Resources for Today’s Urban Educators

By Erica Hernandez-Scott

Today’s urban educators must be skilled in many ways to ensure the success of their students. Anyone who has ever taught in a classroom knows that teacher preparation alone is not enough to reach the optimal level of effectiveness needed to facilitate student success. Ongoing professional development is needed to capitalize on the foundation that teacher preparation has provided. As such, teacher resources are needed to continue growth so that teachers can continue to learn and adapt for students in ways that support their personal and academic achievement.

As a former urban teacher turned urban teacher educator, I am keenly aware of the areas in teaching and learning that can have the greatest impact on urban students, families and communities. Fortunately, there are a number of texts available for pre-service and in-service teachers that address key areas for the success of diverse learners. These areas are: knowing yourself, knowing others, learning communities, multicultural curriculum, responsive and responsible pedagogy, and social justice and change agency. Each of these areas and a recommended text are described below.

Knowing Yourself

Knowing yourself is of the utmost importance in the urban classroom.  Students do not enter classrooms as blank slates, and neither do teachers. Palmer’s (2007) text, The Courage to Teach, discusses the identity and integrity of the teacher. Our beliefs, values, and culture influence what we do in the classroom because we teach who we are (Palmer, 2007). His text will definitely help guide your reflection and allow you to examine your inner self.

Knowing Others

Teachers must know who their students are in order to teach them well.  There are so many ways that students can be diverse, even if they all “look” the same and the teacher “looks” like them. Gollnick & Chinn’s (2008) text, Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, discusses some of the many ways that students can be different including: ethnicity and race, class and socioeconomic status, gender and sexual orientation, exceptionality, language, religion, geography, and age. This is meant to provide background knowledge and potentially useful generalities so that the teacher can use this knowledge to capitalize on the strengths of the students. Differences don’t have to be deficits, and generalities don’t have to be stereotypes. Background knowledge is needed to know the difference between the two.

Learning Communities

Developing a positive and productive learning environment is one way to foster a love of learning. Ginsberg & Wlodkowski (2000) recommend exploring the intersection of culture and human motivation as an approach to building learning environments in their text, Creating Highly Motivating Classrooms for All Students. They provide a number of practical strategies that can be used to establish inclusion, develop positive attitudes towards learning, enhance meaning, and engender competence for diverse learners. Unlike other quick-fix, how-to texts, this book is grounded in the theory that undergirds motivation and culturally responsive teaching.

Multicultural Curriculum

As we know, students must find their work meaningful and relevant to them in order to retain and apply useful knowledge. One way to do this is to employ a multicultural curriculum that reflects the students’ lives and voices. Reissman’s (1994) text, The Evolving Multicultural Classroom, provides strategies for infusing multicultural content across the curriculum. Worksheets and handouts are included for use by students and teachers. This is a great way to begin thinking about how to enrich your existing curriculum.

Responsive and Responsible Pedagogy

Active learning strategies are  musts for today’s teachers of diverse learners. Engagement is the key to student success. One-size-fits-all instruction just won’t do. Tomlinson’s (2003) text, Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom: Strategies and Tools for Responsive Teaching, uses a model of differentiated instruction to show how teachers respond to student needs using curriculum and instruction as the vehicle. This is an excellent resource for all teachers interested in keeping students active and on task in the classroom.

Social Justice and Change Agency

Urban teachers have many responsibilities, including advocating for their students by providing quality instruction and changing the way schools work. Ladson-Billings’ (2009) text, The

Dreamkeepers, describes how teachers use academic success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness to ensure equity and success for diverse learners. Haberman’s (1995) text, Star Teachers of Children in Poverty, discusses how teachers navigate the systems that do not support urban teachers or their students. Neither of these two endeavors is easy, but they can be done. The suggested texts are resources that can help to ground your thinking.

The End of the Beginning

The obstacles that today’s urban teachers face are many in number. There are so many things that we cannot control, yet we still remain the single most important factor in student success. As such, we must never stop learning, for learning is a place where paradise can be created (hooks, 1994).  Now is the time to begin your journey to freedom.