Teaching for Biliteracy by Karen Beeman & Cherly Urow

Chapter 1:  Foundations in Teaching for Biliteracy

In collaboration with teachers and researchers, it was found that teaching for biliteracy is different than teaching for monolingual literacy.  Also, teaching for Spanish literacy is different than teaching for Spanish literacy in Spanish-speaking countries.

Teaching for biliteracy is a comprehensive approach to literacy instruction that integrates content, literacy, and language instruction and connects reading with oral language and writing. 

Students are now called "bilingual learners" rather than Spanish-dominant and English-dominant.  Recent research has shown that bilingual students who receive instruction in how both of their languages are similar and different achieve higher levels of academic success. 

Teaching for English/Spanish biliteracy in the U.S. is different than teaching for monolingual literacy because of the following:

1. Spanish in the U.S. is a minority language within a majority culture.   Spanish speaking children in the U.S. quickly internalize the lower status Spanish holds in the larger society and manifest their perception by showing a preference for English.  Therefore, a school community must intentionally implement ways to elevate the importance of Spanish. 
2. Students use all of the languages in their linguistic repertoire to develop literacy.
3. Spanish and English are governed by distinct linguistic rules and coutural norms. 

Bilingual teachers are rarely taught how to teach in Spanish.  Too often English drives the instruction that takes place in Spanish.  Teachers need professional development in how to deliver literacy instruction in Spanish.  This is especially true now that many Latino children were born in the U.S. and are, therefore similtaneous bilinguals rather than sequential bilinguals.  This will affect pedagogical decisions.  There needs to be a strategic use of both languages in literacy and content instruction, with the help of the "Bridge." 

Chapter 2:   Students:  A Multilingual Perspective

Instruction is most effective when it is differentiated to reflect the linguistic, cultural, and academic backgrounds of the students.  Students who participate in biliteracy instruction in the U.S. are not a homogeneous group. 

Key Characteristics That Distinguis Bilingual Learners

• Linguistic Characteristics--including the region, social group, and social class
• Cultural Characteristics--socioeconomic status is as important an aspect of culture as immigration status and country of origin
• Academic Characteristics--students learning literacy in Spanish in the U.S. represent the same diversity of academic ability and achievement as all students

Administrators and teachers need to use tools and strategies to collect information about students.  An intake interview and a supplemental home visit are effective ways to do this. 

Chapter 3:  Teachers:  Capitalizing on Life Experiences and Diversity

• The cultural and linguistic background of teachers affects their understanding of students and their interpretation on how to instruct in Spanish and English.
• All teachers of Spanish literacy require specific professional development on how to teach literacy in Spanish in the U.S. 
• Literacy learning is enhanced when teachers are reflective and aware of their own strengths and challenges.

Teachers need to engage in ongoing professional development and collaborate with other teachers.  True collaboration requires trust, flexibility, and shared philosophy.  To prepare for collaboration teachers need to reflect on their own experiences and professional development. 

The more teachers reflect on their practice, the better they teach.  Keeping a journal is one effective way for individual teachers to keep a consistent focus on their practice.  Journaling can start by asking these three questions:

1. What went well?  Why?
2. What surprised me?  Why?
3. What do I want to improve?  Why?

Chapter 4:  Planning the Strategic Use of Two Languages

An effective biliteracy framework includes the folowing:

• Tackles the issue of allocation of time and resources
• Provides a structure for planning for the strategic use of Spanish and English
• Includes activities and strategies that reflect the distinct linguistic rules of Spanish and English
• Includes strategies for transferring skills and understanding between languages
• Integrates instruction in literacy skills with meaningful content

Instruction begins with a them or a big idea related to the grade-level content areas that will be the focus of study, rather than with a discrete skill.  Beginning with concrete, teachers can provide the background knowledge and teach oral academic language that make text comprehensible.  The teacher supports students by giving them sentence prompts and collaboration time with peers.  Through the Bridge the teacher explicitly teaches learners how to make connections between their two languages, such as using cognates. 

Chapter 5:  Language Resources, Linguistic Creativity, and Cultural Funds of Knowledge

• Bilingual learners develop and use oral language differently than monoingual learners.  Teachers must understand these differences so they can develop appropriate expectations for their students.
• One of the major characteristics of Spanish in the U.S. is its relationship with English.
• Bilingual learners use variations of Spanish that come from different Spanish-speaking countries.
• Background knowledge is crucial for learning and plays a key role in literacy development. 

Oral language development is the crucial first step in developing literacy skills.  We must be aware of the different ways children develop their two languages orally so that we do not mistake normal use of language for a sign of confusion or problems.  The simultaneous bilingual learner, from the beginning, will use both languages, often mixing them in one phrase or sentence. 

Stages of the sequential bilingual learner (add the second language after age 3 and before age 7):
    First stage:  Use home language even when others do not understand
    Second stage:  Speak rarely or use nonverbal means to communicate
    Third stage:  Ue simple words or phrases
    Fourth stage:  Productive language emerges

Both simultaneous and sequential bilingual learners know some words in one language, and not the other.  The number of words in the two languages combined is comparable to the number and range of words young monolingual learners know. 

