an eighth-grade student at Jackson Middle School in good look at the ways English learners might progress more clear and meaningful (computer programs, graphs, models, Provide ample opportunities for students to clarify key con- Nashville, Tennessee, Olivia had arrived in the United States quickly toward proficiency on state tests, both in English visuals) cepts in their native language from her native Nicaragua the previous year. All of her ac- language skills and in other content areas. In some cases Adapt the content to all proficiency levels ademic experiences in the seventh grade had been in an this means students have moved out of ELL programs after Use authentic and meaningful activities and integrate them 6. Practice and Application English language learner (ELL) program. There, the teacher one or two years. Sometimes, it means incoming English into lesson concepts Provide hands-on materials and/or manipulatives for students taught at a level slightly above that which was easily com- language learners will bypass ELL programs altogether, to practice using new content knowledge prehensible to students, using demonstrations, pictures, entering classes alongside native English speakers, usually 2. Building Background Provide activities for students to apply content and language diagrams, graphic organizers and hands-on materials to with some type of ELL teacher assistance. Explicitly link concepts to students’ background experiences knowledge in the classroom help students understand. For ELL students who might otherwise get stuck on a Explicitly link past learning to new content Use activities that integrate all language skills (reading, writing, But Olivia learned English so quickly that she was placed separate academic track from their English-dominant peers, Emphasize key vocabulary listening and speaking) in mainstream content classes the following year. Texts and this sort of mainstreaming can be a good thing. Supporters materials in these classes were at grade level, and the ex- of mainstreaming note that it can help students learn faster 3. Comprehensible Input 7. Lesson Delivery pectations and requirements were the same for all learners. because they have English-proficient peers as models. And Use speech that is appropriate for students’ proficiency level Clearly support the content objectives in lesson delivery “Science was the most difficult for me,” recalls Olivia. “I clearly, being included in all aspects of the school — rather Clearly explain academic tasks Clearly support the language objectives in lesson delivery usually understood the information from labs, but I had dif- than segregated into a separate classroom — can only help Use a variety of techniques to make content clear (model, use Engage students 90 percent to 100 percent of the time ficulty reading the book and I couldn’t explain what I did their sense of belonging. visuals, demonstrations and hands-on activities) Pace the lesson appropriately to students’ ability level understand because I didn’t know how to say it or write it What’s more, NCLB allows students to get credit toward in English. I was afraid that the teacher would think I just graduation only for classes taught by “highly qualified” 4. Learning Strategies 8. Review and Assessment didn’t get the concepts.” teachers endorsed in their subject areas. By moving students Provide ample opportunities for students to use strategies Include a comprehensive review of key vocabulary The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 created a lot of sto- toward grade-level classes, teachers are helping them stay Consistently use scaffolding techniques throughout the lesson Include a comprehensive review of key content concepts ries like Olivia’s — stories that include big steps forward and on track to graduate. Include a variety of question types that promote higher-order Provide regular feedback to students on their output big steps back. NCLB placed a new focus and accountability Still, this very distinction has effectively reduced or elim- thinking skills Conduct assessments of student comprehension and learning on the achievement levels of English learners by requiring inated many transitional subject-area classes taught by of all lesson objectives throughout the lesson that they develop English proficiency and meet the same ELL-endorsed teachers. The effects of this trend can now be 5. Interaction academic standards that all children are expected to meet seen in middle and elementary schools, where students are Provide students with frequent opportunities for interaction SOURCE www.cal.org/siop by the year 2014. often placed in grade-level classes with ELL teacher assistance

