Lincoln Public Schools

The 15th annual Multicultural Leadership Institute sponsored by Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) was held at Lincoln Southwest High School (LSW) on Tuesday, June 9.  The keynote speaker was educator and author Bonne M. Davis who wrote "How to Teach Students Who Don't Look Like You."

The half-day workshop was held twice - a morning and afternoon session - to accommodate LPS staff that filled the LSW auditorium for both sessions.  Davis focused on culturally relevant teaching strategies and staff received a copy of her book/workbook.

Davis frequently referred to the book/workbook as she moved through building knowledge about diverse learners to self-reflection, and creating a teaching and learning environment for diverse learners to research-based instructional strategies.  The starting point, she said, is to examine "your cultural lens," the way you view the world.

According to Davis, public schools in America are increasingly diverse.  In 1998, 40% of the 47 million students were from culturally diverse backgrounds.  That mirrors the population, with nearly 40% of U.S. citizens who are members of racial and ethnic minorities.

Frequently, Davis asked the audience to confer, talk with those around them.  She called the small groups "families" with whom participants could synthesize workshop content.  That approach is actually a basic teaching and learning strategy.

At one point, she asked the large group ...
How many of you are here to understand your "cultural lens?"  (About 30-40 hands.)  How many are here to learn how to build relationships across cultures?  (About 50-60 hands.)  How many are here to learn instructional strategies for working with diverse students?  (Everybody else in a large group of more than 600.)

About two hours into the workshop, Davis had focused on understanding your "cultural lens" and building relationships with students.  Instructional strategies, she said, are actually tools you can use with ALL students ... after completing a self-evaluation and building relationships with students.

"What's best for the best ... is best for ALL," Davis summarized.  "All students are capable of learning at higher levels."

Those attending the Davis workshops will return to work in about two months.  To prepare for next school year, Davis asked participants to review the book and work through the workbook.  "And choose one to three strategies you are going to implement for the fall.  Ask yourself: What fits my style?  What's a stretch?  What am I willing to try?"

When asked how she moves beyond her "cultural lens" as a white female in her early 60s, Davis said it's a lifelong process.  "The key is to be conscious" of what you observe, think, say, do.  As one participate discussed with his "family" ... "The power is in recognizing the stereotypes we have rather than acting on them."

There were many recurring themes in Davis' presentation, but she always came back to WIDKIDK = What I Don't Know I Don't Know.  As she reminded the audience, there will always be something you don't know about another culture.

She writes, "To become culturally proficient, we may need to widen our understanding of culture."  Cultural proficiency is an approach, not a theory, program or silver bullet.

"This does not mean you must know everything there is to know about others.  That is impossible."  Rather, it means a self-awareness to recognize how you (because of your cultural lens) affect others.

Davis spent 30 years in the classroom teaching middle and high school.  Her expertise is "closing the achievement gap" and meeting the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) by using instructional strategies that meet the needs of all students.  Davis holds a Ph.D. in English, with an emphasis on cultural literacy.

Her publications include: "How to Coach Teachers Who Don't Think Like You" (2007) and "How to Teach Students Who Don't Look Like You: Culturally Relevant Teaching Strategies" (2005).  Davis' newest book, "The Biracial and Multiracial Student Experience: A Journey to Racial Literacy," will be available in July.

In the second largest public school district in Nebraska, LPS serves students and families who speak 50 primary languages.  The annual Multicultural Leadership Institute is the primary vehicle for professional development, but ongoing multicultural education is offered throughout the District year round.