Students learning Spanish in the U.S. will develoop their language differently than students in Spanish-speaking countries.  It is common for them to use code-switching.  Teachers need to recognize that this code-switching follows predictable patterns so as not to look at code-switching as a deficit.  Also, it is important for teachers to acknowledge and accept students' social language and use it as a stepping-stong to academic language.  This is more effective than reprimanding studnets for the language they use. 

Incorporating Funds of Knowledge will help draw upon the background knowledge of students.  It is based on the following assumptions:

1. All people have knowledge that comes from their life experiences.
2. Teachers need to learn about their students' knowledge by observing, by asking questions, and by building relationships with students and their families.
3. The role of the teacher is to adapt the curriculum and materials to incorporate student experiences and knowledge. 

Instructional programs or lessons designed for English that have been translated into Spanish do not reflect linguistic richness students bring to the classroom. 

Chapter 6:  Building Background Knowledge

• Effective biliteracy instruction begins with the establishment of a comprehensive context.
• Strategies that build on student language and experiences also develop background knowledge and academic oral language.

Strategies that support the development of background knowledge and formal language:

• Total Physical Response (James J. Asher)
• Adapted Readers' Theater
• Fishbowl
• Field Trip, Experiment, Movie
• Sentence Prompts

Students who recognize the relationship between their languages reach higher levels of language proficiency in their languages and have the potential for higher academic achievement than those students who see their languages as separate and unrelated. 

Beginning a unit in Spanish helps to raise the status of Spanish.

Chapter 7:  Reading Comprehension

• Comprehension is the focus and goal of all literacy instruction.
• Skills taught separately from comprehension send the message that comprehension is not an integral part of reading and writing.
• Comprehension is a complex task that requires specific strategies for teaching, learning, and assessing.

The goal of all literacy instruciton is to instill in students the ability to read and write comprehensibly. Teaching students to read means teaching students how to comprehend text, and literacy instruction includes reading and writing.

Because Spanish is a phonetic language and students can learn quickly to decode, it is easy to focus on the success students are having in decoding without really looking at whether they are comprehending.  An assignment that becomes no more than a matter of learning random vocabulary words is a waste of time. 

In planning for comprehension, the teacher begins by understanding the reader and the experiences, background knowledge, and oral language and vocabulary knowledge that he or she brings to the text.

The Text:  With an understanding of the reader, the teacher can look for texts that are culturally relevant and interesting.  Teachers must prepare them to comprehend the text through concrete, comprehensible activities
The Context:  The sociopolitical or cultural environment in which students live affects their reading comprehension. 

Some strategies that make explicit the active interaction between text, reader, and context:

• Picture Walk, Read Aloud, Talk to Your Partner, and Sentence Prompts
• Language Experience Approach--A highly comprehensible experiences that all the students have shared
• Focused Reading (Or "narrow reading"--Krashen)
• Say Something:  Summary, Prediction, Question/Answer, Personal or Academic Connection

Classroom Routines That Enhance Comprehension:

1. Sustained Silent Reading
2. Readers' Interviews--one-on-one meetingsd with individual students

A system needs to be developed that monitors the books each student is reading, the language or languages the text are in, and the students' comprehension of the texts they are reading and their use of comprehension skills. 

Chapter 8:  Writing:  A Multicultural Perspective

• Reading and writing instruction are naturally linked:  comprehension and other reading skills can be taught through writing, and writing can be taught through reading instruction.

Effective writing instruction recognizes the importance of writing throughout the day and throughout the curriculum.  Students whose teachers take an integrated approach to writing:

• Write every day (or almost every day) in math, science, social studies, and language arts
• Write in a variety of genres
• Read and write together
• Use writing as a tool to learn new concepts and as a product for the teacher
• Practice free writing
• Write every day (or almost every day) in both their languages
• Learn about the different discourse patterns in their languages

Charateristics of Spanish-speaking writers:

• Longer sentences
• Frequent repetitions
• Deviations from the main topic

     Teachers need to be aware of this when evaluating the writing of Spanish speakers.  Also, English speakers will probably find this writing challenging and difficult to comprehend.  Therefore, it is important for students to receive explicit instruction in the different discourse patterns of Spanish and English texts of all genres.  This means that students need to read many original Spanish texts, not just translations--beginning in PreK and Kindergarten. 

Writing Strategies That Respect and Reflect All the Language Resources of Two-Language Learners

• Dialogue Journals--A free-writing exercise for at least a few minutes every day.  The teacher may respond to possibly 5 students a day with the following:  1) comment, 2) connection, and 3) question
• Content-Area Journals--Students respond in writing to the content they are learning in math, science, social studies, and /or literature.  The teacher assigns the topic and genre for student reflection, and the writing is done in the language of instruction for the content area.

Writing rubrics and assessment tools need to be adapted for students learning bilingually. 

Chapter 9:  Word Study and Fluency:  The Dictado and Other Authentic Methods

• Students learn discrete skills best by using words, sentences, and paragraphs they already understand.
• The explicit teaching of discrete word-study skills should come only after comprehension has been established.
• Student writing provides one of the best sources to determine what word-study skills to teach to two-language learners.

