Characteristics of Effective Urban Teachers

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Characteristics of Effective Urban Teachers

• Presentation by E. Elliott Seda, Ph.D.
• Millersville University
• Latino Forum Oct. 24, 2009
• McCaskey East HS

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Bibliography

• All information in these slides, some directly
  quoted
• others paraphrased, come primarily from the first
  two
• sources
• Haberman, M. (2005). Star teachers The ideology
  and best practice of effective teachers of
  diverse children and youth in poverty. The
  Haberman Educational Foundation.
• Ladson-Billings, G. (2009). The dreamkeepers
  Successful teachers of African American
  children. (2nd ed.). San Francisco
  Jossey-Bass.
• Other sources
• Griego Jones, T. Lou Fuller, M. (2003).
  Teaching Hispanic children. Boston Allyn
  Bacon.
• Grossman, H. (1995). Educating Hispanic students
  Implications for instruction, classroom
  management, counseling and assessment. (2nd
  ed.). Springfield, ILL Charles C. Thomas, Publ.

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Acts of Urban Teaching

• Giving Information -Punishing
• Giving Directions Non-Compliance
• Making Assignments -Settling Disputes
• Reviewing Assignments -Marking Papers
• Asking Questions -Giving Tests
• Monitoring Seatwork -Reviewing Tests
• Assigning Homework -Giving Grades
• Reviewing Homework

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THE PEDAGOGY OF POVERTY
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Acts of Good Teaching

• Students are involved with issues they consider
  of vital concern. Problems are viewed as
  opportunities for learning not for imposing
  additional rules and regulations.
• Students are involved with explanations of human
  differences. All areas of curricula should
  expand students understandings of human
  differences as integral to life.

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• Students are assisted in seeing major concepts,
  big ideas, and general principles and not simply
  engaged in the pursuit of isolated facts. They
  are also involved in thinking and not simply
  acquiring information.
• Students are involved in planning what they will
  be doing. This involves having students select
  topics, decide on resources, and planning for
  presentations.
• Students are involved with applying ideas such as
  fairness, equity, and/or justice to their world.

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PERSISTENCE
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-Teachers NEVER, NEVER give up. They PERSIST.
-Teaching can never be good enough since
everyone could always have learned more in any
activity. -PERSISTENCE is a commitment to an
endless search for what works best with each
student. -It is the teachers responsibility to
keep trying to find what works, to keep trying
to engage students in learning.
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PROTECT STUDENTS LEARNING
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-Learning transcends curriculum, textbooks, and
achievement tests. -Teachers teach the material
by making it relevant to students lives. They
are CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE. They are constantly
learning, availing themselves of continuing
education and professional development. -They
teach students in the now, current, present.
Education and schooling is not a preparation for
life, it IS life NOW. They are aware and
sensitive to their students cultures. -Teachers
teach what they know and care about. Those
without the knowledge base or experience cover
the material. -Teachers do not let anything get
in the way of students learning.
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AVOID THE CARE AND FEEDING OF THE BUREAUCRACY
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• Teachers learn the rules and policies which must
  be obeyed and which can be ignored.
• They become experts in how the bureaucracy works
  in order to do the least to feed it for the sole
  purpose of protecting them and their students.
• Teachers also learn the informal structures
  (secretaries, aides, custodians, other teachers,
  etc) of schools so the system works for them and
  their students.
• They set up networks or support groups to help
  avoid burnout.

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PUT THEORY INTO PRACTICE
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-Teachers can generate practical, specific
applications of the theories and philosophies.
They can provide explanations from the general to
specific and from the specific to the general.
They have a full grasp of learning principles
and theories and can derive meaning from their
teaching. They are CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE. They
are always opened to new ideas and engage in
professional development. -They organize and
manage classrooms in which children students
are busy in constructive ways and can also
explain the purposes of the activities, the
nature of the learners and the principles of
teaching and learning on which their methods
are based (Haberman, 2005, p. 154).
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• -Theories and research findings from inservice
  courses, principles learned in workshops, and the
  various ideas teachers get online, read or hear
  about, must all be translated into practice. In
  order for this translation to occur teachers must
  see the action implications of abstract ideas and
  ideals. The ability to transform an abstract
  generalization into a specific set of classroom
  activities for children is a vital function
  performed by effective urban teachers. Without
  this ability to move between theory and practice,
  all forms of teacher education and professional
  staff development become a waste of time (Pp.
  154-155).

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APPROACH AT RISK STUDENTS POSITIVELY
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• Teachers avoid the labeling and usage of code
  words. They have high expectations for ALL
  students.
• They do not blame the victim. Their response
  is, There has to be a better way its up to
  me to find it and I know I can do it! (p.170).
• They learn as much as possible about the
  students life circumstances (and culture) for
  the purpose of making school and learning
  meaningful to them.
• They do not criticize parents they consider
  parents as partners in the education of their
  children.

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USE A PROFESSIONAL VS. A PERSONAL ORIENTATION
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• Teachers take a professional orientation of care,
  culturally responsiveness, respect, and trust
  rather than a personal one of guilt, love, and
  like-ability.
• They do not use statements like, You let me
  down. Dont you like me? Do it for me. If
  you like (love) me, you will do this even if it
  is difficult.
• The professional orientation is one of, You can
  hate me all you want, but Im still going to
  teach you and make sure you learn. The personal
  orientation is, Whats the use! I put a lot of
  time and energy and they dont care, they let me
  down.

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ACCEPT AND ADMIT TO FALLIBILITY
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• Effective teachers are willing to admit they make
  mistakes. If they have to, these teachers will,
  publicly, admit the mistake in front of students.
  They will make it a teaching and a learning
  moment.
• They will correct the mistakes recognizing that
  it may take some time and some doing.
• The surest way to teach children and youth to
  accept their own fallibility is to have teachers
  who can accept theirs (p.190).
• 3M Company Research Dept.

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EFFECTIVE TEACHERS ARE STAR TEACHERS

• VS.
• QUITTERS/FAILURES

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• Star teachers see teaching as a matter of life
  and death similar to other occupations that
  involve life and death issues.
• Star teachers take the life and death of their
  students as a calling to which they make a total
  commitment.
• Star teachers ideology considers the primary
  goal to turn students on, to engaging them in
  lifelong learning.
• Star teachers REALLY believe (they dont just
  say it) that ALL students can learn.

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• Star teachers do not believe in the dumbing
  down of the curriculum for the purpose of
  getting a job and staying out of jail. They
  have high standards and high expectations for ALL
  students and they teach with these expectations.
• Star teachers never fall into the trap of
  believing they can predict the future lives and
  occupations of their students. They assume their
  students have unknown and unlimited
  potentialities (Haberman, p. 102).