As an amateur candy maker, I am in Heaven when I am making candy! I make Heath Bars, Almond Joys, Bon Bons, Bourbon Balls, and After Dinner Mints, to name a few. Many of the recipients of my inventions say I have missed my calling, and I could go in business and make a mint, no pun intended.
So, after years of making these delectables, I’ve discovered one thing: They are all better when dipped in chocolate! Some are dipped in dark chocolate; some are dipped in milk chocolate; and yes, some are dipped in white chocolate. Nonetheless, all are better when dipped in some chocolate.
The other day, I was thinking about the achievement gap in this country and how we could institute policies, practices, and procedures to alleviate this gap. Essentially, educators have tried everything conceivable in an attempt to find the silver bullet. However, up to this point, every innovation has been left wanting. Cooperative learning, learning styles, Reading Recovery, reading groups, gifted education, problem-based learning, creativity, grit, valued education, computer education; you name it and for Black and Brown children, the results have been spotty at best. Gaps—learning and opportunity—still exist. So, what must we do so that these innovations work for children of color? And I thought: DIP IT IN CHOCOLATE! Chocolate? Yes, DIP IT IN CHOCOLATE!
In this country, school populations are becoming more chocolate—dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate! American public schools are becoming more diverse, yet the percentage of minority teachers is steadily decreasing (Igersoll & May 2011). According to the National Council on Educational Statistics, sixteen percent of the school population is Black, yet only seven percent of the teachers are Black (NCES, 2010). Approximately 82% of the 3.8 million teachers in the United States are white, only 7% are African American and 8% Hispanic (Bryan & Ford, 2014; Feisteitzer, 2011; Goldring, Gray, & Bitterman, 2013)--72% of teachers are White females, 10% are White males, and only six percent are Black females, and a little over one percent are Black males (Bryan & Ford, 2014; Lewis, 2006).
These numbers must change, or the training for all teachers must include professional development in “dipping it in chocolate” if America reduces minority achievement gaps and dropout rates. If all things remain equal, and if this growing population of students of color continues to fail at current rates, and the demographics of teachers remain the same, we can only assume that the achievement and opportunity gaps will continue to grow exponentially. Can we as a nation permit this to happen? If not, then what must we do? DIP IT IN CHOCOLATE!
What exactly does that mean? First, most theories, methodologies, or strategies were normed on the majority of children, usually from upper or middle-class schools and school districts. I can’t think of one that was normed on children of color. Thus, why are we shocked when these theories, methodologies, or strategies don’t work with students of color? It was not designed by or for this population. There is a cultural or nuanced disconnect with students of color. To dip it in chocolate means that we must consider culturally relevant pedagogy to execute any theory, methodology, or strategy.
The concept is called culturally responsive teaching (CRT). It is a means for improving achievement by teaching diverse students through their own cultural filters. Gay (2010) defined CRT as “using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them” (Gay, 2010, p..30). CRT argues that culturally, racially, and diverse students’ education must be connected to out-of-school living; it must promote educational equality and excellence; it must create a community of culturally diverse individuals to develop students’ agency, efficacy, and empowerment (Gay, 2013).
Thus, CRT means to “dip their experiences in chocolate!” Several researchers (Banks, 2007; Delpit, 2006; Ladson-Billings, 2009) argued, when we dip students’ experiences in chocolate, i.e., use culturally responsive teaching techniques, schools, teachers, and administrators become change agents for racially, culturally, educationally, linguistically. Diverse students and we increase the probability of closing educational, opportunity, and success gaps.
God hasten the day that we “Dip them in Chocolate”!
References
Banks, J.A. (2007). Approaches to multicultural curriculum reform. In J.A. Banks & C.A. Banks (Eds.), Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
Bryan, N. & Ford, D.Y. (2014). Recruiting and retaining Black male teachers in gifted education. The Gifted Child Today, 37(3), 156-161.doi:10:1177/1076217514530116.
Delpit, L. (2006). Other people’s children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York, NY: The New Press.
Feistritzer, C.E. (2011). Profile of Teachers in the U.S. 2011. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Information.
Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research and practice (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
Gay, G. (2013). Teaching to and through cultural diversity. Curriculum Inquiry 43:1, p.48-70.
Goldring, R., Gray, L., and Bitterman, A. (2013). Characteristics of Public and Private Elementary and Secondary School Teachers in the United States: Results From the 2011–12 Schools and Staffing Survey (NCES 2013-314). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
Ingersoll, R.M., and May, H. (2011). The Minority Teacher Shortage: Fact or Fable? Phi Delta Kappa International. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/09/01/kappan_ingersoll.html
Ladson-Billings, G. (2009). The dream-keepers: Successful teachers of African American children (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Lewis, C. W. (2006). African American male teachers in public schools: An examination of three urban school districts. Teachers College Record, 108(2), p224-245.
National Center for Education Statistics (2010). The Digest of Education Statistics (NCES 2010-0130). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d09/index.asp
Dr. Lucian Yates III research interests explore the intersection of race, gender, socio-economic status, and sexual orientation of students who are not preforming academically in the P-20 school environment, especially males and other underperforming groups, with the focus on non-cognitive factors that can explain and assist them into the mainstream of the educational culture.