Decoding without understanding is a difficult and useless exercise. 
Reminder:  Materials from Spanish-speaking countries may require background knowledge for comprehension that doesn't match learners in the U.S.

A key element in developing biliteracy is the acknowledgment of the differences between English and Spanish:

• Syllables
• Vowels and Consonants
• Alphabet and Initial Sound
• Sight Words and Spelling
• Rhyming and Word Families
• Accent and Accent Marks

Word Walls and Anchor Charts in Spanish are helpful!

The Dictado can be used for both instruction and assessment.  Graph paper is helpful for dictados up through 5th grade.

Fluency
Fluency reflects comprehension.  Practicing fluency with incomprehensible text is as meaningless as decoding with incomprehensible text. 
Poetry, plays, songs, and tongue twisters related to a unit theme and big idea can be used effectively to practice fluency. 

Chapter 10:  The Bridge:  Strengthening Connections between Languages

The ability to transfer knowledge and skills between languages is the theoretical underpinning of bilingual education. 

The earlier we start tapping into our students' two linguistic resources and the longer they maintain them, the better they will do in school. 

The purpose of the Bridge is two-fold:

1. Help students transfer academic language learned in one language to the other language.
2. Engage in contrastive analysis by focusing on how Spanish and English are similar and different.

One Bridge can meet the needs of students at different proficiency levels, but the language activities of the Bridge will need to be differentiated. 

In the Contrastive Analysis it is easier to start with similarities between the two languages and then go to the differences.  Cognates should be a big part of the analysis, starting as early as kindergarten.  They can be noted on a side-by-side Bridge anchor chart. 

Important Elements of the Bridge
The Bridge addresses the anxiety that many educators feel about teaching subjects in Spanish on which students must be tested in English.
At a minimum, extension activities should include all four language domains (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and authentic literacy tasks.

The three biggest areas to consider to ensure successful uses of the Bridge are time and frequency, purpose, and process. 


          

(Un) knowing Diversity by Tricia Gallagher-Geurtsen

I have known the author of this book for a number of years and am aware of her passion.  Therefore, having an opportunity to read this book was of particular interest to me. 

In the introduction Dr. Gallagher-Geurtsen explores the idea of what makes a real American and diversity in the neocolonial classroom.  She explains how the colonized often come to believe in their own inferiority and look to the colonizer for guidance as to what is acceptable.  The important mission of colonialism is that a hierarchy of races be communicated and accepted as true.  The schools in the United States are normalizing and standardizing places in order to keep the current system intact and to guarantee that the majority of White European educators and students benefit.

Gallagher-Geurtsen explains in the introduction about mimicry.  This is where the neocolonizer requires the minoritized (who also develop the desire) to look and act more like European American Whites--to show that they are reformed but recognizable "other." 

Gallagher-Geurtsen uses testimonios as voices from immigrant students to raise the consciousness of her readers on how this system has affected them. Most testimonios have the following in common:

1. They are based on traumatic historical and/or social episode(s).
2. They are told from an individual perspective.
3. The individual experience serves as an allegory for the communal experience as a whole.
4. The subject has been oppressed or silenced in some capacity, and the work contains political statement against the perceived oppressor or suffering caused by that oppression.

Each chapter from two-six, Gallagher-Geurtsen focuses on a different student and his or her testimonio. 

Chapter Two:  Ana's Testimonio
Ana's mother is from Columbia and her father is from the Midwest with a Norwegian, German, and Irish heritage.  Ana shares how hard it is for her to learn Spanish and how she wanted her hair to be more "American."  She struggles with her identity because she really doesn't relate to being Columbian but people remind her that she is. 
Author's comments:

• Research has shown that allowing students to use their primary language in the classroom helps rather than hinders their long-term academic success.
• "The unwillingness of the neocolonizer to allow the colonized to be exactly like the colonizer will eventually lead to the colonized recognizing that they are restricted to being not-quite-exact copies of the colonizer.  Once minoritized students realize that even though they walk, talk, and even act like White European Americans they still won't be allowed into the clubhouse because they will never look exactly like the powerful, they can begin to critique the neocolonizer." 

Message to teachers:  Teachers can be a source of reclaiming culture, heirtage, and identity for their students. 

Chapter Three:  Cynthia's Testimonio
Although Cynthia's father is from Mexico, he was raised in Los Angeles.  She physically appears White European American.  It wasn't until she was older and had some cross-cultural experiences that she started to be more interested in her father's side of the family.  It was actually her White grandmother who encouraged her to do this.  Cynthia said that she uses her last name and her Mexican American heritage to her advantage.  She is striving to find her way to live in a Third Space between being White (and looking White) and Hispanic. 


Chapter Four:  Nadya's Testimonio
Nadya is a Black child adopted by a White family and grew up in an upper middle class, predominantly White environment.  She found that being biracial growing up in a White family has its own unique challenges in order for her to find her place in the world.  She found that even what she wanted to do with her hair caused her stress.  Nadya likes the fact that she exceeds the expectations others have of her because she looks Black. 