50 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 51 TEACHING DIVERSE STUDENTS INITIATIVE www.tolerance.org/tdsi SIOP organizes 30 features of good lessons for English expand your world view by truly integrating these folks in learners into eight overarching components. In the training, the community. What makes America? That’s a challenge.” teachers learn how to incorporate those features into their Time: Pacing guides, state tests and the pressure to lessons and units of instruction from practical examples. make adequate yearly progress all force teachers to push Some of the ideas in SIOP (see sidebar, or visit www.cal. through curriculum at a pace that is not appropriate for org/siop) may seem obvious. Some may take you by surprise. English learners who are learning the language as well as All the lesson features suggested in SIOP are backed by re- the content. search and arranged in a framework that helps teachers stay One grade-level middle school science teacher I spoke focused on what works. The strategies identified in SIOP are with said, “When I teach science, I cruise. I always get crucial for English learners and may prove to be beneficial through all of the curriculum by the end of the school other learners as well. year.” But at what cost? When the pace is accelerated so SIOP uses a peer coaching approach. Teachers are encour- that students are taught the declarative knowledge that aged to pair up with a colleague and use a checklist of the 30 is commonly required for success on state tests, they miss features to evaluate each other’s instruction in a systematic and out on opportunities to probe deeply into concepts and ex- non-threatening way. As someone who has been a classroom plore higher-order thinking. This is especially unfortunate teacher, a program administrator and assistant professor in a for English learners who need opportunities to use the new master’s degree program for ELL teachers, I find that I am al- language and concepts in a variety of ways over time. ways excited to implement SIOP and work alongside teachers Differentiating Instruction: Teachers need to know how — because I always learn something I didn’t know. to differentiate instruction within a classroom. As budget The term “sheltered” refers to the means for making aca- cuts further increase class sizes, some teachers are faced demic content comprehensible to English learners while they with teaching 25 to 30 or more students per classroom and develop English proficiency. Classrooms with sheltered in- five to six preparations a day. Teachers benefit from train- struction teaching methods may be used in self-contained ing and specific guidelines as to how to plan and teach for ELL classes or in grade-level classes that contain both English different ability levels within one class. speakers and English learners. SIOP is currently being im- Team-teaching: Putting two teachers together does not plemented in schools and school systems throughout the necessarily mean that they will function as a team. Team- United States, including Kansas City, Missouri, where every teaching between ELL teachers and grade-level classroom teacher in this Midwestern urban district of 27,000 students teachers can work well, but teachers need to have mutual and 4,000 teachers is trained in the SIOP model. respect for each other, clearly defined roles and opportuni- In preparing to write this article, I surveyed grade-level ties for shared planning. teachers, special education teachers, reading specialists and Susan Connors, a 30-year veteran ELL teacher at Taylor ELL teachers in both elementary and secondary schools. I Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia, uses what she asked them what they believe are the most important consider- calls a “tag team” approach with her grade-level teach- ations for instruction of English learners, particularly given the ers. Susan and the grade-level teacher take turns leading trend that these students be placed in grade-level classes soon instruction within a lesson. Susan’s focus is on extension after achieving basic levels of English language acquisition. activities that promote language development that work ‘I Don’t Think I’m Biased’ Most teachers agreed that primary instructional issues with all children in the room. “If we expect our grade-level are covered by the SIOP model. But they also identified a few teachers to be English language teachers, then we have to ‘Encounter experiences’ help pre-service and practicing additional issues that educators should be thinking about. be grade-level teachers as well. It’s reciprocal.” teachers confront their attitudes about race and privilege These issues include: Community: In order for students to work together and When I asked my principal, Cintia Johnson, why she BY PATRICIA CLARK & EVA M. ZYGMUNT-FILLWALK learn from each other, we have to create unity in a school believed in a mainstreaming approach to teaching English and classroom. learners, she responded, “In my view, by including students Multicultural understanding and proficiency have never teachers struggled with their own understandings of diver- “Integrating your community is not as simple as putting in grade-level classes with English-speaking peers, we cap- been more important to teachers than they are right now. sity — and consciousness of their own racial, ethnic and class your kids together in a class. What is it to truly build com- italize on the strengths and abilities these students bring Never before have we had so many young children enter- identities and how these identities affect their teaching. munity in your classroom?” asks Joseph Provisor, a former to the learning experience. We raise the bar by having high ing schools populated by teachers who reflect neither their While white students are often confronting these identities ELL teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District expectations for all learners. My desire is for us to recog- race, nor their language tradition, nor the communities seriously for the first time when they reach our classroom, and director of the Council Project, which teaches students nize the true abilities on the high end of what a child can do from which they come. This growth in culturally diverse this is work that all teachers need to do in order to reach and teachers to tell their stories in the classroom. and not focus on their weaknesses. Training all of the staff classrooms has unfortunately coincided with an “achieve- their students effectively. “Teachers and students need tools to make the class- in strategies to understand the needs of these children and ment gap” of historical proportions. With few exceptions, the process of becoming competent room a beneficial learning place for all,” Provisor says. know how to teach them is the key.” In our work as teacher educators over the years, we have in multicultural discourse is advanced by an initial event or “When you have kids from Vietnam, from El Salvador and Maybe then, students like Olivia Contreras won’t have carefully watched and listened as pre-service and practicing “encounter” that challenges individuals to reconsider their from Azerbaijan, you have an extraordinary opportunity to to feel afraid of school. ILLU STRATION BY PETER GR U NDI