So, after years of making these delectables, I’ve discovered one thing: They are all better when dipped in chocolate! Some are dipped in dark chocolate; some are dipped in milk chocolate; and yes, some are dipped in white chocolate. Nonetheless, all are better when dipped in some chocolate.
The other day, I was thinking about the achievement gap in this country and how we could institute policies, practices, and procedures to alleviate this gap. Essentially, educators have tried everything conceivable in an attempt to find the silver bullet. However, up to this point, every innovation has been left wanting. Cooperative learning, learning styles, Reading Recovery, reading groups, gifted education, problem-based learning, creativity, grit, valued education, computer education; you name it and for Black and Brown children, the results have been spotty at best. Gaps—learning and opportunity—still exist. So, what must we do so that these innovations work for children of color? And I thought: DIP IT IN CHOCOLATE! Chocolate? Yes, DIP IT IN CHOCOLATE!
In this country, school populations are becoming more chocolate—dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate! American public schools are becoming more diverse, yet the percentage of minority teachers is steadily decreasing (Igersoll & May 2011). According to the National Council on Educational Statistics, sixteen percent of the school population is Black, yet only seven percent of the teachers are Black (NCES, 2010). Approximately 82% of the 3.8 million teachers in the United States are white, only 7% are African American and 8% Hispanic (Bryan & Ford, 2014; Feisteitzer, 2011; Goldring, Gray, & Bitterman, 2013)--72% of teachers are White females, 10% are White males, and only six percent are Black females, and a little over one percent are Black males (Bryan & Ford, 2014; Lewis, 2006).
These numbers must change, or the training for all teachers must include professional development in “dipping it in chocolate” if America reduces minority achievement gaps and dropout rates. If all things remain equal, and if this growing population of students of color continues to fail at current rates, and the demographics of teachers remain the same, we can only assume that the achievement and opportunity gaps will continue to grow exponentially. Can we as a nation permit this to happen? If not, then what must we do? DIP IT IN CHOCOLATE!
What exactly does that mean? First, most theories, methodologies, or strategies were normed on the majority of children, usually from upper or middle-class schools and school districts. I can’t think of one that was normed on children of color. Thus, why are we shocked when these theories, methodologies, or strategies don’t work with students of color? It was not designed by or for this population. There is a cultural or nuanced disconnect with students of color. To dip it in chocolate means that we must consider culturally relevant pedagogy to execute any theory, methodology, or strategy.
The concept is called culturally responsive teaching (CRT). It is a means for improving achievement by teaching diverse students through their own cultural filters. Gay (2010) defined CRT as “using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them” (Gay, 2010, p..30). CRT argues that culturally, racially, and diverse students’ education must be connected to out-of-school living; it must promote educational equality and excellence; it must create a community of culturally diverse individuals to develop students’ agency, efficacy, and empowerment (Gay, 2013).
Thus, CRT means to “dip their experiences in chocolate!” Several researchers (Banks, 2007; Delpit, 2006; Ladson-Billings, 2009) argued, when we dip students’ experiences in chocolate, i.e., use culturally responsive teaching techniques, schools, teachers, and administrators become change agents for racially, culturally, educationally, linguistically. Diverse students and we increase the probability of closing educational, opportunity, and success gaps.
God hasten the day that we “Dip them in Chocolate”!
References
Banks, J.A. (2007). Approaches to multicultural curriculum reform. In J.A. Banks & C.A. Banks (Eds.), Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
Bryan, N. & Ford, D.Y. (2014). Recruiting and retaining Black male teachers in gifted education. The Gifted Child Today, 37(3), 156-161.doi:10:1177/1076217514530116.
Delpit, L. (2006). Other people’s children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York, NY: The New Press.
Feistritzer, C.E. (2011). Profile of Teachers in the U.S. 2011. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Information.
Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research and practice (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
Gay, G. (2013). Teaching to and through cultural diversity. Curriculum Inquiry 43:1, p.48-70.
Goldring, R., Gray, L., and Bitterman, A. (2013). Characteristics of Public and Private Elementary and Secondary School Teachers in the United States: Results From the 2011–12 Schools and Staffing Survey (NCES 2013-314). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
Ingersoll, R.M., and May, H. (2011). The Minority Teacher Shortage: Fact or Fable? Phi Delta Kappa International. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/09/01/kappan_ingersoll.html
Ladson-Billings, G. (2009). The dream-keepers: Successful teachers of African American children (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Lewis, C. W. (2006). African American male teachers in public schools: An examination of three urban school districts. Teachers College Record, 108(2), p224-245.
National Center for Education Statistics (2010). The Digest of Education Statistics (NCES 2010-0130). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d09/index.asp
Dr. Lucian Yates III research interests explore the intersection of race, gender, socio-economic status, and sexual orientation of students who are not preforming academically in the P-20 school environment, especially males and other underperforming groups, with the focus on non-cognitive factors that can explain and assist them into the mainstream of the educational culture.