Message to teachers:  Talk to the kids, learn their story.  Know your kids.  You cannot know someone based solely on his/her ethnicity.  Her mantra:  Be prepared to be surprised!

Chapter Five:  Amelia's Testimonio
Amelia is from the Philippines, and her first language is Tagalog.  She always feels Filipina first and feels more Filipino than American.  She considers the U.S. to be the best country in the world because of its multilingualism.  She doesn't feel you have to speak English to be American. 

Message for teachers:  Speak slowly to students who are learning English so they can understand, give them enough time to think, and help them to their work.  Also, teachers need to be aware when students are being teased for not learning enough English or even their attempts to learn English. 

IMPORTANT:  Make space for educators and policymakers to act upon unexamined ideologies about what it means to be an American and indeed, what it means to Americanize someone.  Despite the research on the benefits of bilingualism, the United States' insistence on English monolingualism is a legacy of colonialism. 

Amelia says that some students want to be "very American."  She goes on to explain that being very American consists of speaking a lot of English, doing well in school, and ignoring or ostracizing people who do not know a lot of English.  The goal is to gain more attributes of the neocolonizer which garners more status and power. 

Chapter Six:  Dung's Testimonio
Dung (his real name but changed it because of being teased) comes from Vietnam.  He felt like he didn't belong in his school because there were so many Mexican students who spoke Spanish.  He speaks Vietnamese and English.  He feels that everything in the United States is about money and people aren't respectful.    He says that he feels American because of the freedom.  Yet, he doesn't want to forget his Vietnamese culture and feels that his culture comes first, not his second language. 

Message to teachers:  Understand children better.  Go to them--express care and concern. Ask them about their lives.  Teachers need to take explicit responsibility for teaching their students.  He also requests that school and society bend to immigrant students, not the other way around.  He also gives the reminder that Asians are different. 

Question that needs to be asked:  What educational outcomes might result if teacher credentialing programs made knowledge of students a certification requirement with the same primacy as knowledge of subject matter?

Now What?
If we are striving to make education more relevant for youth, especially minority youth, how can schools and classrooms listen to and respond differently to our students?  How can we make students feel at home in our schools and classrooms while helping them feel pride in who they are?  Using funds of knowledge can help. 
All five students emphasized this powerful advice for educators:  talk to and know your students.  This can only happen through genuine dialogical relationships. 

Born to Rise by Deborah Kenny

I first heard about Deborah Kenny on FB when I saw that a colleague (Darren Beck) had "liked" her and the short blurp about her said she was successful with low-income learners in Harlem.  That fascinated me so I did a google search on her and found that she had written the book Born to Rise.  Decided to use the last of the money on my Barnes and Noble card that I received last Christmas and buy it.  What a gift!

She mentions people in her book that have had an impact on me.  People such as Martin Seligman, Marian Wright Edelman, Geoffrey Canada, James Comer, Peter Drucker (kaizen--The Japanese concept of workers continually improving the organization), Chester Finn, Ted Sizer, Debbie Meier, Viktor Frankl

Some great quotes from her book:

• "Revolutions need to be bottom-up."
• "Education is not about developing products.  It's about developing people."

Developing Products:
Get "Buy-In"/ Sell Product
Support Product Implementation
Quality Control/ Compliance

Developing People:
Empower People
Develop & Support People
Accountability                               

• "We will never fix education in America by trying to figure out the single best product design, then imposing it on teachers and mandating their compliance.  We need to stop dictating teaching methods and curriculum.  Instead, we need to figure out how to cultivate the passion and talent of teachers." 
• "There is only one common element of excellent schools.  Talented people who are exceptionally motivated."
• "To me, teaching was not a job, it was a sacred mission--and I wanted to hire people who felt the same way."
• "whatever it takes"
• About a classroom she visited:  "And the books!  ... there were books displayed everywhere in the room, covering every possible surface:  books on windowsills, books on the chalk trays, books on top of cabinets, books absolutely everywhere!"
• "the students should do the intellectual heavy lifting"
• About a classroom she visited:  "Nick didn't need songs to help him 'make math interesting' or fun, because he made the math itself interesting."
• "At Starbucks, I noticed their small chalkboards with the daily coffee specials handwritten in colored chalk.  It was a nice touch that gave customers a warm and welcoming feeling.  That inspired me to buy a few little chalkboards to place at our entrance with welcome messages, a word of  the day, and quote of the week."
• "I brought in my collection of CDs so our students would be exposed to Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and other classical composers during arrival, dismissal and transitions--so much better than those jarring school bells."
• "I felt strongly that incentives and consequences were not the best way to influence behavior...And the most important preventive discipline strategy of all was an interesting, challenging, and well-planned lesson." 
• "Repetition is education." 
• "It occurred to me that any school principal who didn't enjoy a picnic with parents and students was in the wrong profession."
• "We wanted to inspire students to read for pleasure; improve their vocabulary; and catch them up to grade level."
• "Let's get all our kids to fall in love with reading!"
• "I had convened an optional Friday literacy meeting, open to all teachers, principals, and academic directors, in which we talked about everything from comprehension and vocabulary to writing and grammar.  We read books and articles, hired experts, observed other schools, and shared ideas."
• "...we want to teach above the test."
• The management philosophy of a corporate leader:  "It's people and culture--all the results follow from there...Culture is about how people feel at work."
• "I realized that I had to stop wanting everything to be perfect."
• "Our teachers became their best selves once we learned how to develop a culture that brought out the passion and best performance in each person."
• "...three aspects of culture:  teamwork, learning, and ownership."
• "Culture is a fragile ecosystem.  It is impossible to nurture a positive culture without the right to hire and fire at will, and to do so freely based not just on performance but also on values.  Leaders need to be completely free to build teams of people who are committed to our shared values and will support one another."
• "Our approach to professional development is based on the Japanese practice of kounaikenshuu,in which teachers collaborate to continually improve all aspects of the school." 
• "A culture of learning is when a community of knowledge workers is empowered and inspired to continually learn and develop as professionals."
• "We all need to be the culture." 
• "Negativity has disproportionate influence...Negativity is dominant." 
• "Talented people drive results, innovate, and push past obstacles.  And talented people, working togther, can turn idealistic visions and even the most challenging goals into reality."

