Diversity and the new teacher : learning from experience in urban schools / Catherine Cornbleth.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cornbleth, Catherine.

Series:

Multicultural education series (New York, N.Y.)

Multicultural education series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Education, Urban--United States--Case studies.

Education, Urban.

First year teachers.

United States.

Multicultural education--United States--Case studies.

Multicultural education.

First year teachers--United States--Case studies.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xi, 180 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Teachers College Press, [2008]

Summary:

In this extraordinary volume, veteran teacher educator and internationally respected scholar Catherine Cornbleth examines one of the most challenging issues for new teachers-how to effectively teach a diverse student population. Cornbleth weaves the voices and experiences of student teachers from urban elementary and high schools into her analysis. She invites new and prospective teachers (especially white teachers from middle-class homes) to draw on these experiences to explore working more constructively with students different from themselves, and to succeed in schools different than their own. She also speaks to teacher educators about their role in preparing new teachers to face increasing diversity in public schools.

Featuring vignettes and interviews, this book: Offers in-depth descriptions of the issues white student teachers confront as they teach in urban settings. Provides insight and advice to help strengthen relationships between racially, socioeconomically, and culturally dissimilar students and teachers. Examines the successes and failures teachers experience when engaging diverse groups of students in meaningful academic learning.

Contents:

1 Challenges Here, Now, and Ahead 1

A Note on Difference and Diversity 5

Where We've Been and What We Know About Constructive Engagement with Difference and Diversity 6

Prologue: A University Teacher Certification Program 9

The Main Stages: Two Urban Schools 10

The New Teachers and the Supporting Cast 13

2 Getting Started at an Urban School 18

Pre-Encounter 19

Encounter 21

Emerging Concerns, Challenges 26

3 They Say, They Keep Telling Us 42

"Messages" as a Way of Influencing New Teachers 43

General Negativism from External Sources 46

Mixed Messages 48

More Constructive Messages 52

N/Either Constructive n/or Negative Messages 55

Emerging and Diverging Response Paths 58

So, What's the Message? 67

4 Radical Individualism 69

Dante and Kirk 70

Sylvia and Ethan 79

The Downsides of Radical Individualism 84

5 Worlds Apart 91

Ken: "Very Different from Me" 93

Lynn: Culture as Culprit 99

6 Bridging Different Worlds 109

Culture Shock and Accommodation 110

Building Bridges from Different Access Routes 119

Building and Maintaining Bridges 136

Implications for Teacher Education and Teaching 142

Appendix A Methodological Note and Theoretical Perspective 161

Appendix B The Prospective Teachers at Royalton and Charter Schools 165.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 167-170) and index.

ISBN:

9780807748961

080774896X

9780807748978

0807748978

OCLC:

213599125