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The Biracial and Multiracial Student Experience

A Journey to Racial Literacy

By: Bonnie M. Davis

Best-selling author Bonnie M. Davis provides strategies for teaching bi- and multiracial students and deepens readers’ understanding of race, ethnicity, and the development of racial identities.

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Product Details

Grade Level: K-12
ISBN: 9781412975063
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2009
Page Count: 168
Publication date: August 29, 2012

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Description

"With great pleasure, I accompanied Bonnie Davis on her learning journey to better understand the plight and perspective of biracial and multiracial students. Once again, she has enriched my understanding of the powerful intersection of race and schooling. Educators of all races will benefit from the personal narratives, prompts for self-examination, and provocative research she has compiled."
—Glenn Singleton, Founder and President, Pacific Educational Group, Inc.
Author, Courageous Conversations About Race

What does it mean to be "in between"?

As more biracial and multiracial students enter the classroom, educators have begun to critically examine the concept of race. Through compelling student and teacher narratives, best-selling author Bonnie M. Davis gives voice to a frequently mislabeled and misunderstood segment of the population. Filled with research-based instructional strategies and reflective questions, the book supports readers in examining:

The meaning of race, difference, and ethnicity
How mixed-identity students develop racial identities
How to adjust instruction to demonstrate cultural proficiency
Complex questions to help deepen understanding of bi- and multiracial experiences, white privilege, and the history of race in the U.S.

This sensitively written yet practical guide fills a gap in the professional literature by examining the experiences of biracial/multiracial students in the context of today's classrooms. The author calls upon readers to take a transformational journey toward racial literacy and, ultimately, become empowered by a real understanding of what it means to be biracial or multiracial and enable all students to experience increased self-confidence and believe in their ability to succeed.

Key features

Fills a gap in the professional literature by providing teachers with practical strategies for reaching and teaching K–12 biracial and multiracial students
Emphasizes the development of racial literacy for teachers to better understand and support biracial and multiracial students
Gives voice to biracial and multiracial students through compelling first-person stories of what it means to exist as "the other" in the classroom and in the larger society
Very practical focus includes checklists of suggestions, research-based strategies to improve classroom instruction, and additional resources for teachers
Sensitively-written reflection questions challenge teachers to think deeply, respond honestly, and ultimately undergo personal and professional growth

Author(s)

Bonnie M. Davis

Consulting Description

Bonnie M. Davis, PhD, is a veteran teacher of more than forty years who is passionate about education. She taught in middle schools, high schools, universities, homeless shelters, and a men’s prison. She holds a doctorate in English from St. Louis University and is the recipient of numerous awards, including Teacher of the Year in two public school districts, the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Anti-Defamation League’s World of Difference Community Service Award. She has presented at numerous national conferences and currently works in school districts across the country.

Dr. Davis’ work centers on examining what “we don’t know we don’t know” about ourselves in order to more effectively teach students who don’t look like us. Moving from self reflection to action, her books offer educators culturally responsive, standards-based instructional strategies that bridge culture, language, race, and ethnicity.

Dr. Davis’s publications include the How to Teach Students Who Don’t Look Like You: Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies(2012);How to Coach Teachers Who Don’t Think Like You: Using Literacy Strategies to Coach Across Content Areas (2007); The Biracial and Multiracial Student Experience: A Journey to Racial Literacy(2009); and Creating Culturally Considerate Schools: Educating Without Bias (2012) with coauthor Kim L. Anderson. She is currently working on the Equity 101 Series with Curtin Linton, Executive Vice President of School Improvement Network.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Prologue

1. Beginning the Journey

2. What Is Race?

3. What Are You?

4. What Are the Challenges for Multiracial Students?

5. How Mixed Identity Students Develop Racial Identities

6. Outside the School Walls

7. The Impact of Skin Color

8. Listening to Parents

9. Taking It All to the Classroom: Culturally Proficient Instruction

10. Future Voices

11. The Journey’s End

References

Index

Reviews

“With great pleasure, I accompanied Bonnie Davis on her learning journey to better understand the plight and perspective of biracial and multiracial students. Once again, she has enriched my understanding of the powerful intersection of race and schooling. Educators of all races will benefit from the personal narratives, prompts for self-examination, and provocative research she has compiled.”

Glenn Singleton, Founder and President, Pacific Educational Group, Inc.
Author, Courageous Conversations About Race

"Ending the marginalization of bicultural and multicultural students begins with self-discovery. Bonnie provides rich opportunities for educators interested in their own learning as a means to educating all of our children and youth. This new book provides educators structured approaches for recognizing assumptions and valuing students’ cultural identities in our classrooms and schools."

Randall Lindsey, Professor Emeritus, California State University, Los Angeles
Author, Cultural Proficiency

"Bonnie Davis’s research provides important knowledge that will help educators develop appropriate dispositions so that they can directly and effectively address the educational, linguistic, social, cultural, emotional, and cognitive needs of diverse learners. This work is a resource for the growth and development of dedicated practitioners, reflective scholars, and responsible citizens. This book will help develop effective, visionary, intellectual, moral leaders who can cause change in education to promote the success of all students."

Karen Hayes, Associate Professor
University of Nebraska at Omaha

Other Titles in: Teaching Strategies for Diverse Students | Cultural Competence

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