1. Teachers talk openly with one another about issues relating to race and ethnicity in the school and how to address them.
2. Teachers talk with students about issues relating to race and ethnicity as they arise in the school.
We live in a society in which issues of race are pervasive for a host of economic, social and political reasons. While substantial progress has been made in race relations, many people of all races have attitudes that reflect misunderstanding or prejudice toward people whose skin color is different from their own (Bobo, 2001). And people of color are more likely to perceive prejudice than others. Not surprisingly then, there will be intergroup tensions in many schools, especially when students live in separate, racially homogeneous neighborhoods. And, of course, while much of the nation's most discussed racial problems have been between Whites and African Americans, intergroup tensions occur between people of all races (Valenzuela, 2008).
Students from groups that have experienced discrimination may be initially distrustful of teachers and school administrators. Similarly, recent research on what is called "stereotype threat" shows that students of color of all socioeconomic backgrounds may under-perform because they internalize negative societal beliefs about the capabilities of people of their race.
For these reasons and others, school communities need to discuss how racial attitudes and beliefs, even those that are well meaning, might be affecting student performance, professional collaboration and family engagement. Some issues that appear to be racial will turn out not to be, another reason why the development of a trusting and respectful learning community is important. Guidelines for productive discussions can be found in Everyday Anti-Racism, edited by Mica Pollock (2008); and Courageous Conversations, by Singleton and Linton (2006).
Explore these resources first...
Read an article by Singleton and Hays about setting and sustaining expectations for discussions focused on race.
Jeannie Oakes insists that talk about race in schools is essential and that educators need to learn how to do this productively:
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Talking About Race in Professional Learning Communities
Mica Pollock explains that teachers can learn to talk about their own feelings about race:
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Robert Slavin argues that open and respectful talk about racial issues in schools is essential:
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Luis Moll makes the case that talk about race is essential to the development of a professional learning community:
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