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Resources
Why Aren't There More Minority Teachers? Schools
Book delves into critical shortage.
EXCERPT
"The impediments that students of color face when considering a career in teaching center on the attitudes that surround them, that affect them, and that humiliate them as future teachers. The image of teaching as a 'namby-pamby,' 'goody-two-shoes,' part-time, female job with 'summers off with the kids' still lingers even as the actual requirements for the profession demand highly competent, computer-skilled, multilingual, dynamic individuals who can handle kids from every walk of life."
The Color of Teaching
By June A. Gordon
128 pp. $27.99 paperback (Routledge/Falmer Press)
To order visit: www.routledgefalmer.com or call 800/634-7064.
There is a challenging issue facing America's public school: how to build a diverse teaching force. More than one third of our public school students are of color, yet only 13 percent of their teachers are.
Why aren't there more minority teachers in our classrooms? What is prohibiting students of color from entering the teaching profession?
In The Color of Teaching, June Gordon, a professor at the University of California-Santa Cruz, attempts to answer those questions by exploring the cultural and societal forces that discourage people of color from becoming teachers.
The book is based on Gordon's two-year research into the subject, interviewing more than 200 persons of color--mostly teachers and education professionals--to uncover the real reasons behind the minority shortage, in their own words and thoughts.
In their responses the African American, Asian American, Native American and Latino participants explore the many community forces in their cultures that deeply affect young adults' career decisions.
Nearly all mention the need for greater economic incentives to attract and retain teachers of color. But overwhelmingly, the participants say inadequate pay is not the pivotal reason students are resisting teaching as a career.
Students of color are not becoming teachers, says Gordon, is because of lack of encouragement from their own families, communities, and peers. Nearly all of the participants--except for the Asian Americans--also believe that students of color reject teaching because of their own negative experiences in school, which have been "fraught with hostility, misunderstanding and distrust."
Other recurring themes include the image and lack of respect for teachers, as well as pressure from parents who want their children to either stay close to home or pursue higher status professions.
Teachers themselves also admitted that they play a significant role in their students' perceptions of education and of teaching as a profession. Many speak of encouraging the few, often middle-class minority students who are clearly academically oriented, to go into high-paying, high-status careers.
Gordon asserts that discouragement of children to become teachers also comes from parents, counselors, peers, the media, and community. She writes: For many families, the cost of educating a child is great in terms of both human and material sacrifice. Institutions of higher education often require that students leave their family and community to attend college. For some, the cost appears too high; the move seems not only realistic, but perhaps suicidal."
Throughout the book, Gordon seeks to identify solutions for all aspects of the challenges facing students of color as they move through schooling and compete for careers. Of particular interest is a chapter dedicated to providing recommendations and insights from the interviewees themselves on how to address the situation affecting the future supply of minority teachers for American schools.
Some of the recommendations include improving the image of teachers, involving more parents, and providing early teaching-like experiences for students of color.
While it is a scholarly read, the raw emotion of the educators interviewed keep it interesting and insightful. The book should appeal to anyone who is interested in attracting more teachers of color into the profession--particularly policymakers, educators in teacher preparation institutions and minority teachers.
In her conclusion, Gordon asserts that teachers themselves must help create a fundamental change in attitudes toward education within communities of color.
"If we are to have sufficient teachers for America's schools," she writes, "students of color must have the guidance of their communities, and their teachers must show the way".
--By Dina S. Gómez
The NEA Professional Library Celebrates Women's History Month
Girls in the Middle: Working to Succeed in School
116pp. $12.95 NEA members
$14.95 nonmembers
#2503-2-00-FN
An engaging study of middle school girls--the critical choices they make in their school lives and the strategies they use to cope with adolescence. By linking girls' success to school reforms such as team teaching and cooperative learning, this report gives educators the insights they need to create new possibilities for their students.
Girls in the Middle Video
50 min. VHS #7708-3-00-FN
$19.95 NEA members
$24.95 nonmembers
An absorbing look at girls in three middle schools and the strategies they use to meet personal and academic challenges in their daily lives. Includes video guide with discussion questions.
To order, call 800/229-4200, or check the Web at www.nea.org/books.
Books by NEA Members
Can A Rooster Drive A Tractor?
By Bonnie Richardson Murphy
Illustrated by Shelley P. Richardson
This book was written and illustrated to help small children learn an important life skill. It uses illustrations rooted in farm life that are rich with color, style, and humor to emphasize the importance of continuing to ask questions. The rhymes are lively and fun. Repetition and predictability will support pre-readers and beginning readers who will enjoy reading this book over and over $14.95. Published by the Alabama Farmers Federation, P.O. Box 11000, Montgomery, AL 36191.
