Michigan State University’s Office of K-12 Outreach is sponsoring “An Open Conversation on Teaching Boys of Color” at 10 a.m. Thursday. It will be streamed live online from the Kellogg Center.
“This is an important conversation,” says Barbara Markle, assistant dean of K-12 outreach. “As a state and as a nation, we cannot solve the achievement gap without addressing the issues around reaching and teaching young men of color. In this event, MSU’s College of Education brings together three individuals who not only have academic expertise, but also have deep personal experiences to share with practitioners in the field.”
The panelists are Dorinda Carter Andrews, associate professor of teacher education and editor and contributing author of Contesting the Myth of a ‘Post Racial Era’: The Continued Significance of Race in U.S. Education (2013); Terry Flennaugh, assistant professor of teacher education and cofounder of the Black Male Institute at UCLA and author of multiple articles on educating students of color; and Theodore Ransaw, MSU gap specialist on students of color for the Office of K-12 Outreach and author of The Art of Being Cool: The Pursuit of Black Masculinity (2013).
The goal of the event is to get teachers and administrators to think deeply about race and racism in schools, and how we can approach educating boys of color as individuals who bring strengths and assets to the classroom, not just deficits. These are not easy conversations, as panelist Carter Andrews points out.
“As a nation, we have not gotten to a place where we’re comfortable in schools talking about issues of race and racism that lead to inequality, or the lack of cultural understanding about one another’s differences that lead to unintentional inequities,” says Carter Andrews. She adds, “I hope attendees walk away with a better understanding of what shapes their perceptions about and interactions with black males, as well as concrete strategies for maximizing the academic potential of African-American males.”
The event is relevant to all K-12 teachers and administrators who work with boys of color. Mid-Michigan residents can participate in person at the Kellogg Center. But the Office of K-12 Outreach wants to reach well beyond the university’s borders, so the program will be streamed live on the K-12 Outreach YouTube channel or on their MI Toolkit webpage.
“Anyone, anywhere, can join this conversation and submit questions via Twitter or email,” says Markle. “We hope that Michigan educators will take this unique opportunity to participate in this important forum.”
Flennaugh adds, “This is a great opportunity to interact with educators across the state, and have a thoughtful conversation about ways we can support our young men to embrace their potential.”
Since its inception, the Office of K-12 Outreach has worked to improve student achievement by bringing research-based practices to teachers and administrators in Michigan schools. For the past three years, K-12 Outreach has been at the forefront of the state MI Excel program, bringing highly trained specialists to Michigan’s Title I Priority and Focus schools as part of a comprehensive strategy to improve teaching and learning. MSU also provides educators access to gap specialists in several areas, including students of color.
More information about the event and instructions for joining the conversation can be found at mitoolkit.org/k12live.