Walled Lake Consolidated Schools’ Post

Black History Month - Scholarship Spotlight Rich Milner explains, “[T]eachers can and do improve when they allow students to help them examine, reflect on, and improve teaching practices....Addressing opportunity gaps is difficult work....But every single student in our schools should be viewed as a vessel of knowledge, knowing, and potential.” To learn more about how educators can both support and learn from their students, check out Milner’s book, Start Where You Are, But Don't Stay There: Understanding Diversity, Opportunity Gaps, and Teaching in Today's Classrooms. https://lnkd.in/eBDVDNaD

Excellent read. The historical component is crucial to understanding how we got here.

Integrating diverse perspectives into the curriculum was a challenge for me as a teacher, primarily because it was not part of my own educational training. I vividly recall sitting as a child in the very classrooms I eventually taught, feeling the acute absence of content that reflected my identity and experiences. This absence was not just a gap in my education; it was a void I felt deeply. Later, as I watched my black daughter navigate her gifted and AP classes, the same void persisted—she saw no reflection of herself, no stories that mirrored her own. This is a reality for black and brown students who make up more than half of our public schools. They need to see themselves in their lessons, and as educators, it’s our duty to make that happen. As teachers, we often feel the pressure to adhere strictly to the curriculum, the textbooks, the scope and sequence, all dictated by district requirements. But what do we do when these materials fail to represent the diversity of our student population? Our classrooms are increasingly diverse, and our content must rise to meet this diversity. This requires creativity, resourcefulness, and sometimes, seeking help to craft a curriculum that truly embraces inclusivity. If we fail in this endeavor, we risk alienating, ignoring, and devaluing students who don't see themselves in the material they are taught. Inclusive curriculums are not just a teaching tool; they are a bridge to understanding and respect, reflecting and honoring the diversity of the entire student body. As our educational environments evolve, so must our approaches. School leaders, what is one way you empower and encourage teachers to create a curriculum that includes and celebrates all student backgrounds? How do you ensure that no student feels the isolation that comes from being unseen in their own education? 🎯Get more insights in our complimentary 'Inclusivity' Checklist. 🔗https://bit.ly/42q2UD8

Checkout our session!

Sometimes, I get nervous about sharing my perspective and findings when it goes against what the current trends in the field are promoting. Does that ever happen to you? And as you have probably experienced, it's easier to go along to get along. But I’m too old for that now, and I have come to the place in my life where I decided that I am not doing that anymore. So, I was really relieved and proud of myself when a retired superintendent of one of the most affluent districts in the country, got up and came over to me at the panelist table and said: Olufemi, you are absolutely correct. It’s not just about having resources and programs for students. Until these students see themselves as learners and see the benefit of education, resources will just be resources. Maybe YOUR postionality is the one that will help your field come closer to solving the problem. Maybe it will be YOUR postionality that solves the problem. Here is my positonaliy regarding closing the achievement/opportunity gap between boys of color and other groups.  While equitable resources are needed and are essential, until you help Black and Latino boys see themselves as capable learners and help them see how education will benefit their future selves, they will continue to lag behind. School leaders, thank you for reading. Now, I want you to think about what systems are in your districts and schools that specifically build the academic self-competence or scholarly identity of your Black and Brown male students. Are there any? Also, what type of systems are established to help these students recognize the power of an education? *Of note, Black and Latino boys don't only lag behind in wealthier districts but also in average and poorer districts. It is a national problem that transcends district funding and per-pupil expenditure. Thank you, Temple University College of Education and Human Development, for having me share my thoughts at the Urban Education Symposium.

Hold up, educators! We all know Black teachers are superstars – boosting Black student achievement, graduation rates, and overall confidence. But what about Black principals? Research is dropping knowledge bombs, and it’s time we take notice! A good Black principal can be a game-changer for an entire school. They’re not just leaders, they’re bridges. They connect with Black students, understand their struggles, and create a space where they can truly thrive. But wait, there’s more! Research shows a strong Black principal can bump up student learning in reading and math by three whole months! That’s almost as much as a rockstar teacher (and let’s be real, Black teachers are rockstars!). So, what makes a Black principal so effective? It’s more than just lived experience. It’s about strategic leadership, creating a positive school climate, and managing resources like a boss. These skills don’t appear out of thin air. We need to invest in training and education to equip Black leaders with the tools they need to shine. The bottom line? Black principals are a vital part of the equation for educational equity. They bridge the gap, inspire students, and drive results. Let’s celebrate their power, support their development, and watch our schools soar! #BlackExcellence #InvestInEducation #TheFutureIsBright #RepresentationRocks #HiddenFigures #SkillsForSuccess #LeadersMakeADifference #BreakingBarriers #blackeducators #blackprincipals https://lnkd.in/gvtgfxug

