After attending an early education symposium featuring Walter Gilliam and his research on implicit bias in preschool. I was instantly brought to tears. It is NOT that children of color cannot learn but something else may be happening.
Dr. Gilliam shared 2 points that I thought were profound.
1. He stated that the Perry Preschool Project carried out from 1962-1967 in disadvantaged communities to measure specific outcomes benefited a vast majority of children. However, over the years, children in preschool programs, specifically black boys, are being expelled and suspended at a greater rate than any other group. Expulsion and suspension means that children do not benefit from the very program that is designed to offer opportunities for achievement.
2. He also stated that, "suspensions and expulsions are NOT the result of a child's behavior but the result of the teacher's decision."
But I must ask, what is the elephant in the room? Why the persistent gap in achievement? When implicit bias is introduced into the equation, it changes the conversation. Implicit bias reflects the attitudes and belief one endorses at an unconscious level. EVERYONE has implicit biases. However, when a decision is made and carried out, as a result, someone's life and lively hood could be affected. In other words, beliefs become judgments, judgments become decisions, decisions become policies, policies become bills and eventually bills become laws.
In the seventies, I attended Virginia Union University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Richmond, VA and received a profound education. V.U.U professors had a vested interest and commitment in my academic achievement. The teachers had talked the talk and walked the walk. They had lived through experiences that I had read in history books. EVERY class I attended yielded lectures, history lessons, stories of triumph and tragedies that enveloped me in cultural pride and self-realization. Can this experience be duplicated in preschool programs? The classroom would reflect the children in the community. Lots of books would feature children of color as the main character and the hero of the story. The curriculum would be relevant to them and their needs. I suggest reading "Cultivating the genius of the black child" by Debra Ren-Etta Sullivan. Just the photo of Ms. Sullivan's grandchild on the cover would bring a smile to your face.
At the end of the Dr. Gilliam's presentation, I posed this question:
This study was conducted in 2005, which was 12 years ago, and the children in the study were 4 and 5 years old. Has there been a study that followed their academic career? The response was, "no study was conducted". Dr. Gilliam is a very committed and strong advocate for children.
Blessings!
Petrea
Here is Dr. Gilliam's study:
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Petrea Hicks M.Ed.
ECE Consultant
XYZ...the end result! LLC
Gaithersburg MD
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-02-2017 12:04 PM
From: Gay Macdonald
Subject: Why is the achievement gap for children of color so persistent?
Expectations for children are one important factor in determining a child's success. We have to believe that they can, then teach to their abilities. Boys "of color" may not be expected to succeed in science and math - or reading either! Girls of color have different strikes against them. They may be expected to succeed in reading, but females of any color are often not expected to succeed in the sciences and math. Sometimes parents of children "of color" do not believe that they can trust teachers who are not "of color" and expect discrimination, either blatant or unconscious. Although there is good basis in evidence for those feelings, sadly it works both ways and always to the detriment of children.
Sylvia Ashton-Warner was a gifted teacher of Maori children in New Zealand in the 1940's. In her book Teacher she describes her thought process and her methods for teaching children who had been considered "unteachable." We can learn a lot from her work.
The book (and movie) Hidden Figures addresses this issue and gives dramatic evidence of black females excelling in both math and science. There is one telling incident in the story when Katherine Johnson, a new hire, is faced with the difficult decision to think that a white male who left his desk nearby as she settled in might have been making a racist statement, OR might simply have finished his work. She chose to think the latter and, whether she was right or wrong, her decision cleared the way for them later to become good friends.
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Gay Macdonald
Los Angeles CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-29-2017 08:44 PM
From: Tara Voit
Subject: Why is the achievement gap for children of color so persistent?
This is a powerful discussion. With respect to the literacy gap, the Hart and Risley (2003) research study is important in terms of understanding how children's literacy is often connected to their parents' education level and socioeconomic status. The benefits for eliminating the literacy gaps for children of color are to guide them successfully to attain academic achievement and increase their chances for life-long outcomes.
Reducing literacy gaps is a multifaceted issue that comes with many challenges. But, we should continue to take action and engage researchers, communities, parents and educators in finding beneficial practices and strategies that foster high-quality literacy efforts with all children; especially those who are marginalized. However, it is important to consider other research and tools that promote opportunities for increasing literacy gaps in marginalized communities of children. Wasik and Hindman (2015) identify "several principles" (p. 51) to move the line of demarcation of literacy gaps and move the trajectory of strategies. By sharing the responsibility of educating early leaners who do not have opportunities to grow their vocabulary by 30 million words, and becoming accountable in our efforts for changing the future of every child's educational prospects, we can reverse the statistics permanently for children of color.
References
Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (2003). The early catastrophe: The 30 million word gap by age 3. American Educator, 27(1), 4-9.
Wasik, B., & Hindman, A. (2015). Talk alone won't close the 30-million word gap. Phi Delta Kappan, 96(6), 50-54.
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Tara Voit
Doctoral Fellow, Department of Early Childhood Education
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, TN
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-27-2017 05:12 PM
From: Jerlean Daniel
Subject: Why is the achievement gap for children of color so persistent?
Why is the achievement gap for children of color so persistent? We've been trying to examine our role as teachers of 3's and 4's to see if and how we might be contributing to the ongoing gap. Right now we are asking ourselves what the pieces of this situation we have control over. We welcome your ideas to stimulate our thinking.
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Jerlean Daniel
Facilitator, Black Caucus Interest Forum
Curtis Bay, MD
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