52 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 53 beliefs and attitudes. The encounter, according to Gay, is “an venient strategy to avoid the potentially painful process of a child, and working in a homogenous, majority setting. This particular groups of students. We encourage teachers to incorpo- experience or event that shatters a person’s current feel- reflecting on hidden bias. line of reasoning rationalizes their bias and sense of priv- rate diversity into their classrooms in authentic ways in order to ings... It may be real or vicarious, personal or social, verbal One of the least effective strategies we have found in ad- ilege. They see bias and privilege as societal issues, rather combat societal bias. Derman Sparks, Ramsey and Edwards pro- or visual.” The design and provision of such encounters is a dressing this response is trying to convince the individual than personal ones, and this allows them to avoid taking re- vide teachers with some concrete strategies to begin to address decisive component of our diversity work. of the accuracy of the source. Approaching bias in a “hard sponsibility for their attitudes and biases. such issues, even in environments where little diversity exists. While some of the most powerful encounter experiences sell” fashion is rarely palatable, and resistance will likely in- The teachers with whom we work accept the societal fac- involve immersion in a different culture, these experiences crease. By allowing individuals time to explore a variety of tors that have contributed to bias but don’t see their inaction disclosure are not always available or accessible. Because of this, we have information on bias and listen as peers discuss the issues, as contributing to the problem. At this point, we use read- “Everything I am experiencing shows me that worked to identify encounter experiences that can occur within we can provide a cooling-off period. Afterward, individuals ings from Tatum’s (2003) book, which provides the example I have strong preference for African American the walls of university classrooms or schools — and have found may be more inclined to consider the potential of personal of the moving sidewalk at the airport as analogous to rac- individuals. I interpret this as a distrust of white that many of these encounters can elicit similar outcomes. bias. We can then employ many of the strategies listed below. ism in America. Her metaphor — of standing still while the people, which is unfortunately true.” The Teaching Diverse Students Initiative (TDSi), now walkway moves forward — shows how failure to challenge A less common response is when individuals actually disclose available at www.tolerance.org/tdsi, includes a number of re- disbelief prevalent systems can unintentionally perpetuate injustice. a conscious bias. This differs from theacceptance response, sources to help create an encounter experience. The section “I don’t think that I can re- “I didn’t grow up privi- This visual illustration effectively resonates with teachers as where an acknowledgement of a hidden bias is recognized. This on “Understanding the Influence of Race” includes tools to ally be biased. I grew up in leged. My family didn’t they consider their prior acceptance as problematic. response is characterized by an open admission of prejudice help teachers examine their own biases and think critically a diverse neighborhood, or have a lot of money, and — a step beyond acceptance. This confession requires a great about what “race” really means. and I have a lot of friends we worked for everything discomfort deal of honesty and courage and can be disquieting to divulge. Another encounter experience that we use can be found who are African American.” we got.” “Much of this is surprising “I have always been Although there is the potential for this response to elicit at the website for the Public Broadcasting Service television to me as well as embarrass- proud of being color blind An equally common response is the disbelief that individuals alarm, our experiences indicate a level of self-awareness that series “Race: the Power of an Illusion” (www.pbs.org/race). ing. I am mortified by the or and treating people fairly experience when they encounter information that is incompat- differentiates these respondents from others. Individuals The “Sorting People” exercise asks participants to catego- fact that I have taken issues … now I’m wondering if I ible with how they perceive their beliefs and practices. Teachers who disclose personal bias frequently express how hard rize individuals into racial/ethnic groups based solely on of privilege for granted was being unfair.” view themselves as “good” and “fair” people, and they are skep- they work to intentionally focus on others’ abilities, with- their visual appearance. Participants’ error scores ease the that people of color strug- tical about being biased. They are typically eager to cling to the out regard to race. Their consciousness of prejudice guides transition into a dialogue about race as a social construct. gle with on a daily basis.” comfort of their perceived neutrality on such issues, which again their active attention to guard against a translation of atti- The website provides support materials and other experi- can provide a roadblock to productive dialogue and reflection. Discomfort is another common reaction to becoming aware tude to practice. They generally recognize the historical and ences to help students further explore this content. To address this response, we encourage teachers to consider of bias. Teachers are frequently distressed by what this might contemporary roots of their prejudice, and they frequently We have also used more traditional means to provide oppor- how