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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2016)
July 20, 2016 Page 15 Devastating Consequences C ontinued from P age 7 provision intended to “profession- alize” early childhood educators by requiring these educators to have a BA degree. Though no doubt well intend- ed, this provision could have dev- astating consequences and will have an adverse impact on the African-American, Native Amer- ican and Latino early childhood workforce. Pre-school children from these ethnic groups will ex- perience fewer and fewer teachers from their respective communi- ties. As in the K-12 system, this BA policy risks isolating some of the most vulnerable children and create the conditions in which im- plicit bias can prevail. Once more, there is no compel- ling research demonstrating that a preschool or Head Start teacher with a BA has better child out- comes than a well-trained teacher without a BA. A teacher, partic- ularly a teacher of color, that has deep cultural knowledge and has received years of excellent on the job training is just as, if not more powerful than the latter. We have several training examples -- such as apprenticeship programs that are found at community based organizations and community col- leges -- designed to prepare indi- viduals entering skilled crafts such as carpenters or electricians. How can we learn from them to build a strong early childhood workforce and preserve the talented teachers who now risk being deemed “un- qualified”? It’s worth mentioning that there is no funding to increase in wag- es to match the BA qualification leaving little incentive for people to go back to college and saddle themselves with debt. That is, if they could actually get accepted into college in the first place. The inequities on the higher education side related to access and comple- tion are already well documented. “Traditionally, we have viewed higher education as an antidote to inequality, but our higher educa- tion system, like so many of our institutions, is rife with racial and class disparities, from enrollment to completion,” reads the report, titled Less Debt, More Equity: Lowering Student Debt While Closing the Black-White Wealth Gap. A few years ago eight Portland area teachers and administrators met and discussed teaching train- ing they received at a local four year college. All eight individuals obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and combined they had over 70 years of teaching experi- ence. The common theme all eight educators shared was how poorly prepared they were to teach chil- dren. They also commented there was no clear indication their col- lege professors had in fact ever been successful public school teachers! The idea of master teachers training and teaching up and coming teachers has not been explored meaningfully in the cur- rent higher education system. We now have an opportunity to do something different. An op- portunity to retain diversity in the early childhood workforce while creating pathways and profession- al development that ensure we have high-quality early childhood educators teaching our youngest children well. We have an oppor- tunity to engage in meaningful dialogue about teacher prep and teacher training based on what currently works and what cur- rently exists instead of creating a new system that could ultimately do more harm than good in serv- ing children who already have so much in the world stacked against them. Failure to meaningfully do this erodes belief that true system- ic change for under-served kids is in fact the goal. Instead of listen- ing to what community says they need, an avuncular approach of “let us tell you what’s best” un- der-scores an entirely different intent. Ultimately, preschool aged black children are harmed by policies that do not ensure they are taught by the absolutely best trained adults; adults trained by successful practitioners with ex- cellent experience teaching black children. Early childhood pro- grams must be administered and funded to ensure black children are prepared to do well during their entire academic careers. Ev- ery policy and practice impacting these children should be based on successful outcome-based practic- es. In the K-12 system we have L egaL N otices Need to publish a court document or notice? Need an affidavit of publication quickly and efficiently? Please fax or e-mail your notice for a free price quote! Fax: 503-288-0015 e-mail: classifieds@portlandobserver.com The Portland Observer seen time and again where evi- denced-based practices founded by communities of color have been largely ignored despite the compelling evidence that these very programs -- founded and led by the communities being served -- have a higher likelihood of being successful. Self-Enhance- ment Inc. is a perfect example of this. Despite their middle school being recognized as out-perform- ing schools with similar demo- graphics, there is not concerted effort to replicate the elements that made these students success- ful. It is exciting Oregon is em- barking upon the promise of change. It is exciting there is intentionality around supporting our youngest children having access to the highest quality ear- ly learning environments. It is a lever for systemic change that cannot be underscored enough. Let us start this work on the right track. In the absence of this com- mitment to do so… to listen to community, assess what is work- ing, adequately fund successful organizations, build pathways and engage master teachers, we again consign black children to the vagaries of public school systems that have fallen short in serving them well. Ron Herndon is a longtime community activist and director of the Albina Head Start program. Kali Thorne Ladd co-founded KairosPDX, a non-profit focused on delivering excellent, equi- table education to underserved children, their families and their communities. Arts & ENTERTAINMENT The 29th annual Oregon Brewers Festival will take place Thursday, July 27 through Sunday July 31 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Toast to Beervana Get ready to toast the 29th an- nual Oregon Brewers Festival, one of the nation’s longest-running and best-loved craft beer festivals. This year’s event will feature 88 beers from craft breweries across the nation, including two gluten-free products. There’s also plenty of live music, food booths, craft vendors and homebrew demonstrations. The Oregon Brewers Festi- val takes place Thursday, July 27 through Sunday July 31 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in down- town Portland. Gates open at 11:30 a.m. daily, and taps are open from noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday. There will be no admission charge to enter the festival grounds. But In order to consume beer, the purchase of a 2016 12 ounce souve- nir tasting mug is required and costs $7. The Oregon Brewers Festival was founded in 1988 as an oppor- tunity to expose the public to mi- crobrews at a time when the craft brewing industry was just getting off the ground.
