Education Across Borders Immigration, Race, and Identity in the Classroom

by Sylvain, Patrick; Tamerat, Jalene; Cerat, Marie Lily

• ISBN13: 9780807052808
• ISBN10: 0807052809
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2022-02-22
• Publisher: Beacon Press

Summary

A critical resource for K-12 educators that serve BIPOC and first-generation students that explores why inclusive and culturally relevant pedagogy is necessary to ensure the success of their students

The practices and values in the US educational system position linguistically, culturally, and socioeconomically diverse children and families at a disadvantage. BIPOC dropout rates and levels of stress and anxiety have linked with non-inclusive school environments. In this collection, 3 educators tell and will draw on their experiences as immigrants and educators to address racial inequity in the classroom and provide a thorough analysis of different strategies that create an inclusive classroom environment. White educators that serve BIPOC students will benefit from these reflections on incorporating culturally relevant pedagogies that value the diverse experiences of their students.

With a focus on Haitian and Dominican students in the US, the authors will reveal the challenges that immigrant and first-generation students face. They’ll also offer insights about topics such as:

   • How do language policies and social justice intersect?
   • How can educators use culturally relevant teaching and community funds of knowledge to enrich school curriculum?
   • How can educators center the needs of the student within the classroom?
   • How can educators support Haitian Creole-speaking students?

Author Biography

Patrick Sylvain is a Haitian-American writer, essayist and poet, and instructor of Haitian language and culture at Brown University's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. He has been published in several anthologies, magazines and reviews including African American Review, American Poetry Review, Haitian Times and Ploughshares.
Jalene Tamerat is the Director of New Teacher Development for Boston Public Schools, where she leads the district's strategy for training, supporting, and retaining strong novice teachers. As a practitioner and scholar, Jalene focuses on the cultivation of teachers who will be able to respond to the instructional and civic needs of diverse urban youth in a globally interconnected world.
Marie Lily Cerat has worked in the K-16 New York public education system as a classroom teacher, a staff developer and a college teacher for over 20 years. Her work examines the effects of the exclusion of Haitian language and culture in the education of Haitian learners and has been published in Rethinking Schools, the Journal of Haitian Studies, and the International Journal of the Sociology of Language, among other publications.
Willy Francisco Ramirez is an educator, poet, and cultural advocate residing in Massachusetts. He is the founder and director of La Guagua Reading Group, as well as of the annual La Guagua Poetry Festival, hosted by Middlesex Community College in Lowell, where Ramirez is an Assistant Professor of English.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1
MY EDUCATIONAL WORLD
Democratic Pedagogy and Engaged Citizenry
Patrick Sylvain

Chapter 2
TELL ALL THE OTHERS OUR STORY
Marie Lily Cerat

Chapter 3
FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE
Culturally Relevant, Culturally Sustaining, and Reality Pedagogies
Jalene Tamerat

Chapter 4
TRIANGULATED IDENTITIES ACROSS BORDERS
Race, Color, and Citizenship
Patrick Sylvain

Notes