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Voices in Urban Education
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Educating Vulnerable Pupils
VUE Number 12, Summer 2006
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EXCERPT:
Serving African American Learners: Literacy as Access
By Dwight C. Watson
Dwight C. Watson is an associate professor of education at Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota.
> Author’s Biography
A pedagogical approach can prepare teachers to help African American students learn the crucial literacy skills they need to gain access to the power, privilege, and prestige enjoyed by the dominant culture.
Here is the conundrum. African American learners are not performing as well as White learners or learners from other ethnic groups on various reading indicators. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicated that in 2005, at both grades 4 and 8, White and Asian/Pacific Islander students scored higher, on average, than Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/ Alaska Native students. Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native students scored higher, on average, than Black students (NAEP 2005). Are there proven methods that would narrow the reading gap between African American learners and their White counterparts?
As an African American educator, I am often asked to generate the magic elixir that would remedy the reading concerns of African American learners. Through conducting observations, discussing literacy practices with teachers, and modeling lessons in urban classrooms, I have discovered there are no best practices for African American learners. What is best for African American learners is what is best for all learners. The practices may be the same, but how they are delivered and the teachers' dispositions play a role in how successful these practices are for African American learners.
This article showcases why it is important to position literacy proficiency and academic attainment as an access to power. This positioning will be revealed as I unfold my own story and describe the catalysts for my academic success. This article also discusses a literacy-modeling event that I conducted with White teachers who worked with primarily African American students. I explain the strategies and discuss the implementation process, which I call Cycles of Assistance. The final sections of the article will focus on pre-service teachers and the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need in order to effectively work with African American learners.
Literacy as Access to Power
Lisa Delpit (1996), in her landmark book Other People's Children, stated it best when she said that we must teach children the practical navigational skills that will provide them access to power. Literacy is the ability to read, write, speak, listen, think, and view. These fundamental skills are essential for the success of all learners, but especially so for the disenfranchised, the marginalized, and the oppressed. Teachers of African American children should recognize that these learners need literacy skills so that they can have access to the power, privileges, and prestige that is automatically afforded the dominant culture.
In order to operate from a vantage point of empowering learners, teachers must first recognize that inequities exist across racial lines and that historical oppression has played a major role in the academic development of African American learners.
Archives
Educating Vulnerable Pupils
VUE Number 12, Summer 2006
| VUE Home | Archives | Order Print Copy |
EXCERPT:
Serving African American Learners: Literacy as Access
By Dwight C. Watson
Dwight C. Watson is an associate professor of education at Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota.
> Author’s Biography
A pedagogical approach can prepare teachers to help African American students learn the crucial literacy skills they need to gain access to the power, privilege, and prestige enjoyed by the dominant culture.
Here is the conundrum. African American learners are not performing as well as White learners or learners from other ethnic groups on various reading indicators. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicated that in 2005, at both grades 4 and 8, White and Asian/Pacific Islander students scored higher, on average, than Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/ Alaska Native students. Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native students scored higher, on average, than Black students (NAEP 2005). Are there proven methods that would narrow the reading gap between African American learners and their White counterparts?
As an African American educator, I am often asked to generate the magic elixir that would remedy the reading concerns of African American learners. Through conducting observations, discussing literacy practices with teachers, and modeling lessons in urban classrooms, I have discovered there are no best practices for African American learners. What is best for African American learners is what is best for all learners. The practices may be the same, but how they are delivered and the teachers' dispositions play a role in how successful these practices are for African American learners.
This article showcases why it is important to position literacy proficiency and academic attainment as an access to power. This positioning will be revealed as I unfold my own story and describe the catalysts for my academic success. This article also discusses a literacy-modeling event that I conducted with White teachers who worked with primarily African American students. I explain the strategies and discuss the implementation process, which I call Cycles of Assistance. The final sections of the article will focus on pre-service teachers and the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need in order to effectively work with African American learners.
Literacy as Access to Power
Lisa Delpit (1996), in her landmark book Other People's Children, stated it best when she said that we must teach children the practical navigational skills that will provide them access to power. Literacy is the ability to read, write, speak, listen, think, and view. These fundamental skills are essential for the success of all learners, but especially so for the disenfranchised, the marginalized, and the oppressed. Teachers of African American children should recognize that these learners need literacy skills so that they can have access to the power, privileges, and prestige that is automatically afforded the dominant culture.
In order to operate from a vantage point of empowering learners, teachers must first recognize that inequities exist across racial lines and that historical oppression has played a major role in the academic development of African American learners.
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