Fireflies and Chiggers
By Don Rudolph
Rudolph has put together a collection of true stories based on 39 years of experience as a classroom teacher, coach, and administrator. Each chapter deals with a different problem that most teachers will encounter during their first three years of teaching and includes solutions. Proceeds from book sales will go to Tri-State Scholarships to assist students majoring in education who have serious financial problems. Cost for NEA members is $15, non-members $18, plus $2 s&h. Order from Tri-State Scholarships, P. O. Box 3572, Paducah, KY 42002.
Teaching Music at the Secondary Level: A Pedagogical and Curricular Guide
By Steven Porter and Joel Smales
If you aspire to teach music in a secondary school or are already doing so, this book will be an indispensable aid. It explores virtually every aspect of classroom and performance music with candor, wit, and expertise. From writing lesson plans to computerizing your library to dealing with student behavior, every page is chock full of the information that will help make your programs outstanding. $28.95. Order from Empire Publishing Services, P.O. Box 1344, Studio City, CA 91614-0344 or call 818/784-8918.
Counting on Your Fingers is Not Immoral
By John Mudore
Volume I of this series is designed for middle school mathematics, pre-algebra courses, and special education classes to help make math accessible to every student. Volume II, on integers and equations, is a fitting sequel to Volume I's fractions, decimals, and percents. Each lesson demands that students fully understand a concept and not just memorize information. $25 and $20, respectively, from Infinity Publishers, P.O. Box 333, Black Earth, WI 53515, or call 608/767-2381.
The Ultimate Sport Lead-Up Game Book
By Guy Bailey
If you're looking for some activities to use in teaching children beginning sports skills, this is the book for you. Author Guy Bailey has put together over 170 fun and easy to use games in 13 different sports. Each game is fully illustrated and described in a clear, user-friendly format. $23.95 each, plus $3.95 shipping per book. To order, call 800/431-1579 or write to Educators Press, 5333 NW Jacson St., Camas, WA 98607.
TV Tips
A Death in the Family
PBS, March 25, 9:00 p.m., ET, check local listings
CBS, February 24, 9:00 p.m., ET, check local listings
Adapted from James Agee's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic story, this ExxonMobil Masterpiece presentation explores the shattering effects of the early death of a father on a family. Set in 1915, the film recreates Agee's small, painstakingly drawn world of domestic happiness and shows how quickly it can be destroyed. This special presentation acknowledges the experience of grief and reality of death.
The True Story of Black Hawk Down
The History Channel, March 4, 9:00 p.m., ET, check local listings.
On October 3, 1993, 120 American Delta units and Ranger infantry were dropped into Mogadishu to abduct two lieutenants of Somalian warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Instead, two American UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were shot down. The mission lasted 15 hours and resulted in 18 American deaths and 73 wounded and hundreds of Somalians dead. Based on actual events and narrated by Mark Bowden, author of the nonfiction best-selling novel by the same name, this presentation offers a comprehensive perspective of the battle of Mogadishu, Somalia--the longest sustained ground battle involving American soldiers since the Vietnam War.
Roughing It
The Hallmark Channel, March 16, 8:00 p.m., ET, check local listings.
Based on the 1872 novel "Roughing It" by Mark Twain, this four-hour special is a travelogue of Mark Twain's adventures as a young man in the old West. As such, the book and film are a first-hand account of what the country was actually like in those days.
All the King's Men
PBS, March 18, ET, check local listings.
According to one of the most curious legends of the First World War, the Sandringham Company, a mix of servants, grooms, and gardeners from the Royal Family's Norfolk Estate, advanced into battle on August 12, 1915, never to be seen again. This Exxon Mobil Masterpiece presentation lifts the veil of secrecy and uncovers their true fate. This program contains sensitive material, discretion is advised.
The Ultimate Guide: The Iceman
Discovery Channel, March 25, 9:00 p.m., ET, check local listings.
A follow-up to Iceman: Mummy from the Stone Age, this one-hour special follows researchers as they defrost "Otzi's" body once again to reopen the case of how he lived and died, examining bacteria found in his intestines, and studying his DNA to help trace his present-day descendents. The Stone Age is brought back to life through re-enactments and computer-generated imagery; including 3-D computer recreations that reveal what Otzi's face may have looked like 5,300 years ago.
Misunderstood Minds
PBS, March 27, 9:00 p.m., ET, check local listings.
For one in five students, learning is an exhausting and frustrating struggle. Often mistakenly called "lazy" or "stupid" by others, these children actually suffer from a learning disability, which if not addressed, can have a devastating impact on the students' self-esteem and future academic and social success. This 90-minute special follows the stories of five families as, together with experts, they try to understand their children's learning difficulties. This program shows the children's problems in a new light, providing an informative forum for opening a dialogue on how best to manage these young and vulnerable misunderstood minds. An interactive companion Web site can be found at www.pbs.org/misunderstoodminds.org.
