Teaching city kids well takes attitude and aptitude. Teachers serving an inner-city population "must have the conviction that students of diverse backgrounds and educational histories have an actual chance to succeed," according to researchers from the Center for Education in the Inner Cities.
The Urban Network to Improve Teacher Education (UNITE), a collaboration of nine universities in the United States and Canada, reports that teachers themselves tend to see urban schools as challenging duty. In a recent UNITE survey, teachers said working a city school means dealing with cultural diversity, low socioeconomic status, high immigrant and refugee populations, high poverty, a variety of social problems, and a high student turnover rate. Teachers also expect to play multiple roles in urban classrooms, including social worker, nurturer, appeaser, and counselor, as well as academic teacher.
Successful urban teachers, according to UNITE research, possess or practice specific traits: empathy, respect for students, flexibility, self-care, patience, sense of humor, collegiality, high energy level. These traits have the double advantage of building on the strengths of city teachers and their students.
Martin Haberman, Professor of Education at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, has documented what he calls the "pedagogy of poverty" operating in many urban classrooms. This misguided set of teacher behaviors, which he criticizes in City Kids, City Teachers, involves such teacher-directed acts as dispensing information, giving directions, settling disputes, punishing noncompliance. Good urban teaching, he counters, involves another set of acts that fosters a student-centered learning environment. What does good urban teaching look like? Haberman suggests looking to students for answers. Good teaching is going on, he asserts, whenever students are:
Involved with issues they regard as vital concerns
Being helped to see major concepts, big ideas, and general principles, not merely the pursuit of isolated facts
Involved in planning what they will be doing, actively involved in learning, directly involved in real-life experience, and actively involved in heterogeneous groups
Involved in applying ideas such as fairness, equity, or justice to their world
Asked to think about an idea in a way that questions common sense or widely accepted assumptions, that relates new ideas to ones learned previously, or applies an idea to the problems of living
Involved in redoing, polishing, perfecting their work
Involved in reflecting on their own lives and how they have come to believe and feel as they do
To build a stable source of capable teachers—especially those who have the skills and temperament to help city kids thrive—some communities are pursuing "grow your own" teacher programs. Portland Teachers Project, now a decade old, recruits and trains new urban teachers by drawing on the resources of the city’s own neighborhoods. Teacher’s aides who have worked in city schools, urban parents who have volunteered in their children’s classrooms, and young adults who have grown up in the city are among the participants typically recruited for this scholarship and support program. A partnership of Portland Community College, Portland State University, and Portland Public Schools, the program aims to bring more persons of color into Portland classrooms. Participants, according to Director Deborah Cohgrave, "are people who know this community, know the reality of an urban classroom, and are passionate about wanting to make a difference." Similarly, Pathways to Teaching Careers, an initiative funded by the DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund, works with model programs on 42 college campuses to recruit and train teachers for schools serving low-income neighborhoods.
Such outreach efforts can be expected to increase as urban districts struggle to fill openings with qualified staff. In August, for instance, HUD rolled out the Teacher Next Door initiative, offering incentives for teachers to purchase homes in low-income neighborhoods targeted for revitalization. Like the department’s popular Officer Next Door program, which has helped 2,700 police officers buy homes, the new teacher incentive is designed to encourage teachers to live in the neighborhoods where they work.
And the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, recognizing "a special emphasis on the ... teaching needs of urban districts," has launched an Urban Initiative, with the Ford Foundation pledging $1 million to help city districts recruit and keep well-qualified teachers.
Resources for Teachers, Principals
Two recent publications from the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) offer help to school leaders and classroom teachers working with diverse learners, including those in urban schools.
Improving Education for Immigrant Students: A Guide for K-12 Educators in the Northwest and Alaska
(July 1998), developed by NWREL’s Equity Center, opens with a historical look at immigration in the United States then shifts to the present to challenge myths about current population patterns and trends. The book offers a detailed look at the largest immigrant groups in the Northwest.
Educators will find a thorough discussion of adjustment issues that can affect immigrant children and their families. "Adjusting to a new culture is an involved process," the authors relate, "and the length of time in the United States has been shown to have an effect on school success." The book examines issues related to culture, language, generational and gender differences, and explores a variety of family and cultural supports that may help immigrants adjust to living in a new country.
Classroom strategies are offered for better serving the needs of immigrant students, as well as helping all students gain an understanding and appreciation of cultures other than their own. The book also includes extensive resources, including listings of community organizations located in the Northwest region.
Leading America’s Schools: The Critical Role of the Principal
(April 1999) summarizes work developed by NWREL and the National Association for Schools of Excellence (NASE), an organization of nationally recognized school administrators whose accomplishments have dispelled the myth that poor and minority students cannot succeed.
The book draws on a decade of research to identify effective school practices and begins with a list of essential elements for achieving success. "All children can learn. Period," the authors assert. "It is our duty to make sure that new and practicing building administrators adhere to this credo." The book stresses the critical role of the principal, pointing out that the job "has changed from that of manager to leader."
Many urban districts struggle to recruit and retain school leaders. A detailed section of the booklet addresses how to identify, develop, and retain top-quality principals. Strategies are offered for developing leaders from within, as well as recruiting new staff leaders from other districts.
For information about ordering either publication, write to NWREL, Document Reproduction Service, 101 S.W. Main Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97204, or call (503) 275-9519.
