Tag: Achievement Gap

High Expectations in School, boy with book

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We have no better evidence of inequity and blindness than that which is found in our public schools every day across America. No matter the dedication, passion and training of our educators and school leaders, the devastating impact of generational poverty has led to a number of related and varied biases that can emerge when our neediest students learn among and from adults who have never experienced (and cannot picture) such challenging life circumstances. No matter how caring and well-meaning our educators are (and they are), many cannot comprehend the struggles and even trauma that our students experience. As a result, we are often lost in our attempts to compensate for the deficits that these students face. Or worse, we believe that we are doing…

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High Expectations, Boy Peeking Out Window

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The more I interact with the best teachers and leaders in our profession, the more they make this complex thing we call “educating all children” much simpler for the rest of us. If we have learned nothing else after years of research in education, we know that we must listen to, study and repeat the actions of our most effective teachers and leaders in compiling a list of what we call “best practices.” The most overlooked of all such conclusions is this one: All student success begins with setting high expectations.   Success begins with high expectations. Period. No further debate necessary. There is simply no research anywhere, nor any practical reality, that would suggest that some kids can learn while others cannot. It is…

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mlk, advice for educators

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The grand experiment that we know of as public education continues to be our best hope to inspire freedom and prosperity across all races and eradicate the grim realities of economic inequality. Teachers, administrators, students and staff boldly engage in this experiment daily and continue to champion the cause that has yet to live up to its promise. In honor of our successes and in recognition of our persistent struggles, it seems only right to review what Dr. King taught us as we wrestle with the complexities of culturally relevant instruction.   Lesson #1: Judge students not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a…

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Boy, Alone

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I have no name.  Only a number. I sit in the back row. The desk next to me is open. The one in front of me is taken by a girl with soft skin. I know her well from the back, for I have gotten lost many times in the darkness of her long, straight hair. The teacher seems nice but I don’t know her name and she doesn’t know mine. She talks a lot but her words don’t make sense to me. Some in the class nod their heads when she talks. Others just look down. She doesn’t look my way much. She has sometimes asked me for an answer, though I am quick to say that I have none to give. And now…

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student, achievement gap

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If we all dig deep. If we all search our souls for the true deficits that lead to the achievement gaps in our schools, we may find that race and poverty are only the physical manifests of what is actually at play here: low expectations. The psychology of all of this is as fascinating and compelling as it is sad and tragic. Since there are lives at stake here, let us keep our focus on solving problems and not just theorizing about them. Still, solving the true, discriminatory practices that lead to achievement gaps does require our school leaders to understand why and how these gaps reveal themselves daily in our classrooms. Let me be clear that I am true believer in teachers and schools…

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Chalkboard, old-school

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Cultural competence training among teachers and leaders and its related pedagogy have arrived with such bombast that one might think the system we now have is outmoded (which it is), uninspiring (which it is) and that there are scads of children tuned out (which they are) because we have somehow failed (which we have) to connect with them in any relevant way. Of course, it is not true that cultural competence has only recently arrived on the scene but it is true that our industry is finally catching up with what the kids have been telling us for years, that learning is about them and their needs, that we have got to meet them where they are before we can expect them to go where…

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