The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Educator insights offered
Group explores influence of Lorain’s cultures on learning gaps
Three times a week, Leila Flores ventures out of the walls of Frank Jacinto Elementary School searching for answers.
As principal of the school at 2515 Marshall Ave. in Lorain, Flores believes in going to the source.
“I do three home visits as week to see where the children come from,” she said. “Sometimes we see people and we make assumptions. When you drive a child home and you knock on the door and you see what is behind that door, you will truly understand.”
A veteran educator, Flores participates in a 30-member Cultural Competency committee of Lorain City Schools staff and community members who met Oct. 7 at Charleston Administration Center, 2350 Pole Ave. in Lorain.
The group offered insights around an ideal of maturing educators beyond assuming all people think like they think.
A larger goal is to eliminate student achievement gaps linked to race, ethnicity and economic status.
According to a policy brief of the National Education Association in Washington, D.C., culture plays a critical role in teaching and learning. Schools are held accountable through education standards and school district report cards for teaching all students well. Local educators agreed. “Cultural competency is very important to me,” said Nikole Davis, a former school psychologist who is principal of Credit Recovery Academy in the Annex building on Fairless Drive in Lorain.
“We think all are one, and all can learn in the same way,” Davis said, “and that’s not the way it is.”
“I found that Lorain students need that leg up,” said Barb Bowen, associate director for instructional technology, who taught for 19 years. “They need to know we care about them.”
Contributing as a community member, E. Jean Wrice, president of the Lorain Unit of the NAACP, attended Lorain Schools and served as an elementary school librarian for 30 years.
Now Wrice is involved in a free mentoring program at New Beginnings Academy, which also is at the Annex.
“For years, I’ve been screaming, ‘What are you doing to train our teachers for our students?’” Wrice said, giving examples. “You can’t be debating with a kid. That’s a no-no. Don’t debate with that child.
“If that child is upset, have him sit down. Wait for five or 10 minutes, and you will be surprised by the difference.”
Students do not call Wrice derogatory names, she said. Once she heard a student call another student a disrespectful slur word, so she told them she never wanted to hear that from them.
“They said, ‘Miss Wrice, Why are you upset about that? Our mothers call us that,’ ” she said.
When corrected, African American girls show defiance in body language, by moving their shoulders, head and upper torso in a gesture, Wrice said.
“I don’t let that get to me,” she said. “I don’t send them for discipline. I just do it right back at them. I have that, too.
“And the Hispanic girls, they will grin and look down. They’re not laughing at you. It’s because they’re nervous.
“As a librarian, I would pay attention to my students. You can learn a lot. A kid would throw a chair over. I wouldn’t send them out for that. I would sit them down, and a few minutes later we would talk about it. I would say something like, ‘I’m glad you hit the chair and not Miss Wrice.’ ”
Children can have a bad day, just like adults do, she said.
The NAACP would like more visual cues celebrating cultures and ethnicities through bulletin board displays and special student projects, even at the high school, she said.
“It doesn’t hurt to go above and beyond as educators,” Wrice said. “The elementary educators do pretty good. I just want the educators to be concerned.
“Teaching isn’t like every other job. You have to be compassionate. You have to be dedicated. Teachers who don’t live in Lorain don’t feel the heartbeat of the city. They come in and they work and they’re gone. It makes a difference. And headquarters doesn’t have any black people, and that is bothering me.”
Sandra Peloquin, who teaches English at Washington Elementary School, 1025 W. 23rd St. in Lorain, said she tries to instill in students that speaking Spanish is okay.
“They’re acquiring English and they’re transitioning,” Peloquin said. “And they’re not dumb; they’re smart. They just don’t have the language. (Teachers) say, ‘They don’t ask questions.’ It’s because they don’t have the language. They don’t have the words.”
Students and families arrive in Lorain from rich cultures, she said.
“Lorain is unique in that we are mostly Spanish-speaking with our English language learners,” Peloquin said. “We do have one Croatian, a Chinese and Arabic from Morocco.”
Even if a teacher does not know the students’ native languages, techniques are available for effective teaching, she said.
“Oh, tons of ways. You have to engage them. You need to be physical. You need to have visuals,” Peloquin said. “I can show you a lesson in Farsi (an Iranian language) where the teacher just talks and it’s boring. You can’t understand it. But when she uses visuals, you can understand. It’s beautiful.”
Sometimes, teachers do not realize that children from other countries often respond to the newness by observing, she said.
“When they first come, they have a ‘silent period,’ ” Peloquin said. “I’ve had students where their silent period is a day, and I’ve had students were their silent period is two years. They have to feel safe and comfortable, and then feel they can make a mistake and it’s okay.”
Until the children open up, the teacher presents the information and draws them in.
“You keep going,” Peloquin said. “It doesn’t mean they’re not learning. They are. If they’re not giving output it just means they’re not verbal yet.”
As assistant superintendent of Lorain Schools, Dr. Steve Sturgill facilitates the cultural competency group, and hopes by January to offer professional development.
“This is all new,” Sturgill said. “What you saw here is a lot of good people coming together to develop a plan. It’s great because they’re very passionate about the students and their love for Lorain.”