they were socialized as children. Many are quick to report mean for their life and work. In this case, we usually reassure articulate anger toward a society that perpetuates racism. tunities for teachers to examine beliefs, attitudes and biases. One that individuals in their family had racist attitudes, which they teachers that the first step to addressing their biases is to ac- We find it critical to actively support teachers who have of the most powerful readings for our predominantly white, fe- actively reject, but which may have played a part in the associa- knowledge them. We note that everyone has hidden biases, but made this proclamation. The consequences of slavery and male students is Peggy McIntosh’s 1999 article, White Privilege: tions that are part of their subconscious. At this point, we share that these are most dangerous when they are unrecognized. colonialism are decidedly visible in our society, and in- Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Most of these students are un- excerpts from films such asMickey Mouse Monopoly (Sun, 2001), One of the resources that we refer to is the movie, Crash, which dividuals’ experiences with racism are real and must be aware of the privileges they receive just by being born white in which examines how the “other” is portrayed in Disney films. In shows the devastating effects of overt and hidden bias. validated. As individuals confront the realities of racism, the United States and are startled to read this article. We often addition, we show the short documentary A Girl Like Me (Davis, Discomfort can manifest itself in other ways as well. Some their awareness is critical in making conscious decisions accompany it with another article, White Privilege in Schools, by 2006), where young African American girls recount their issues teachers with whom we work frequently hold great pride in about themselves, others and their role in affecting change. Ruth Anne Olson (1999). These two articles examine racism on with race, and repeat the historic experiment asking children to their pronouncement of being actively “color bind” when it a systemic level and challenge students to consider the perpet- choose the doll they want for a friend. As teachers watch young comes to their students. They view this as an expression of uation of injustice on a larger, more daunting scale. conclusion African American children consistently select the white doll, their lack of bias, and it can be difficult to readjust this think- The experiences presented above encourage reflection in As teacher educators, we continue to challenge ourselves to their eyes are opened to considering how such associations de- ing. A powerful reading that we provide at this point is I Don’t novel ways. We have found that individuals exhibit a range provide varied opportunities for teachers as they engage in the ex- velop for children at a very young age. These experiences elicit Think of You as Black, a series of written correspondences be- of responses when confronted with the potential of personal ploration of education for social justice. This work is not achieved rich dialogue about how associations may develop under our tween Naomi Tutu and her friend, Rose Bator. This reading bias, and that these responses present important scaffolding without challenge. As we present pre-service and practicing teach- radar and, when unchallenged, potentially become ingrained. helps teachers recognize the impact that race has in all our opportunities for teacher educators. In the following sec- ers with new ideology and experience, we also must acknowledge lives, but particularly for people of color in the United States. tions, typical responses are detailed, along with strategies ourselves as cultural beings continuously encountering and in- acceptance When teachers express discomfort, we encourage them to to facilitate processing and further engagement. terpreting ideas and interactions. This process of continuous “It makes sense to me that “I do think I have received explore ways to take action to combat stereotyping and discrimi- mindfulness and self-examination seats us as co-learners, with I am biased, because I am privileges because of nation. We suggest examining materials in classrooms for racism each discourse providing opportunity for illumination. dismissal white and I grew up only or being white, but that is and sexism, addressing and eliminating racist language, and ex- We find it important to remind ourselves, and the teachers “None of this is true; the author around white people.” how things are. There’s amining school policies and practices that discriminate against with whom we work, that the process of addressing personal obviously has a political agenda.” nothing I can do about it.” ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// bias isn’t about reaching a destination. According to B.J Cahill When individuals are presented with information or expe- When teachers read articles about white privilege, we find and E.M. Adams, “No one ever arrives; they just bring more riences that challenge their beliefs, one possible response is that many accept bias and privilege as realities in their lives. On the Web of themselves through each time.” As we open our heads and to reject the source. Taking the stance that “it’s simply not While individuals express regret, they indicate that they are For a full list of the research and resources referenced in this article, hearts to new understandings through the invitation of per- true” can end the conversation quickly. This can be a con- not surprised, having relatively little exposure to diversity as read the online version at www.tolerance.org sistent experience and inquiry, we embrace the journey.