Salsa, Soul, and Spirit by Juana Bordas

Introduction

The realization of full democracy contains within it the vision of a pluralistic society.

Multicultural leadership is an inclusive approach and philosophy that incorporates the influences, practices, and values of diverse cultures in a respectful and productive manner.

Salsa:  A great metaphor for diversity.  Latinos are invigorating ( gusto) American leadership.  They have the highest participation in the labor market of any group tracked in the U.S. Census and are the fastest growing small business sector.  Their core values include faith, family, hard work, honesty, sharing, inclusion, and cooperation. 

Soul:  Reflects a deep well of resilient hope.  The struggle of African slaves is the struggle of a people who were literally fighting for the recognition of their souls.  The concept of soul permeates African American culture. 

Spirit:  Giving and sharing are a way to nourish and regenerate oneself.  It is a way of life that is collectively rather than individually oriented.  Even the names of many tribes translates into the people--meaning that everyone belongs. 

New principles of inclusive multicultural leadership:

1. Sankofa:  Learn from the past
2. I to We:  From individualism to collective identity
3. Mi Casa es su Casa:  Developing a spirit of generosity
4. A Leader Among Equals:  Community conferred leadership
5. Leaders as Guadians of Public Values: A tradition of activism
6. Leaders as Community Steward:  Working for the common good
7. The Seventh-Generation Rule:  Intergenerational leadership
8. All My Relatives:  La familia, the village, the tribe
9. Gracias:  Gratitude, hope, and forgiveness

 

 

Part 1:  A New Social Covenant

 

Principle 1:  Sankofa--Learn from the Past

Sankofa is a mythical bird with its feet firmly planted forward and its head turned to look backward.  Sankofa means return, go back, seek, and retrieve.  Sankofa means to reflect on and learn from the past. 

Remember your roots and stay connected to your ancestry, including the history and struggles of one's own people.  Traditions associated with El Dia de los Muertos is one way Latinos do this.  Native Americans believe that their ancestors--even those who have died--walk beside them.

Principle 2:  I to We--From Individualism to Collective Identity

We cultures:

• have a strong sense of belonging and sticking together
• work together so everyone benefits
• center on people
• collective and relish togetherness
• impeccably inclusive
• put benefiting the whole before the individual
• exist only in relationship to others

The Latino tendency toward collectivism is evident in the teasured value of la familia, which is dynamic and expanding. 

I is contained in we.  They are not a dichotomy.  Individuals must be strong for the collective to thrive. 

The we encompasses ancestors, present-day people, and those who will follow. 

Principle 3:  Mi Casa Es Su Casa--A Spirit of Generosity

Cyclical reciprocity:  People are continually giving to one another

Inclusiveness and sharing are two important values for a collective culture

The Mexican saying Hechalé agua al caldo (put another cup of water in the soup) means that no matter how little one has, there is always enough to go around. 

Having more (success) means being able to give more.

In early Indian cultures, people often compteted with each other to see who could give away the most.  Wealth is generated for its distribution, not its accumulation. 

Sharing is not limited to material possessions.  Gozar la vida ("enjoy life") is a deep-seated philosophy:  Sharing good times with family and friends.  Consumer studies show that Latinos spend more money on food, entertainment, and music than other market segments.  Latinos will find any excuse to to host a fiesta--a community celebration. 

Latinos have an admirable work ethic.  Work is seen as an opportunity to give of their talents and contribute to the welfare of the group and organization. 

In early We cultures being able to share and be generous was a survival tactic.

Today there is a generosity gap.  Much of mainstream America is more concerned about personal accumulation than the welfare of their neighbors.  America's poverty rate is the highest of the developed world.  There is also a direct correlation between poverty and race.  In 2000 CEO wages were 525 times that of the average worker. 

