What Makes an Urban Educator
Second, an urban educator has to understand their world. No, that doesn't mean learning a foreign language (fo'shizzle!) or actually listening to hip hop music and liking it. It does mean knowing how to deal with the child who is in their fifth foster home in three years, whose mom is on drugs and dad is doing time. And no, I'm not stereotyping urban students. I've taught many students who come from stable, two parent, two income homes. However, they are the minority. That doesn't mean that the foster parent, the adoptive parent, the auntie, or whomever the child lives with is not doing a good job, either. I'm just laying out the reality. A lot of urban students come to urban educators angry, scared and full of bravado because it's what keeps them alive.
Third, an urban educator has to be flexible. And not like a wet noodle, either. There may be times when the lesson you had planned just isn't going to work because a fight broke out in B lunch and you have a class right after. Sometimes, it's best to let the students talk about what happened, because I assure you they will not be able to concentrate on whatever it is you have planned for the day. These are called 'teachable moments' and, trust me, the kids will remember them a whole lot faster than diagramming sentences or doing math problems.
Let me give you an example. One of my eighth grade students (14 years old) had a baby this past February. The girl is very well liked, and has many friends and relatives in the school. Another student started a fight with her about four months after the baby was born, saying that she wanted her to get in trouble so the baby would have to be taken from her by social services. Why? Who knows-but a fight did indeed break out, with many students from grades 7-10 getting involved. Do you honestly think my 8th graders wanted to read the next chapter of Lois Lowry's 'The Giver'? Of course not. Instead, we spent the period talking over why people might do things like that. And trust me, those kids were insightful. It boiled down to the fact that J (the girl who started the fight) was jealous of K (the mom) because she had someone to give her unconditional love.
Another time that flexibility comes in handy
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