54 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 55 FREE from Teaching Tolerance! t e a c h i n g t o o l s

curriculum expert jeff sapp reviews the latest in culturally aware literature and resources, offering It’s popular these days to his best picks for professional development and deride textbooks as inef- teachers of all grade levels. fective classroom tools. In Teaching What Really Starting Small Happened: How to Avoid PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT veloped through the Bridging Cultures the Tyranny of Textbooks Project, this book fosters greater under- In his decades of teaching and Get Students Excited Teaching Tolerance in Preschool and the Early Grades standing and respect for relationships with and activism, Herbert About Doing History, families and students in culturally relevant Kohl has written more James Loewen reminds us why the text- and valued ways. than 40 books on teach- book should go. Loewen debunks major ISBN# 978-1-4166-0624-6 l Develo ing for social justice. The myths supported by most history texts and na pm ASCD io e Herbert Kohl Reader: offers examples of how students learn more ss n (800) 933-2723 e t Awakening the Heart of by doing historiography — that is, by study- f R www.ascd.org ro e Teaching is a selection of ing how history was written and why it was P s o his very best work. written that way. In Dear Paulo: Letters from A u ISBN# 978-1-5955-8420-5 ISBN# 978-0-8077-4991-5 Perfect for: r Those Who Dare Teach, c The New Press Teachers College Press e edited by Sonia Nieto, »» Teacher work groups (800) 343-4499 (800) 575-6566 dozens of teachers write www.thenewpress.com www.teacherscollegepress.com »» In-service programs deeply personal letters addressed to famed »» Preparation courses 19 Urban Questions: Students learn more in a Brazilian educator Paulo special Teaching in the City, ed- classroom oriented to- Friere. The result is a book re-release i t e d b y S h i r l e y R . ward social justice. That’s that has much of the fire and magic of Steinberg and Joe L. the underlying theme of Friere’s own writings. Kincheloe, pushes “you, Designing Socially Just Now on ISBN# 978-1-5945-1535-4 the reader, to think about Learning Communities, Paradigm Publishers what you know versus edited by Rebecca DVD! (800) 887-1591 what you think you know” Rogers, Melissa Mosley www.paradigmpublishers.com includes: about urban education and urban students. and Mary Ann Kramer. The book includes 58-minute film featuring It addresses the complexity and richness of more than a dozen essays by teachers who Despite its title, Lynn Vivian Gussin Paley teaching in urban settings. This book is for helped their students discuss close-to- Ziegler’s SPONGEHEADZ everyone in education, not just for those home issues — like real estate “redlining,” is not just another book Companion text in PDF featuring involved in urban education. sexual assault and war — and found that that tells us how fright- classroom profiles, reflection prompts ISBN# 978-0-8204-5772-7 their students came away as stronger criti- ened we should be about Peter Lang Publishing cal thinkers. and activities our kids consuming televi- (800) 770-5264 ISBN# 978-0-4159-9762-1 sion. Instead, it’s a hands-on www.peterlang.com Routledge guide for teaching kids to (800) 634-7064 think about what they see on TV (and what’s Examining classroom orga- www.routledge.com behind what they see), as well as a guide for nization and management teaching kids to talk back to the media. The from a cultural perspec- The Children in Room E4: book is built around the metaphor of a re- tive, Managing Diverse American Education on “Starting Small expanded my vision mote control — to help you remember who Classrooms: How to Build Trial, by Susan Eaton, and philosophy and radically changed has the POWER and to look for the on Students’ Cultural weaves together two sto- what I did in the classroom. Now, as BALANCE. Strengths, by Carrie ries. One is the tale of the an administrator, I’m providing the kit ISBN# 978-1-8875-4244-9 Rothstein-Fisch and Elise long legal battle around Book Publishers Network to staff so they may benefit as well.” Trumbull, presents a practical “how to” for racial segregation in urban (877) 483-3040 building on students’ cultural strengths. classrooms. The other is — P.B., Washington www.bookpublishersnetwork.com Drawing from the theoretical framework de- an intimate narrative of a teacher and her

