the major assumption of our urban teacher preparation program is that teachers can make significant contribution to the academic achievement of children in underserved communities even if the children’s cultural backgrounds are dissimilar to theirs-IF their preparation is firmly grounded in the principles and approaches of multiculturalism and IF they have developped a framework for interpreting their students’ realities that will permit them to lower expectations (86).
deplit and irvine have argued that African American teachers can bring sensitivity and interest to the problems of African American students that other teachers might not. despite the logic of this arguement, the enrollment of ethnic minorities in teacher preparation programs has declined throughout the us (87)
the success stories of many of our graduates who are now teaching in urban schools show the competent, committed, culturally aware teachers who promote success for all can negate the impact of ethnic dissimilarity between teachers and students (87)
most teacher canidates need a deeper understanding of the cultural dynamics in schools and society as well as awareness of the oftens ubtle, but powerful, forms of cultural discrimination. likewise, they need to know how to design culturally relevant instruction and apply multicultural principles in their classrooms and lives (88)
