Resilient By Design-
Educator Empowerment Workshop
Sociological research suggests that children learn distinct ways to behave as a result of their primary cultural and ethnic experiences, and children understand these behaviors as “normal” (Cochran-Smith 2004). This paradox leaves some educators asking the questions “What is normal school behavior?” and "How should schools and districts respond to the discipline disparities affecting black girls' schooling experiences?"
This session will look deeply into Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood, a report that presented the findings from a quantitative analysis of a form of gendered racial bias against Black girls: adultification. This bias is a stereotype in which adults view Black girls as less innocent and more adult-like than their white peers, devoid of any individualized context. In other words, adultification bias is not an evaluation of maturity based on observation of an individual girl’s behavior, but instead is a presumption — a typology applied generally to Black girls.
Resilient By Design takes school educators on a journey to discover appropriate culturally relevant and responsive instruction in contemporary public school settings. Educators are introduced to practical classroom strategies that encourages and builds students’ self-awareness, self-concept, and self-esteem from a culturally and ethnically competent perspective. It is important to note that regardless of race or ethnicity, all children bring learned experiences from their background to the teaching and learning process…
Deeply reflect upon their current thinking about themselves as educators and their female students
Address implicit bias through culturally congruent conversations
Look differently at ways of enhancing self-knowledge, and re-shaping their instructional practices in an effort to raise female student achievement
Discuss culturally relevant teaching strategies and gender responsive techniques
Each training session is balanced with interactive discussions as well as large and small group activities. Training participants are provided a training portfolio that includes the training curriculum, professional articles, opportunities for journaling, culturally relevant reading lists for educators, and culturally relevant literature lists for students.