56 teaching tolerance spring 2010 reviewed by jeff sapp spring 2010 teaching tolerance 57 Return the order card on this page, or visit us at www.teachingtolerance.org/resources for an order form tt e e a a c h c i h n gi n T go ot l os o l s

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58 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 59 tt e e a a c h c i h n gi n T go ot l os o l s

A Young People’s History Nothing Pink, by Mark chance for the family he always longed to cial identifications affect us all — particularly paints a loving portrait of the family that account of her experience in a Nazi death of the United States, by Hardy, is about a teenager have. (Grades 9-12) in school settings. supported her dream of becoming a writer. camp — and her controversial decision to Howard Zinn, is a middle- named Vincent who ISBN# 978-1-9318-9649-8 ISBN# 978-1-4129-7506-3 ISBN# 978-1-6006-0423-2 publicly forgive her tormentors. Eva Mozes school version of Zinn’s moves with his family to a Curbstone Press Corwin Press Lee & Low Books Kor and co-author Lisa Rojany Buccieri have progressive classic. The new town. Vincent’s father (860) 423-5110 (800) 831-6640 (888) 320-3190, Ext. 28 a gift for breaking down the horrors of the book not only seeks to set is the local pastor. 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Fagbug. feature, in which writers explain Ground of Central High: Little Rock Central www.rosenpublishing.com (800) 759-0190 help get your students talking by the American Association com shares Davies’ surprisingly why many commonly used High School and Legendary Coach Wilson www.hachettebookgroup.com back to the media — and will call of School Administrators, the heartwarming story. words are disempowering for Matthews, by George M. Cate, is the per- Gringolandia, by Lyn attention to the fact that gender- Association for Supervision and Racial Equity Tools people with disabilities. fect book to get athletes interested in history Miller-Lachmann, is the The Biracial and Multiracial stereotyped pop culture is neither Curriculum Development and www.racialequitytools.org Welcoming Schools and issues of social justice. (Grades 7-12) story of high school stu- Student Experience, by creative nor fun. other professional organizations, Want to take action on the racial www.hrc.org/welcomingschools ISBN# 978-1-9351-0603-6 dent Daniel, who has Bonnie M. Davis, offers a Iced! outlines best practices equity issues in your community From the Human Rights Butler Center Books made a new life for him- powerful look into school www.icedgame.com for starting a constructive — but don’t know where to Campaign, a free, downloadable In this downloadable video conversation about LGBT (501) 919-3093 self far away from the as seen by multiracial stu- start? Racial Equity Tools offers 93-page guide to help K-5 game, players take on the role concerns in your classroom. sturdy advice on how to begin teachers and administrators www.bultercenter.org politics of Chile, where his dents. Filled with firsthand of immigrants trying to find Eracism! a community group and work improve their approach to family father was arrested and accounts by multiracial their way toward citizenship. http://sites.google.com/site/ on the “low-hanging fruit” diversity, gender stereotyping imprisoned. But then his father returns — students and teachers, the In a world of complicated eracismproject before taking on the larger and bullying. broken and haunted — and Daniel has the book offers a deep look into the ways ra-

