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Resourceful Research
Book Talk Vlogs Bring Passion to Reading
by
Madeline Saville
Conducting a Writing Workshop
Increased time to write with a focus on the strategies of pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing are linked to increased writing quality (Graham & Harris, 2016). Unfortunately, students tend to demonstrate a decrease in enthusiasm for writing from early childhood to middle school and high school, due to less time to write and less engaging writing opportunities (Graham & Perin, 2007) so it is imperative to engage students in workshops that are personally and culturally meaningful. We recommend that it should be evident that multicultural literature is being read, enjoyed and analyzed across the curriculum. Writing workshops provide opportunities for lively inquiry and discussion about texts with diverse characters, settings, and cultures (Alexander, 2018).
Conversations
Harry
social inequalities and treat all human beings as equal. Although it might seem cliché to state that “we are all human beings”, anyone hoping to truly serve as a culture broker must first address the lack of access to resources and opportunities, and the institutionalized, systemic racism that locks out anyone who doesn’t “belong.”
McIntosh (2003) voices a concern that educators would do well to keep in mind during these challenging and changing times. She writes:
“Though systemic change takes many decades, there are pressing questions for me and I imagine for some others like me if we raise our daily consciousness on the prerequisites of being light skinned. What will we do with such knowledge? ….it is an open question whether we will choose to use unearned advantage to weaken systems of advantage, and whether we will use any of our arbitrarily-awarded power to try to reconstruct power systems on a broader base.” (p. 195)
Teachers can educate students to envision and work toward a positive future for themselves and their communities. Teachers must also work towards becoming indigenous insiders so they can advocate for and empower their students. We should contribute substantially to that social action collectively, to support and achieve security, freedom, and human dignity for everyone.
References
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Banks, J. A. (2004). Multicultural education: Historical development, dimension, and practice.
In J.A. Banks & C. A. M. Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural education (2nd ed.) (pp. 3-29). San Francisco: CA: Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint.
Banks, J.A. (2010). Multicultural education: Characteristics and goals. In Banks, J.A.
Banks, CA. (eds). Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives. 7th ed. New York: Wiley, pp. 1-30.
Dower, J. W. (1986). War without mercy: Race and power in the Pacific war. Pantheon Books: New York.
Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. (2nd Ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
Gentemann, K.M., & Whitehead, T.L. (1983). The cultural broker concept in
bicultural education. Journal of Negro Education, 52(2), 118-129.
Gottlieb, M. (2016). Assessing English language learners: Bridges to educational equity
(2nd Eds.). Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.
Herrera, S. (2010). Biography-driven culturally responsive teaching. New York: Teachers
College, Columbia University.
Jezewski, M.A., & Sotnik, P. (2001). Culture brokering: Providing culturally
competent rehabilitation services to foreign-born persons. Center for International Rehabilitation Research Information and Exchange. CIRRIE
Monograph Series, John Stone, Ed. Buffalo, NY: CIRRIE.
Krashen, S. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning.
http://sdkrashen.com/content/books/sl_acquisition_and_learning.pdf
McIntosh, P. (2003). Unpacking the invisible knapsack. In Understanding prejudice and
discrimination, Edited by Scott Plous Wesleyan University. Boston: McGraw Hill. PP. 191-195.
Moll, L.C, Amanti, C., Deborah Neff, D. &, Gonzales, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for
teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31(2), 132-141.
Richards, J. C. & Rogers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching (3rd ed.).
Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Sleeter, C., & Cornbleth, C. (2011). Teaching with vision: Culturally responsive teaching in
standards-based classrooms. New York: Teachers College Press.
Szasz, M. C. (1994). Between Indian and White worlds: The cultural broker. Norman: The University of Oklahoma Press
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