The Laramie Project
The Laramie Project HBO, March 9, 8:00 p.m., ET, check local listings.
Set in and around Laramie, Wyoming, this adaptation of the off-Broadway play of the same name focuses on the events after the 1998 murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard. The Laramie Project presents not only the incidents surrounding the murder but the trials and extensive media coverage that followed the hate crime. Based on actual interviews with people in the community, the film provides a variety of perspectives on the crime and its effect on the people of Laramie. This program may contain sensitive material.
Women's History Month
A&E, A&E Classroom, March, 7:00 a.m., ET, check local listings.
In honor of Women's History Month, A&E Classroom will present Biography episodes about a variety of notable women, including Amelia Earhart, Karen Silkwood, Susan B. Anthony, and Joan of Arc.
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KIDSNET, a national resource for children's media in Washington, D.C., provides these listings. For additional listings, check the web at www.kidsnet.org.
Web Winners
NEA/HIN Launches Asthma Web Site
NEA's Health Information Network has recently launched www.asthmaandschools.org, a Web site linking teachers, administrators, and education support professionals with resources and information on asthma. The site includes a series of short fact sheets about asthma and how to handle it at school; a searchable database of resources from asthma-oriented organizations; and a glossary of asthma-related terms to better understand asthma.
Classics Pages
Www.classicspage.com is a comprehensive Web site about the classics, with over 700 pages of news, information, games, and controversy about the life, literature, art, and archaeology of the ancient world of Greece and Rome--plus an award-winning bookshop. Students can "Ask the Oracle" about all aspects of Greek and Roman literature, mythology, or history. The Oracle will even translate bits of Greek and Latin that may have you stumped. The site even includes a lengthy list of Latin quotes. A fascinating, extensive site that can be useful for both teachers and students.
Read All About It
Here's a multi-curricular project in which your students produce their own newspaper based on the news articles submitted to the Newsday Web site by cooperating student correspondents. Your students become news gatherers and reporters, editors, layout and graphics artists, and publishers. Participation on an international scale leads students to understanding and interpreting broad issues, which transcend local concerns. This project can involve your students in weeks of cross-curricular activity. Go to www.gsn.org/project/newsday.
Get Connected and Communicate
EBoard offers schools an integrated, customized, no advertising version of the easy-to-use eBoard service. In just days, launch a service that contains no advertising and that matches the look and feel of your school or district's Web site. EBoard makes it easy to post messages, photos, links, and files on the Internet. Homework assignments, class announcements, grading information, and printable permission slips are all at a student's fingertips. Click on "Home" at www2.eboard.com/eboard/servlet/IndexLoginServlet.
All about Character Education
Are you trying to introduce character education at your school? Here's a comprehensive Web site with an excellent selection of resources, including lesson plans for all levels, a teachers guide, sample character education programs, links to good Web sites, information about emotional intelligence, bullying, terrorism, and an ERIC Digest that discusses the various definitions of and approaches to character education, divergent points of view on character education in schools and much more. Go to midgefrazel.net/character.html.
Looking for the Skittles Challenge
Schools from all over the world are participating in this fun online project that has an unusual combination. The newly announced project challenges students to use their math skills to predict what color appears most often in a bag of the popular candy Skittles. The data will be compiled and shared with participants daily starting on January 15, 2002. Go to www.lambeth.futureclass.net/projects/default.cfm.
Neuroscience Network For Kids
This fascinating Web site has been created for all students and teachers who would like to learn more about the nervous system. Enjoy the activities and experiments on your way to learning more about the brain and spinal cord. The neuroscience network provides answers from a team of neuroscientists around the world to questions about the nervous system. Be sure to read the questions and answers on file: Where can I get a model of the human brain? (many sources listed.) Do birds have a sense of taste? Go to http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html.
Learning Games
This lovely Web site is a multimedia-rich collection of online activities. Young learners will love pocketful of stars, the animated koalas, frogs, snow bowling, cranky crabs, bubble bees, penguin panic, milk the cow and more than two dozen others. Be sure you have plenty of time and be sure also that anyone who heads in has excellent mouse skills. Go to www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal.
The History and Science of Carnival Rides
This is a well-organized site that integrates concepts of science, safety, history, and business, as students design their own carnival rides. There are resources for teachers and plenty of interactive fun for students. Special features include interviews with a collector of antique windup toys, a roller coaster connoisseur, the owner of a company that restores carousels, and an MIT Media Lab scientist. Also included: survey and opportunities for student feedback. Well worth a visit. Go to http://library.thinkquest.org/C002926.
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