Renowned leadership expert, James MacGregor Burns notes that leadership implies the ability to mobilize people and engage them in a process in which both the leader and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality. 

 

Part 2:  Leadership Styles in Communities of Color

 

Hispanics:  leaders tend to emerge from their community by addressing critical needs.

 

American Indians:  the source of leadership is collective with a leader serving and being responsible for the community.

 

African Americans:  leadership derives its authority and legitimacy from the community from which it emerges.

 

[Book:  Stewardship:  Choosing Service Over Self-Interest by Peter Block]

 

Leadership is rotated, distributed, and shared--a leader among equals--no one is elevated above others.

 

Principle 4:  A Leader Among Equals--Community--Conferred Leadership

 

Leaders are expected to listen, integrate the collective wisdom, and reflect the group's values.  Standing out too much from others or calling too much attention to oneself can damage the group.  This is very different from an individualist culture. 

 

Dynamics of leadership in a collectivist culture:

• Authority comes from the group.
• Leaders are chosen because of their character, including honesty, humility, and generosity.
• Leaders inspire people to identify with them by setting an example.
• A leader serves something greater than himself--the mission, cause, or well-being of the community.
• A leader plays by the rules.

Personalismo:  Leadership centers on character and how the leader treats people, treating all people with dignity.  You do what you say you are going to do and you are willing to do the work and sacrifice.

 

Black Community:  "walks the talk" and "tell it like it is."

 

Principle 5:  Leaders as Guardians of Public Values--A Tradition of Activism

 

The role of leadership is the role of advocacy--exercising one's power, knowledge, and access to change the aspects of society that are inequitable.

 

Important to remember:  Most scientists today concur that human beings share a similar genetic profile and that race differences constitute less than 5 perce of genetic variations. 

 

La Causa--The Cause

Latinos are not a race, but an ethic group bound together by the Spanish language, colonization, the Catholic Church, and common values.  The ultimate leadership task is to inspire a conglomerate of people to forge a shared identity, vision, purpose to take an perhaps an impossible task. 

 

There is a psychology of oppression and many people of color collude with the system that keeps them "in their place."  Some ramifications include:  1) a lack of confidence in others of their own race, 2) the exclusion of those who succeed as "not being like us," and 3) the whitewashing of minority talent, in which people of color disregard their own culture and emulate White people in order to succeed.  Another ramification is envidia. 

     Example:  The Crab Syndrome

 

White people need to become aware of white privilege that is almost always unconscious and invisible to them.  Peggy McIntosh has so adeptly brought to light this white privilege.  Until white people recognize that white privilege exists, they will be unable to address it. 

 

The oppressed as well as the oppressors must be transformed. The oppressed must learn to value and respect themselves, understand how they have contributed to the oppressive system, and forgive those who have hurt them. 

 

Principle 6:  Leaders as Community Stewards--Working for the Common Goal

 

Robert Greenleaf:  Servant Leadership philosophy

 

The litmus test for a leader of whether he has remained a faithful steward is the effect on the followers.  Did the followers become freer, more autonomous, and more capable of serving others?

 

Community stewardship prompts leadership that concentrates on building people's capacity.  Leaders who are community stewards are dedicated to serving people, a movement, a cause, and a greater purpose.  They are guided by an overarching, prophetic, transforming vision.  They listen to people's voices and ideas. 

• Call and response--Oral tradition is cherished.  African Americans use conversation zigzags.
• It Takes as Long as It Takes--Time is irrelevant.

Cariño and Charisma

Latinos love charlando--chatting about ideas, interests, dreams plans, possibilities. 

      Bk:  The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner--"encourage the heart"

      The Latino tradition of flor y canto is indicative of the tendency to combine the real with the mystical. 

A leader recognizes other people--the people who came before, parents, and the contributions of others.  You don't take the credit.  You make sure you recognize everybody else.

Leaders are bridge builders who forge partnerships and coalitions. 

 

 

Equity, Community, and Service

 

Leaders who function as community stewards serve the collective, use power for the public good, grow people's capacity, and encourage everyone's participation.
 

 



 Part Three:  Creating the Circle of Leadership

 

"One head does not a council make."  --An African saying

 

Native American "talking stick"

 

Principle 7:  The Seventh-Generation Rule--Intergenerational Leadership

According to John Gardner, our volatile times needs "a whole army of leaders."--multicultural leaders because it is predicted that by 2020 a majority of Americans under 18 will be non-white.

Ten essential elements of cultivating intergenerational leadership:

1. Listen and learn from different age groups.
2. Be real and walk the talk--Follow through on commitments.
3. Embrace mutuality and equality.
4. Stoke up the network between people of different ages.
5. Tap into your passion and common interestes.
6. Follow through with texting and social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to stay in touch with issues.
7. Put relationships first.
8. Think continuity as relationships take time to grow.
9. Remember the power of Sankofa.
10. Use the Seventh-Generation Rule.

