Transcript There is Power in Unity

Basic Skills Initiative
Regional Training
Canada College
June 9-10, 2008
Presenter:
Dr. Teresa W. Aldredge, Counselor,
Cosumnes River College
[email protected]
Umoja Community History





Oct 2006 - Umoja I
Diablo Valley College
March 2007 - Umoja II
Chaffey College
Oct 2007 Umoja III
Chabot College
Summer Retreat
January 2008 – BOG
Recognition





Umoja Consortium
Four Pilot Colleges
Regional Symposiums
– Northern & Southern
California
Summer Learning
Institute – July 2008
Umoja IV – October
2008 San Diego
Umoja Educational Philosophy
Let’s read as a community
Community Design
Umoja Village
 The Umoja Village is a component of the
Umoja Community, a dedicated space
welcoming all students, a space designed by
students and staff, a space that nurtures
academic success.
Community Design
Minimum requirements for students:
 Complete application/intake form
 Complete mandatory orientation
 Enroll in Guidance/Counseling courses
 Complete comprehensive Student Educational Plan
 Meet with counselor twice per semester
 Participate in core Umoja-sponsored program activities
 Complete Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
and Board of Governors Fee Waiver (BOGW) Form
 Meet with mentor twice per semester
Community Design
Learning Community Model (Umoja students taking two
or more linked classes)
 Guidance/Counseling Courses (1st & 2nd semester)
 English Course
 Math Course
 Library Information Literacy Course
 Other course with African American Emphasis
Cohort Model (Umoja students enrolled in classes
within the general population)
 Guidance/Counseling Courses (1st & 2nd semester)
 Other identified course(s) with African American
emphasis
An Ethic of Love
A love ethic has nothing to do with
sentimental feelings or tribal connections.
Rather it is a last attempt at generating a
sense of agency among a downtrodden
people…. This will proceed principally on the
local level—in those institutions in civil
society still vital enough to promote selfworth and self-affirmation. (Cornel West,
Race Matters, 2001)
The Conditions
“Many of the issues that we continue to confront as
black people-low self-esteem, intensified nihilism
and despair, repressed rage and violence that
destroys our physical and psychological well-beingcannot be addressed by survival strategies that have
worked in the past. I insisted that we needed new
theories rooted in an attempt to understand both the
nature of our contemporary predicament and the
means by which we might collectively engage in
resistance that would transform our current reality.”
(67), bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress, (1994)
The Conditions
“To educate as the practice of freedom is a way
of teaching that anyone can learn. That learning
process comes easiest to those of us who teach
who also believe that there is an aspect of our
vocation that is sacred; who believe that our
work is not merely to share information but to
share in the intellectual and spiritual growth of
our students. To teach in a manner that respects
and cares for the souls of our students is
essential if we are to provide the necessary
conditions where learning can most deeply and
intimately begin” (13) bell hooks, Teaching to
Transgress (1994)
The Pedagogy
“The unwillingness to approach teaching from a
standpoint that includes awareness of race, sex, and
class is often rooted in the fear that classrooms will
be uncontrollable, that emotions and passions will
not be contained. To some extent, we all know that
whenever we address in the classroom subjects that
students are passionate about there is always a
possibility of confrontation, forceful expression of
ideas, or even conflict… Making the classroom a
democratic setting where everyone feels a
responsibility to contribute is a central goal of
transformative pedagogy.” (39) bell hooks, Teaching
to Transgress, (1994)
Culturally Responsive Teaching
Gay (2000) defines culturally responsive
teaching as using the cultural knowledge,
prior experiences, and performance styles of
diverse students to make learning more
appropriate and effective for them; it teaches
to and through the strengths of these
students.
Gay, Geneva (2000) Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. New
York: Teachers College Press
Culturally Responsive Teaching

Gay (2000) also describes culturally
responsive teaching as having these
characteristics:
It acknowledges the legitimacy of the cultural
heritages of different ethnic groups, both as
legacies that affect students’ dispositions,
attitudes, and approaches to learning and as
worthy content to be taught in the formal
curriculum.
Culturally Responsive Teaching (cont’d)


It builds bridges of meaningfulness between
home and school experiences as well as
between academic abstractions and lived
socio-cultural realities
It uses a wide variety of instructional
strategies that are connected to different
learning styles.
Classroom Practices







Student Centered
Timely and formative assessment
African American focused curriculum blended with
local college course outlines
Teachers will bring their own style and repertoire
Emphasis on “presentation” in groups and as
individuals
Early Success
Relevant and Cultural Responsive Thematics
The Classroom Environment

Porchtalk
Classroom environment should be open, respectful, and playful;
there should be argument, dissection and revision. It should be
personal, political and philosophical. It can sometimes be
candid, even a little painful. Porchtalk invites humor, noise,
sometimes unruliness. A classroom with such honesty and
visibility can produce frustration and also acceptance. Needless
to say, trust is at the foundation of a porchtalk classroom and
trust has to be earned, modeled, practiced and openly reflected
upon, and revisited. Porchtalk is intentional, for example, the
instructor looks for an opportunity to draw out, celebrate and
dignify the quieter students, so all the voices in the room make
up the porch.
Umoja Community Contacts
Mr. Tom deWit, Co-Chair
English Professor
Chabot College
[email protected]
Dr. Donna Colondres, Co-Chair
Professor/Counselor
Chaffey College
[email protected]
Umoja Community website: http://voyager.dvc.edu/umoja