Integrating diverse perspectives into the curriculum was a challenge for me as a teacher, primarily because it was not part of my own educational training. I vividly recall sitting as a child in the very classrooms I eventually taught, feeling the acute absence of content that reflected my identity and experiences. This absence was not just a gap in my education; it was a void I felt deeply. Later, as I watched my black daughter navigate her gifted and AP classes, the same void persisted—she saw no reflection of herself, no stories that mirrored her own. This is a reality for black and brown students who make up more than half of our public schools. They need to see themselves in their lessons, and as educators, it’s our duty to make that happen. As teachers, we often feel the pressure to adhere strictly to the curriculum, the textbooks, the scope and sequence, all dictated by district requirements. But what do we do when these materials fail to represent the diversity of our student population? Our classrooms are increasingly diverse, and our content must rise to meet this diversity. This requires creativity, resourcefulness, and sometimes, seeking help to craft a curriculum that truly embraces inclusivity. If we fail in this endeavor, we risk alienating, ignoring, and devaluing students who don't see themselves in the material they are taught. Inclusive curriculums are not just a teaching tool; they are a bridge to understanding and respect, reflecting and honoring the diversity of the entire student body. As our educational environments evolve, so must our approaches. School leaders, what is one way you empower and encourage teachers to create a curriculum that includes and celebrates all student backgrounds? How do you ensure that no student feels the isolation that comes from being unseen in their own education? 🎯Get more insights in our complimentary 'Inclusivity' Checklist. 🔗https://bit.ly/42q2UD8

Today on the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Bd of Education, we take stock of the progress and pushbacks that have influenced our students' opportunities to learn. Read what some of the country’s leading scholars see as the road ahead: https://lnkd.in/gzmPupHt

bell hooks in 1997 on the significance of critical thinking and her time as a professor at Harlem's City College, contrasting it with her teaching experience at Yale. CRITICAL THINKING AS TRANSFORMATION "My own sense is that the most enabling resource that I can offer as a critic or an intellectual professor is the capacity to think critically about our lives. I think thinking critically is at the heart of anybody transforming their life and I really believe that a person who thinks critically, who, you know, may be extraordinarily disadvantaged, materially, can find ways to transform their lives, that can be deeply and profoundly meaningful in the same way that someone who maybe incredibly privileged materially and in crisis in their life may remain perpetually unable to resolve their life in any meaningful way if they don't think critically. As someone who’s moved from teaching at very fancy private predominantly white schools to teaching at an urban, predominantly non-white campus in Harlem. The first thing I noticed was that my students were equally brilliant in the Harlem setting as they were when I taught at Yale or Oberlin but their senses of what the meaning of that brilliance was and what they could do with it, their sense of agency was profoundly different. You know when students came to Yale, they came there knowing that they are the best and the brightest and they think that they have a certain kind of future ahead for them and they in a sense are opened to embracing that future. It has nothing to do with the level of knowledge. It has more to do with their sense of entitlement about having a future and when I see among my really brilliant students in Harlem, many of whom have very difficult lives, they work, they have children, is that they don't have that sense of entitlement, they don't have that imagination into a future of agency and as such, I think many professors do not try to give them the gift of critical thinking. In a certain kind of patronizing way education just says, all these people need is tools for survival, basic survival tools, like their degree so they can get a job and not, in fact, that we enhance their lives in the same way we've enhanced our lives by engaging in a certain kind of critical process."- bell hooks

The article in the Star Tribune today directly aligns with my dissertation research on “What organizational strategies and leadership approaches are most effective in transforming fledgling charter schools into successful learning organizations?” One of the key challenges in this transformation process is the resistance to drastic change, particularly when individuals within the organization feel a lack of agency. Philosopher Eric Hoffer's insights are highly relevant here: "When people subjected to drastic change find only meager opportunities for action... the hunger for confidence, for worth, and for balance directs itself toward the attainment of substitutes" (Hoffer, 1963, p. 5). In the context of charter schools, this resistance can manifest in maintaining the status quo, as staff and stakeholders cling to substitutes for self-confidence and growth—such as pride in tradition or the fusion into a tight-knit, insular group. When leadership attempts to introduce transformational strategies, these dynamics can obstruct meaningful change, especially when there is a deep cultural or communal attachment to the school’s identity. The article highlights the closure of a Black performing arts charter school, underscoring the devastating effects on the community. Despite the school's shortcomings, closing it exacerbates existing educational inequities. In cases like this, transformative leadership must navigate not only organizational change but also the cultural and emotional investments of the community. Therefore, effective strategies require a balance between innovation and respect for community values, with a focus on empowerment rather than forced conformity to change. https://lnkd.in/gjXR3wAb