60 teaching tolerance spring 2010 spring 2010 teaching tolerance 61 storys t o r corner y c o r n e r

Beyond the Barbed Wire My name is Helen Tsuchiya. My maiden name was Tanigawa. Growing up, my family in- cluded my parents, three sisters and one brother. My parents were born in Japan but I was born in the United States. My father was a farmer, growing grapes on our family farm. Many things changed for me on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States declared war on Japan. Many believed that Japanese Americans could not be trusted. Executive Order 9066 was passed, which said that Japanese Americans must be put in internment camps. This is difficult to understand because every- one in my family was a U.S. citizen. Japanese Americans were evacuated from their homes. We had only a few weeks to pre- pare and we could take only a few things with us. We sold some of what we owned for very little money. My mother left family pictures and wedding photographs on the wall. She said they that they would protect our home when we are gone. She really believed we would all return to our home in California. But in one day everything was stolen — even the pictures. It broke my mother’s heart. The internment camp was surrounded by barbed wire. For three years we lived in a 20-by- 20-foot room in barracks. We had no privacy, and it was so dusty it was difficult to breathe. A Pima girl who lived nearby would come up to the fence and talk to us. She felt sorry for us confined in the camp, while we felt sorry for her, confined to the reservation. Fifty years later I revisited the camp and met that Pima girl. She said, “My Grandfather would take me to the camp on a pony. I remember the children reaching across the barbed wire to feel the pony. Even though I was 3 years old, that experience stayed with me.” Now she’s serving her people as a nurse on the reservation. The survivors later received $20,000 as an apology from the government. But my par- ents had already died — they were the ones who really deserved the apology. Before the war they owned 40 acres of farmland but lost it all because they could not make the payments while in the internment camp. During the war my brother joined the Army to prove his loyalty. He was sent to Fort Snelling in Minnesota to learn Japanese so he could fight alongside U.S. forces in Japan. After the war he found work at an engineering company. His boss loved him like his own child. We moved to Minnesota to join him. When you think about it, it’s my parents who really suffered. Now I want to share my story with the children so it will never happen again.

helen tsuchiya told this story to folklorist and folksinger Larry Long. Long is the cre- ator of Elder’s Wisdom, Children’s Song, a project that brings elders into the classroom to share their stories with children, who retell the stories in song. For more information, go to www.communitycelebrationofplace.org. To learn more about Americans of Japanese ances- try who fought for the U.S. in World War II, go to www.goforbroke.org.

62 teaching tolerance spring 2010 illustration by julia bereciartu spring 2010 teaching tolerance 63 teaching tolerance presents o n e w o r l d o n e w o r l d www.teachingtolerance.org

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Meets Content Standards for social studies and language arts, grades 7-12. with just that purpose in mind. Enjoy! is created It wall. to hang on a classroom page educators to clip the One World artists encourage and participating Tolerance Teaching ! Order Viva La Causa Today! To receive a FREE copy of Viva La Causa, complete and return the order card on page 1 illustration by carmen segovia spring 2010 teaching tolerance III or download an order form at www.teachingtolerance.org/lacausa teaching tolerance Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage a project of the southern poverty law center Paid 400 Washington Avenue • Montgomery, AL 36104 Southern Poverty Law Center

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The most significant educational challenge facing the United States is the tragically low academic achieve- ment of many students of color. The Teaching Diverse Students Initiative helps educators meet this challenge by providing them with research- based resources for improving the teaching of racially and ethnically Online resources include: • Case studies diverse students. • Learning activities • Tools for understanding the influence of race Learn more at www.tolerance.org/tdsi • Videos featuring Linda Darling-Hammond, Geneva Gay, Developed in partnership with the National Jacqueline Jordan Irvine, Luis Moll, Sonia Nieto, Jeannie Oakes, Mica Pollock and other leading scholars Education Association and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

“It’s really important for teachers to real- ize their own power. What they do, or what they do not do, has a tremendous TDSi the TEACHING DIVERSE effect on their students.” STUDENTS initiative IV teaching tolerance spring 2010 A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center — Dorothy Strickland, Education Professor, Rutgers University