Yes, You Can!: Advice for Teachers Who Want a Great Start and a Great Finish With Their Students of Color

by Gail L. Thompson, Rufus Thompson

Overview

An all-in-one toolkit that empowers new teachers to meet the needs of diverse learners

In this book, renowned experts give novice teachers the self-confidence and empathy they need to address what may be their greatest challenge: guiding disadvantaged students to success in the classroom. Yes, You Can! includes:

• Powerful vignettes about real teachers and students help promote teacher empathy and understanding
• Original research conducted by the authors on the confidence levels of new and experienced educators
• Targeted strategies for many student profiles: African American, Latino, Asian American, White, high-achiever, low-achiever, and more

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452291710
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	05/27/2014
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Dr. Gail L. Thompson, has written five books: A Brighter Day: How Parents Can Help African American Youth; Up Where We Belong: Helping African American and Latino Students Rise in School and in Life; African American Teens Discuss Their Schooling Experiences; What African American Parents Want Educators to Know; and Through Ebony Eyes: What Teachers Need to Know but are Afraid to Ask About African American Students, a book that has received a considerable amount of attention from educators, talk show hosts, and news reporters across the nation. One of her essays was published in USA Today, and her work has been published in numerous academic journals, and three edited books.

Dr. Thompson has appeared on PBS television’s Tony Brown’s Journal, National Public Radio, and Tavis Smiley’s radio show. She has been interviewed for Scholastic Instructor and Inside Higher Education, and has been quoted in numerous newspaper articles. She has served as a reviewer for the Educational Broadcasting Network, Millmark Education, Houghton Mifflin, and several academic journals, and has done presentations, keynote addresses, workshops, and consultant work throughout the United States and two presentations in Canada. Dr. Thompson , who taught junior high and high school for 14 years, is a member of the California Department of Education’s African American Advisory Committee. She has received several awards from student organizations and a civic award for teaching. In 2009, Claremont Graduate University gave her its “Distinguished Alumna Award.”

Dr. Thompson is married to Rufus Thompson, a veteran educator, with whom she has three children: Dr. Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Na Che’, a college undergraduate, and Stephen, a college undergraduate.

Rufus Thompson is a retired educator. He wrote part of the Heath (now Houghton Mifflin) Middle Level Literature series and High School Anthology. Starting in 1988, he trained teachers throughout California on how to implement technol­ogy into the curriculum using best practices and sound classroom principles and taught middle school for 17 years before becoming the technology coordi­nator of the Mountain View School District in Ontario, California. He also served as a representative on the San Bernardino County Best Net Advisory Board to Superintendents, and his Middle School Journalism program was recognized by the National Middle School Association as one of 80 innovative programs in the United States. Mr. Thompson, who has a mas­ter’s degree, has taught courses at the University of Redlands, Chapman University (under contract with Webmedia Solutions), Claremont Graduate University, and California Polytechnic University, Pomona as an adjunct. He has also provided extensive professional development workshops for teachers and school administrators, organized conferences, and given presentations at several conferences, including the National School Board Association, the National Middle School Association, Computer Using Education (CUE), and California Educational Technology Professional Association (CETPA). Mr. Thompson recently retired and is the owner of Tech Guy in a Box, a technology and best-practices consulting company.

Table of Contents

About the Authors
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I. Do You Really Love All of Them? Assessing Your Teaching Self-Confidence About Working With Various Types of Students
Chapter 1. Fear, Income, Gender, and Other Issues: Why Your Teaching Self-Confidence Matters
Chapter 2. Teaching in a Racially Diverse World: Examining Your Teaching Self-Confidence About Working With Students of Color and White Students
Chapter 3. "Oh My Gosh, He Can't Even Read!" Examining Your Teaching Self-Confidence About Working With Struggling Students
Part II. Student Empowerment-Teacher Empowerment: Increasing Your Teaching Self-Confidence and Your Teaching Efficacy
Chapter 4. This Stuff Is Hard! Improving Your Classroom Management Skills
Chapter 5. A Recipe for Success: Effective Instructional Practices
Chapter 6. Can't We All Just Get Along? Using the Curriculum to Improve Race Relations in Class
Part III. Getting Help From the "Village ": How to Maximize Your Relations With Parents, Colleagues, and School Leaders
Chapter 7. Bridging the Great Divide: How to Create a Win-Win Situation With Parents, Especially With Nonwhite Parents
Chapter 8. Ties That Can Bind: Forming Strong Working Relationships With Colleagues of Color
Chapter 9. Ask and It Might Be Given: Getting What You Need From School Leaders
Conclusion: Don't Throw in the Towel—How to Keep Going When You Feel Like Giving Up
Appendix A. Background Information About the Teacher Confidence Study
Appendix B. Demographic Information About the 293 Teacher Confidence Study Participants
Appendix C. Questionnaire Results From the 293 Teacher Confidence Study Participants
Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

"This is one of the most useful books I have read in some time! Whether novice or veteran, if one truly wants to be successful in teaching children and youth of color, the Thompson’s exciting new book, Yes You Can, is an invaluable tool. The book is designed for personal use as well as professional development with colleagues. From their extensive experience as successful classroom teachers, researchers, and leaders of professional development, the authors combine authentic scenarios, reflection activities, and suggested strategies that empower educators in being effective with students at all grade levels and from all demographic groups in our society. "

Randall B. Lindsey

"After reading Yes, You Can! Advice for Teachers Who Want to a Great Start and a Great Finish with Their Students of Color, I cannot imagine teaching or administrating without it. This honest, engaging book will open your eyes to new ways to relate to kids and help them be successful. Though focused on students of color, the book helps with all areas of diversity: all races and ethnicities, low performing vs. high performing, English learners vs. native English speakers, etc. True stories and testimonies humanize the research findings, straightforward activities encourage reflection and dialogue, and practical strategies make the book’s recommendations not just something educators can do, but something we are driven to do. Refreshingly, rather than calling for more from busy educators, the book shares how to do things differently in a way that leads to improved teacher confidence, improved classroom management, improved student/teacher and parent/teacher relationships, and so much more. Most of all, the authors – two of the best educators of our time – have shared ways we can directly improve the lives of students who need our help. For that reason above all others, this book is a must read. "

Lane D. Rankin

"This book reassures, and reinforces every teacher’s confidence to teach. The authors strategically, yet sensitively, empower teachers to delve into their own thoughts, backgrounds, and experiences in order to increase their personal effectiveness. The research-based suggestions to teachers who want to be successful are offered in a practical, thorough, and self-examining process. The chapters’ reflective activities can easily be used during a professional development session or during a university course. Every teacher who reads this book will be encouraged to focus on their confidence level and know within their hearts that they can indeed raise the dialogue within themselves and build strong, caring relationships with their students, parents, colleagues, and school leaders."

Angela Louque