Blog Post #4 Disproportionate Representation

According to Education For All (2008), the promising solutions to the disproportionate representation are RTI or Response to Intervention and culturally responsive RTI. I had a difficult time grasping the concept of culturally responsive RTI. I continued to research and finally gained a good grasp on exactly what that is.

If culturally responsive RTI was used to the fullest potential it would be the best way to address the disproportionate representation in the schools. I remember in grade and high school most of the students in special education were boys, I never thought anything of it.  Many of the general education teachers did not want to deal with the acting out, so they were referred for extra help.  Education for All (2008) discusses how many schools will celebrate Black History Month but that is all or how the administrators will say that “We just don’t have time”. If the only thing you can do is Black History Month then keep doing it, at least it is something.  These administrators do not realize that it is not what you do, but who you are. It is being true to one’s own culture, socioeconomic status and embracing who you are as an individual. Being true to all of the above will allow for you to be more genuine with your students and in turn will be able to form a more genuine bond with them.

Many things could be used to become more culturally responsive. Last week as I observed in the classroom, I observed many of the ideas that could be used to make the disproportionate representation become less. The use of organization, colorful decorations, discussing what is going on in their worlds and how to connect that into the curriculum. As a teacher, connecting this information will allow for the students to perform better in a classroom setting and in turn will lower the rate of children and adolescents being placed in special education erroneously.  

I am not in a classroom teaching and I am having a hard time putting myself in the shoes of teachers who need to be culturally cognizant of what is going on. The best ways I know how to describe what I think we need to do is by the movie “Dangerous Minds” (1995).  This teacher came into a low income, inner city school and everyone told her “These kids are bad and can’t learn. Good luck.” She entered into their world and they opened up to her because she was culturally adept. She got to know each child on a level that would allow them to connect and when they connected with her, they began to learn. She gave them reasons to learn the material she presented, like the poetry. The kids said we are not smart enough to learn that stuff. She gave them an incentive, whether it was money, a nice dinner out, or an amusement park. She made them want to learn. This is where the focus should be; on the students and not the tests that they are required to take. They are more than a number and the kids in her class, many of them went on to graduate because she put in place the interventions for each of them.