(NAME-MCE) SPRINKLE IN EMPATHY AND AWARENESS TO ADDRESS ACHIEVEMENT GAPS

[KispokoT at aol.com]

SPRINKLE IN EMPATHY AND AWARENESS TO ADDRESS ACHIEVEMENT GAPS
Kevin  MacDonald, principal at T. R. Smedberg Middle School in Sacramento, 
Calif.,  started the Achievement Gap Club two years ago, reports Melissa Nix for 
the  Sacramento Bee. At the first meeting, MacDonald entered the room with 
six  binders of research and threw them on the floor. He then said to the 
students  "these experts don't have the answers. The gap has existed for 50 years. 
Why  don't you tell me what we need to do?" Now, every other Wednesday morning, 
about  30 seventh and eighth graders meet to talk about the persistent gap in 
test  scores among whites and Asians and African Americans and Latinos. Club 
members  also brief teachers about what they think should be done when it 
comes to  teaching students of color, and in so doing, help staff members 
understand what  it's like to be a minority student. To better explain the achievement 
gap,  Macdonald uses a parable about two fish: a seawater marlin and a 
freshwater pond  trout. The marlin represents minority students and the trout, 
whites and Asians.  There is a freshwater pond, i.e., the school, which has been 
largely based on a  white cultural model. "You can't take a freshwater fish, put 
him in saltwater  and expect him to survive," and vice versa MacDonald 
explains. "But if you take  a little bit of salt and sprinkle it in the freshwater," 
then both fish can  survive. In this analogy, the salt is a concerted effort 
to establish  communication, empathy and cultural awareness between staff and 
students. The  plan has been working, as former students, now in high school, 
return every  Wednesday morning to tutor, encourage and solve problems with 
their younger  counterparts. 
_http://www.sacbee.com/education/story/805295.html_ 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0019Likex8Cn7dBk7K0b2lRnrgvgEqYQvw8MFkoig9SnN3nxx5hjBiBz-FJrUVfDZZafTQq0pb3hq2e
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