[There are a number of books now available that explain characteristics of different generations that would be wise to consult]

 

Principle 8:  All My Relatives--La Familia, the Village, the Tribe

 

The Mosquito Indians in Nicaragua greet each other by touching their hearts and saying, "Kupia Kumi,"  which means we are one heart.  The Lakota greeting "Mitakuye oyasin" means "We are all related."  Relationships always carry responsibility.

Cultural and religious beliefs that people come from one family are being confirmed by genetic anthropology.  Therefore, leaders should treat all those they lead as family members.

In the African American community ubuntu literally means "you are a person only because of other people."  In other words, we are all connected. 

The Hispanic La Raza is inclusive.  Raul Yzaguirre says, "My definition of Latino is anybody who wants to be a Latino.  Bienvenido--welcome to the family."  Latinos are a culture, not a race, and culture is learned.  Because culture is learned, leaders can multicultural competencies. 

Generosity flows naturally to one's relatives.

 

Principle 9:  Gracias--Gratitude, Hope, and Forgiveness

 

For Black, Latinos, and Indian leaders, gracias (gratitude), hope and forgiveness are three attributes that transformed oppression and need into an enduring faith in life's goodness.

Spirituality is responsibility towards others.  It is a moral responsibility to ensure others' well-being and the collective good. 

For Indian people, spirituality is the integrating force of their lives and the essence of leadership. 

The majority of great reformers in American history were not only motivated by their faith, but they also used religious language to argue for their cause.  In other words, they didn't leave their religion at the door before entering the public square. 

The African philosophy of seriti teaches that the more good deeds a person does, the more he shares with humanity, the greater his seriti (the spirit and power of all life) grows.

Expressing gracias is a great gift that communities of color bring to America. 

 

In Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman optimism can be described as hope.  Our communities of color can teach us a lot about being optimistic--things are going to turn out ok despite many obstacles. 

 

Dr. Jim Joseph says, "If you damage the humanity of another person, then the whole of humanity is damaged in the process.  The African American community has always taught this value.  You forgive not only because it is ordained by the creator, but you live in this kind of relationship with other people because it is also in your self-interest."  Dr. Josephy feels that reconciliation is one of the public values leaders need to create a diverse society. 

 

Reconciling the past, having gratitude for what one has today, and being optimistic for the future all nourish continuity and community integration--the foundation for the circle of leadership. 

 

Part Four:  Leadership for a Multicultural Age--Making the Commitment:  Personal, Organizational, and Political

 

In the Latino community it is destino, in the African American it is calling, and in the American Indian it is vision quest.  We need to make a commitment to the ideal.   

 

Although assimilation served a purpose in the past by crafting one nation out of the potpourri that came to America, acculturation rather than assimilation is wiser in our day.  Acculturation crossing over means a person has learned togoback and forth between cultures and functions successfully in both. 

 

Acculturation increases one's cultural repertoire, creativity, adaptability, and flexibility, and promotes cross-cultural competency.  When people learn to acculturate, they can thrive in different cultural environments. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 





Talent Is Overrated

The book I have chosen for this month is Talent Is Overrated by Geoff Colvin. 

The factor that seems to explain the most about great performance and extraordinary achievement is deliberate practice, not high IQ.   The elements of deliberate practice are:

• It is designed specifically to improve performance and stretch the individual beyond current abilities.  It is moving out of the comfort zone to a learning zone that is not a panic zone.
• It can be repeated.
• Feedback on results is continuously available from a teacher, coach, and/or mentor.  Question:  What would an expert do?
• It's highly demanding mentally requiring FOCUS and CONCENTRATION
• It isn't much fun.  Because it is hard, most people won't do it--the willingness to do it will distinguish you.

Great performers never reach the automatic state in their chosen field because they are always becoming better.

How Deliberate Practice Works
A.  Perceiving More

1. Understand significance of indicators that average performers don't even notice.
2. Look further ahead.

"seeing shades of black vs. seeing black"

B.  Knowing More
Domain expertise
"In the knowledge resides the power."

C.  Remembering More
Chunk theory
Analogy:  Letters (novice) vs. words (expert).  The expert also knows the meaning of words.

The first challenge in designing a system of deliberate practice is identifying the immediate next steps.  A mentor can help. 

Practicing in the Work

Before the work

     Set goals and exactly how to reach the goals (strategies)

During the work

     Self-observation:  metagcognition

After the work

     Self-evaluations against a standard of achievement

     Top performers believe they are responsible for their errors (Inner locus of control)

     Result:  Self-efficacy

Deeping Your Knowledge

     Pursue knowledge--domain knowledge

How the Best Organizations Apply the Principles of Great Performance

1. Each person is being stretched and grown
2. Find ways to develop leaders within their jobs
3. Encourage leaders to be active in their communities
4. Understand that personal development works best through inspiration, not authority
5. Invest significant time, money, and energy in developing people
6. Make leadership development part of the culture

Know More, Innovate More

The most eminent creators are consistently those who have immersed themselves in their chosen field--great innovators are nourished by knowledge.

Innovation doesn't strike--it grows.

The culture of an organization needs to be friendly to innovation:  Help people expand and deepen their knowledge.

