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What can be done to improve the success of black male students?

Did you know that a black male is more likely than any other group to be placed in special education classes, with 80 percent of all special education students being Black or Hispanic males? Learning disabilities aside, black students (and particularly boys) experience disconnection when it comes to the authority figures in their classrooms. The K-12 teaching profession is dominated by white women, many who are very qualified and very interested in helping all their students succeed but lack the first-hand experience needed to connect with their Black male students. Therefore, it is not surprising that the disadvantages that Black …

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Struggling with racial biases, black families homeschool kids

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.** Ama Mazama, Temple University Homeschooling, common among white Americans, is showing an increase among African- Americans kids as well. African-Americans now make up about 10% of all homeschooled children in this fastest-growing form of education. However, the reasons for black kids to be homeschooled may not be the same as white kids. My research shows that black parents homeschool their children due …

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Guest Post: American History is not Black History; Black History is not America’s

A guest post by Leonce Gaiter As taught in mainstream culture, American history propagates this nation as the womb of freedom, justice, and liberty.  There are American creation myths as exemplified by the “Founding Fathers.”  There are founding documents as revered as biblical texts for their promise of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” That is why the argument that ‘black history is American history’ is naïve to the point of insipidity.  For most of this nation’s history, blacks were not ‘Americans.’  First, we were owned, and then we were barred from exercising the rights of citizenship.  That’s why our …

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How to Craft a Culturally-Responsive Teaching Approach

As a student-centered instructional method, culturally-responsive teaching is focused on catering to the social, emotional, and educational needs of the student.  Among the first goals that teachers must achieve in order to successfully create a culturally responsive environment is convincing their students that they genuinely care about their cultural, emotional, and intellectual needs. Get their names right. It may sound simple enough, but a teacher who does not take the time to even know the names of his or her students, exactly as they should be pronounced, shows a basic lack of respect for those students. Teachers should learn the …

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Can Big Bird really close the achievement gap?

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.** A guest post by Sam Chaltain Don’t get me wrong: I love Big Bird as much as the next guy. But when people start talking about how Sesame Street is just as effective at closing the achievement gap as preschool, I start to worry that we’re becoming enamored with a seductively simple characterization of a …

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A diverse perspective: Breaking perceptions and stereotypes one day at a time.

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.** A guest post by Justin Aaron Foster As one of only two black male educators in a school district of over 400 employees times can get very interesting, not to mention lonely. As an educator now for over fifteen years being the only minority employee in a district is something not exactly new to me. …

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