From Discipline to Culturally Responsive Engagement

Book excerpt: The forward-thinking techniques you need to manage today’s diverse classrooms A well-managed classroom is a successful one. But as cultural diversity increases in schools, old classroom management strategies are growing ineffective—or even counterproductive. In a comprehensive, practical guide, Laura E. Pinto details why today’s classrooms are best managed by valuing culturally responsive engagement and what teachers must do for their classrooms to flourish in this new reality. Drawing from extensive research, Pinto outlines action steps for teachers to critically reflect on their management style, then implement changes to supercharge the learning experience for students of all cultural backgrounds. The book includes: Keys to developing the cultural fluency necessary to prepare students from all backgrounds for success Exercises for teachers to reflect deeply on how they manage their classrooms and to identify areas for improvement 45 easy strategies—including many that support the Common Core—for boosting engagement and cultural responsiveness in the classroom Readable and compelling, From Discipline to Culturally Responsive Engagement is essential for any educator ready to adapt to the changing face of classrooms. "The book creates a type of neural pathway between classroom management and the nature of relationship-building that is grounded by culturally responsive practice. Incorporating the relationship and significance of the common core only adds to the development of teacher capacity and efficacy development." —Deborah Childs-Bowen, Chief Learning Officer Alliance for Leadership in Education, Atlanta, GA