A critical resource for K-12 educators that serve BIPOC and first-generation students that explores why inclusive and culturally relevant pedagogy is necessary to ensure the success of their students

The practices and values in the US educational system position linguistically, culturally, and socioeconomically diverse children and families at a disadvantage. BIPOC dropout rates and levels of stress and anxiety have linked with non-inclusive school environments. In this collection, 3 educators tell and will draw on their experiences as immigrants and educators to address racial inequity in the classroom and provide a thorough analysis of different strategies that create an inclusive classroom environment. White educators that serve BIPOC students will benefit from these reflections on incorporating culturally relevant pedagogies that value the diverse experiences of their students.

With a focus on Haitian and Dominican students in the US, the authors will reveal the challenges that immigrant and first-generation students face. They’ll also offer insights about topics such as:

   • How do language policies and social justice intersect?
   • How can educators use culturally relevant teaching and community funds of knowledge to enrich school curriculum?
   • How can educators center the needs of the student within the classroom?
   • How can educators support Haitian Creole-speaking students?
Patrick Sylvain is a Haitian-American writer, essayist and poet, and instructor of Haitian language and culture at Brown University’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. He has been published in several anthologies, magazines and reviews, including African American Review, Agni, American Poetry Review, Callaloo, Crab Orchard Review, Haitian Times and Ploughshares.

Jalene Tamerat is a leader in K–12 education whose work focuses on the preparation of teachers who are able to respond to the instructional and civic needs of diverse urban youth. She began her career in education in 2003 as a classroom teacher in the Boston Public Schools and has most recently served as the dean of a Boston-area residency and master’s program for aspiring teachers.

Marie Lily Cerat has worked in the K–16 New York public education system as a classroom teacher, a staff developer and a college teacher for over 20 years. Her work examines the effects of the exclusion of Haitian language and culture in the education of Haitian learners and has been published in Rethinking Schools, the Journal of Haitian Studies, and the International Journal of the Sociology of Language, among other publications.
Chapter 1
MY EDUCATIONAL WORLD
Democratic Pedagogy and Engaged Citizenry
Patrick Sylvain

Chapter 2
TELL ALL THE OTHERS OUR STORY
Marie Lily Cerat

Chapter 3
FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE
Culturally Relevant, Culturally Sustaining, and Reality Pedagogies
Jalene Tamerat

Chapter 4
TRIANGULATED IDENTITIES ACROSS BORDERS
Race, Color, and Citizenship
Patrick Sylvain

Notes
Education Across Borders is a powerful cri de coeur, appeal, study, and manifesto from three fervently passionate, highly empathetic, and experienced educators who are transforming K–12 education for BIPOC and first-generation students, particularly from Haiti and the Dominican Republic. . . . It is the kind of book that belongs in every classroom, as it could help safeguard young people’s futures and even save their lives.”
—Edwidge Danticat, author of Brother, I’m Dying

“A rallying cry recommended for all who care to connect their students to schools as sites of possibility.”
—Carola Suárez-Orozco, cofounder, Re-Imagining Migration, and Distinguished Professor, University of Massachusetts, Boston

“A must-read for all educators interested in transforming anti-racist theory into everyday classroom practice.”
—Peniel E. Joseph, author of The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

Education Across Borders fiercely advocates that teachers of Haitian, Dominican, and other students with immigrant backgrounds—whose language and cultural needs are largely neglected in classrooms—must do better. Sylvain, Tamerat, and Cerat’s collective years of teaching and research, and depth of theoretical knowledge, provide important insight for ensuring both academic success and positive socio-emotional development for students learning English. This book is for all who are deeply committed to the success of language-minority students and are willing to passionately advocate for it. As such, it should serve as a resource for every educator who teaches these students.”
—Audra M. Watson, director, WW Teaching Fellowship, Institute for Citizens & Scholars

About

A critical resource for K-12 educators that serve BIPOC and first-generation students that explores why inclusive and culturally relevant pedagogy is necessary to ensure the success of their students

The practices and values in the US educational system position linguistically, culturally, and socioeconomically diverse children and families at a disadvantage. BIPOC dropout rates and levels of stress and anxiety have linked with non-inclusive school environments. In this collection, 3 educators tell and will draw on their experiences as immigrants and educators to address racial inequity in the classroom and provide a thorough analysis of different strategies that create an inclusive classroom environment. White educators that serve BIPOC students will benefit from these reflections on incorporating culturally relevant pedagogies that value the diverse experiences of their students.

With a focus on Haitian and Dominican students in the US, the authors will reveal the challenges that immigrant and first-generation students face. They’ll also offer insights about topics such as:

   • How do language policies and social justice intersect?
   • How can educators use culturally relevant teaching and community funds of knowledge to enrich school curriculum?
   • How can educators center the needs of the student within the classroom?
   • How can educators support Haitian Creole-speaking students?

Author

Patrick Sylvain is a Haitian-American writer, essayist and poet, and instructor of Haitian language and culture at Brown University’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. He has been published in several anthologies, magazines and reviews, including African American Review, Agni, American Poetry Review, Callaloo, Crab Orchard Review, Haitian Times and Ploughshares.

Jalene Tamerat is a leader in K–12 education whose work focuses on the preparation of teachers who are able to respond to the instructional and civic needs of diverse urban youth. She began her career in education in 2003 as a classroom teacher in the Boston Public Schools and has most recently served as the dean of a Boston-area residency and master’s program for aspiring teachers.

Marie Lily Cerat has worked in the K–16 New York public education system as a classroom teacher, a staff developer and a college teacher for over 20 years. Her work examines the effects of the exclusion of Haitian language and culture in the education of Haitian learners and has been published in Rethinking Schools, the Journal of Haitian Studies, and the International Journal of the Sociology of Language, among other publications.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1
MY EDUCATIONAL WORLD
Democratic Pedagogy and Engaged Citizenry
Patrick Sylvain

Chapter 2
TELL ALL THE OTHERS OUR STORY
Marie Lily Cerat

Chapter 3
FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE
Culturally Relevant, Culturally Sustaining, and Reality Pedagogies
Jalene Tamerat

Chapter 4
TRIANGULATED IDENTITIES ACROSS BORDERS
Race, Color, and Citizenship
Patrick Sylvain

Notes

Praise

Education Across Borders is a powerful cri de coeur, appeal, study, and manifesto from three fervently passionate, highly empathetic, and experienced educators who are transforming K–12 education for BIPOC and first-generation students, particularly from Haiti and the Dominican Republic. . . . It is the kind of book that belongs in every classroom, as it could help safeguard young people’s futures and even save their lives.”
—Edwidge Danticat, author of Brother, I’m Dying

“A rallying cry recommended for all who care to connect their students to schools as sites of possibility.”
—Carola Suárez-Orozco, cofounder, Re-Imagining Migration, and Distinguished Professor, University of Massachusetts, Boston

“A must-read for all educators interested in transforming anti-racist theory into everyday classroom practice.”
—Peniel E. Joseph, author of The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

Education Across Borders fiercely advocates that teachers of Haitian, Dominican, and other students with immigrant backgrounds—whose language and cultural needs are largely neglected in classrooms—must do better. Sylvain, Tamerat, and Cerat’s collective years of teaching and research, and depth of theoretical knowledge, provide important insight for ensuring both academic success and positive socio-emotional development for students learning English. This book is for all who are deeply committed to the success of language-minority students and are willing to passionately advocate for it. As such, it should serve as a resource for every educator who teaches these students.”
—Audra M. Watson, director, WW Teaching Fellowship, Institute for Citizens & Scholars

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