Identity-focused classes: Experiments in cultural relevance

September 30, 2020 00:38:45
Identity-focused classes: Experiments in cultural relevance
Ethical Schools
Identity-focused classes: Experiments in cultural relevance

Sep 30 2020 | 00:38:45

/

Show Notes

We speak with Dr. Emily Penner, who studied the impacts of two programs in which students delved into their respective races, ethnicities, and communities. San Francisco’s was designed for academically-struggling students of a range of ethnicities. Oakland’s was designed for young Black men across academic achievement levels, as part of the district’s  “targeted universalism” approach. The results, in both cases, were dramatic. 

Overview

00:00-00:30 Intros

00:30-01:32 San Francisco ethnic studies curriculum

01:32-03:01 Student selection

03:01-03:41 Students’ ethnicities and classrooms’ composition

03:41-04:19 Student voice and reflection

04:19-05:02 “Critical pedagogy”

05:02-12:40 Effects on student attendance and achievement

12:40-15:11 Teachers exercising their professional judgment

15:11-15:18 Professional development

15:18-18:01 Differentiating between impact of “great teachers” and the curriculum

18:01-19:49 “High fidelity context”

19:49-23:48 Oakland’s African American Male Achievement program

23:48-25:27 Targeted Universalism & working with a range of  groups of students

25:27-28:57 Outcomes and effects

28:57-29:21 Spillover effect on young Black women

29:21-30:24 Avoiding deficient orientation

30:24-31:42 Relationship to My Brother’s Keeper

31:42-35:19 Developments in ethnic studies in California

35:19-37:15 Qualitative resources about Oakland program

37:15-38:45 Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcript of this episode.

Credits

Photo by JD Doyle

Soundtrack by Podington Bear

Other Episodes

Episode

January 20, 2024 00:39:16
Episode Cover

Celebrating students’ “superpowers”: What tests can’t measure

We speak with Dr. Peter Hughes, superintendent of New Jersey’s Cresskill School District, an affluent New York City suburb with large Korean and Israeli...

Listen

Episode 0

October 07, 2020 00:48:00
Episode Cover

Education denied: What should reparations look like?

Daarel Burnette II of Education Week delves into the history of Black communities demanding education and school boards conspiring to deprive them of opportunities...

Listen

Episode 0

November 06, 2019 00:41:30
Episode Cover

Ed schools as allies to new teachers of color

Dr. Harriet (“Niki”) Fayne of Lehman College School of Education describes strategies to support new teachers and “second stage” teacher-leaders. She discusses ways to...

Listen