Model a strong work ethic

When it comes to tasks that are part of their domain of expertise, great performers can keep performing at a high level if they continue deliberate practice--Our brains are perfectly able to add new neurons well into old-age for brain plasticity doesn't stop.

As people master skills, they must seek greater challenges and match them with higher-level skills in order to keep experiencing flow  (Bk.:  Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly)

Everyone who has achieved exceptional performance has encountered terrible difficulties along the way.  





Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8

The book I chose for July 2012 is Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 by Debbie Silver.




Chapter 1:  Self-Motivation
Motivated learners are willing to seek more learning.  The goal should be to help students have a higher sense of self-efficacy which is bolstered when a student achieves something previously thought unattainable.  This can occur as we engage students in meaningful tasks. 

Chapter 2:  Zone of Proximal Development
Lev Vygotsky:  "Reach just beyond present state but not beyond a reasonable expectation."
Scaffolding:  helpful interventions to assist learners in moving forward.
We must be mindful of where learners are in their growth--not where they are supposed to be nor where we wish they were, but where they really are.

Chapter 3:  Self Regulation, Deliberate Practice, and Failure  (delayed gratification)
Mischel's Marshamallow Study
[Great resource:  Don't Eat the Marshmallow Yet by Joachim Posada]
Learners can never make progress in their comfort zones
     Because each student is at a different place, differentiation is necessary
Expertise comes when the learner begins to do things automatically so the mind can deal with higher-order tasks
Ten-Year Rule:  Ten thousand hours of practice to become an expert
Steps in deliberate practice (Ericsson):  (different than just a practice session)

• Obejctive:  Improve performance
• Repeat, repeat, repeat
• Seek contant, crticial feedback
• Prepare for process to be mentally and physically exhausting

Chapter 4:  Attribution Theory
Attribution theory incorporates the major tenets of self-efficacy, self-regulation, cognitive theory
Effort is the only factor of attribution theory that can be controlled
Learned helplessness leads to a victim mentality
Effective feedback should not judge, label, excuse, accuse, or even praise--the purpose is to help the learner get better at something--ASK QUESTIONS
Rosenthal's Self-Fulfilling Prophecy  (Pygmalion)

Chapter 5:  Mindset
*Carol Dweck
Fixed Mindset:  There is a predetermined amount of gifts, talents, skills, intelligence in each human
*It's about being perfect right now
Growth Mindset:  Whatever intelligence and abilities a person has, he can always cultivate more through focused-effort--the focus is on learning and growing  
*It's about learning over time:  Confronting a challenge and making progress
The divergent patterns between these two mindsets usually emerge when the learner begins to address more difficult work

Praise children for effort and hard work--Give learners feedback that will help them make improvements--Focus on things they can control such as effort, perseverance, attitude, and commitment

Students most likely to cheat are those who are labeled as gifted so they can keep up their image.

Chapter 6:  What Do I get for Doing It?  (Examining Rewards)
Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn
Guidelines for rewards:

• Use the weakest reward required
• Avoid using rewards as incentives
• Reduce frequency of rewards
• Reward only the behavior you want repeated
• Different rewards work for different people
• Set standards so that success is within each student's grasp
• Continually work toward a system that uses less-extrinsic rewards
• Theresa Amabile:  "Give extrinsic rewards when unexpected and after the task is completed." 
• Use recognition rather than rewards

People offered rewards frequently take the shortest or quickest path, often sacrificing deeper meaning.

Drive by Daniel Pink

Chapter 7:  Autonomy, Time, and Flow
Autonomy is an important part of self-determination

1. Provide the learner with choices
2. Encourage learners to experiment, do creative thinking, and challenge themselves
3. Focus the student in the student's zone of proximal development
4. Provide feedback that is nonjudgmental and give specific nformation about how to improve
5. Give meaningful reasons for the task
6. Support learners in using strategies to solve their own problems

Nel Noddings and her work on "care" in the classroom and school

Increase wait time
     Timed tests are one way to move students from mastery into automaticity but they are harmful for a non-mastery learner
      Varying time is one way to apply differentiated instruction

FLOW (Mihalyi Czikszentmihalyi):  state of highly concentrated action and awareness

• Be sensitive to students' goals and desires
• Empower students to take contol of their own learning
• Provide clear and immediate feedback
• Arrange for students to have appropriate time to focus, and help limit distractions

Chapter 8:  Helping Students Stay Motivated as They Get Older
Do It Now:  Break the Procrastination Habit by William Knaus

Chapter 9:  Inspiring Young Children
Adults need to be cautious about not only what they say to children but also what they within earshot of them.
It's important to avoid labeling children.
Be careful to not contribute inadvertently to learned helplessness

Chapter 10:  FAQs About Teaching Students to Be Successful

Binet's IQ Test was developed to inform educators on how they could better serve the needs of diverse learners, not to sort and track students.
Students who participated in the Accelerated Reader program showed marked decrease in interest in reading on their own

"Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit."  Vince Lombardi
Differentiated instruction supports the concepts of self-efficacy.
Schools need to decide on a philosophy/policy regarding a school wide reward system that supports rather than hinders.

Doing Reading Right