I love the book The DreamKeepers by Gloria Ladson-Billings. It is a powerful read on improving the academics of African American students. The book discusses the notion of culturally relevant teaching and its inherent conceptions of the teacher and others.
One of the most powerful quotes in the book(and there are many!)comes from Ann Lewis, an Italian American woman in her mid-forties, who was in her 7th year teaching fifth and sixth graders. One of Ann's star students was a boy named Larry. Larry had had a troubling history. He was the oldest student in the class. He had been retained several times and was 13 years old in a class of 11 year olds. He had been traumatized by a drive-by shooting of a favorite aunt. Other teachers referred to him as "an accident waiting to happen." No one wanted him in their classroom.
Ann referred to Larry as a "piece of crystal".
"He's strong and beautiful but fragile. I have to build a safe and secure place for him and let him know that we - the class and I - will be here for him. The school has been placing him in the kitchen junk drawer. I want him to be up there in the china cabinet where everyone can see him."
By the end of the year, Larry had been elected class president, was involved in peer-conflict mediation, and was making A's and B's.
Do you have students in the junk drawer or in the china cabinet for everyone to see? With something to think about, this is Mrs. Morris reminding you ....
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