‘Cultural circles’
Rhone has an extensive background in this field. A native of Wichita, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Wichita State University, a master’s degree from California State University-Los Angeles, and a doctorate from West Virginia University, where her dissertation, “School Bullying: A Freirean Perspective,” used Friere’s theory to examine bullying and ways to lessen it. She has worked as a teacher in Missouri, California, Wyoming, and West Virginia using Friere’s ideas, and has spent 18 years in higher education as a researcher and educator. She has published works on Freire in education journals, and book reviews for Multicultural Review, a leading journal in multicultural education and social justice. She has also conducted one extensive study on the impact of Freire’s work on select American educators, and led several anti-bullying workshops prior to joining the faculty at Newman in fall 2008. At Newman, she has led two anti-bulling workshops. She said the positive feedback from both workshops led her to apply for funding to work with a team in this yearlong inquiry.
Rhone said she joined with the Wichita Public Schools on the WTIG project because of her knowledge of and respect for Burkhalter, who played a key role in the development of a program launched in fall 2006 called “A Journey Toward Cultural Proficiency.” The program is designed to help Wichita Public School teachers increase awareness of cultural differences and learn skills that can be applied to their teaching styles to make all students in the increasingly diverse population feel comfortable, accepted and competent.
“The Wichita Public Schools is excited to have this opportunity to enter into a partnership with Newman University in the joint research project,” Burkhalter said. “This partnership will enhance the district’s work with cultural proficiency as teachers have the opportunity to delve deeper into the exploration of cultural proficiency and assess their personal cultural values and how they respond and react to students in their classroom.”
“I knew Kim had laid the groundwork for cultural proficiency, and I hope this project will add to that,” Rhone said. “We want to help people truly understand the perspectives of students from cultures that are different from their own.”
After selecting six teachers in March, teacher participants will begin studying program materials and take classes and workshops at Newman in April. Following a four-day workshop in the summer, the program will begin in classrooms in September 2010 and run until March 2011. During this time Rhone will visit classrooms for observation and coaching, and participating teachers will take part in monthly “Cultural Circles,” which explore topics related to the program such as the importance of teachers creating a “spirit of community” in the classroom, and how teachers can incorporate cultural relevance and social action in their own lessons while still achieving required school system standards.
The inquiry group will include parents in an effort to help them examine their parenting styles and consider using styles consistent with teaching children an appropriate use of power, respect for authority, and development of their own voice and critical thinking. Rhone said she will seek parents who represent the various ethnic and racial groups of children who are educated in the district to assist with this cultural circle.
“Most of us can remember that sick feeling of having to face a bully or of engaging in bullying because we were too afraid to stand up to the bullies,” said Steve Dunn, who has extensive experience working with parents in schools and will lead the parents cultural circle. “Today, many adults readily share how much they hated middle school or high school, and the main reason is typically that they were bullied. That is why increasing cultural proficiency can help. It seems obvious that when school life is positive and the learning environment is supportive and students feel cared about, that students’ academic performance will improve as a result.”
At the end of the inquiry group in April 2011, participating teachers will make a presentation of their yearlong experience for both the Newman University and Wichita Public Schools learning communities. Teachers will present the results of WTIG’s research and its implications for schools and teachers, and air a video they created showing how they used social justice concepts, cultural competence and transformative learning practices in their classrooms. Some teacher participants will also present the project at the Pedagogy and Theater of the Oppressed National Conference, a conference rooted in the work of Freire and Augusto Boal, in June 2011.
“We are in hopes that this project will bring Newman and U.S.D. 259 together as partners in developing culturally competent and transformative teachers who are prepared to help all children reach their full potential,” Rhone said. “In the end, the assessments drawn from this project are expected to help teachers, students, parents, and all others associated with this work to become healthy physically, mentally, and socially.”
“This project will help us all better understand how Freire – as an educator, philosopher, and activist for social justice – provides a model for rethinking why we teach, and how we should connect a liberating process to our pedagogy,” Hufford added.
For more information contact Rhone at 316-942-4291, ext. 2193.
