All posts by Leslie Hargett

Day-to-day Engagement with Students

Creating Classroom Community

“For two minutes each day, 10 days in a row, teachers have a personal conversation with the student about anything the student is interested in, as long as the conversation is G-rated. Wlodkowski found an 85-percent improvement in that one student’s behavior. In addition, he found that the behavior of all the other students in the class improved” (Smith and Lambert 18).

Smith, R. & Lambert, M. (2008). Assuming the best. Educational Leadership, 66(1), 16-21. Continue reading Day-to-day Engagement with Students →

Addressing Substance Abuse in Schools

Reaching Adolescents and How to Respond

“One of the dilemmas facing parents, teachers, and schools is how to convince teenagers that this is a real problem without resorting to scare tactics. We know from the past that this methodology for changing behavior and reducing risk behavior isn’t effective and probably never has been” (Philip 159).

Philip, R. (2006). This is your brain on…Understanding and curbing adolescent substance abuse. In Engaging ‘tweens and teens: A brain-compatible approach to reaching middle and high school students (pp. 157-174). California: Corwin Press. Continue reading Addressing Substance Abuse in Schools →

Safe Spaces for LGBT Youth in Schools

Friendship, Love, & Sexuality, Urban Adolescents

“These groups [GSAs] are extracurricular organizations in which students can seek the support of peers and faculty advisors, discuss issues such as homophobia and heterosexism that might exist in the school and community, and plan programming about sexual orientation and gender identity issues” (Sadowski 128).

“For a number of the students we interviewed whose schools had GSAs, these groups were important aspects of their high school experience that helped give them a sense of connection, purpose, support, and even pride at school” (Sadowski 128).

Sadowski, M. (2008). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students in U.S. schools. In M. Sadowski (Ed.), Adolescents at school: Perspectives on Youth, Identity, and Education (2nd Ed., pp. 117-146). Cambridge: Harvard Education Press. Continue reading Safe Spaces for LGBT Youth in Schools →

Preparing for College in the Classroom

Gender Socialization & Identities, Urban Adolescents

“Teachers, beginning in ninth grade, need to frequently unmask for students how college works and what the academic expectations are for undergraduates …If high school teachers better clarify what is expected in college classrooms, as well as differences between doing homework and studying, we are certain that fewer students will be shocked by the expectations that await them at the next level of education” (Harper).

Harper, S. R. (2014). Succeeding in the city: A report from the New York City Black and Latino Male High School Achievement Study. Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education. Retrieved from https://www.gse.upenn.edu/equity/nycReport Continue reading Preparing for College in the Classroom →

Respecting Culture in the Classroom

Newcomers & Perpetual Foreigners, Urban Adolescents

“With these words, he recognized and validated the worth of my family and my home environment…the letter also conveyed an understanding of the centrality of family and honor in Mexican culture. My principal was sensitive and reached out my parents with such a positive regard that was rarely extended to Mexican families such as mine” (Prieto 5).

Prieto, L. (2009). The stings of social hierarchies: From the San Joaquin Valley vineyards to the ivy walls. In J. A. Van Galen & V. O. Dempsey (Eds.), Trajectories: The Education and Social Mobility of Education Scholars from the Poor and Working Class (pp. 71-81). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Continue reading Respecting Culture in the Classroom →