(Miss Kirsten Ward/Educ 202/10-20-15)

I. TOPIC:
Discussion day on Educating All Gods Children by Nicole Baker Fulgham.
II. OBJECTIVES/STANDARDS:
Foster good discussion of book and what we as Christians are called to do to help the situation. Draw
attention to the importance of this topic. CCSS: ?? Obj: Aid in reading comprehension and help students to
grasp the concepts better/have a deeper understanding of the issue through peer discussion and some
leader interjections or guidance.
III. TEACHING PROCEDURES:
Anticipatory Seta. Ask Background probe: Had you thought about this topic of educational inequality and the
achievement gap prior to reading this book?
Sample Answer: For me, yes. Its actually something that is near and dear to my heart. Ive long been
aware of the difference between schools from places like Naperville and Big Rock, the town I live in.
Theres so much to work towards, and to try to change if we want to equalize education (in a positive
way!).
Discussion Questions (# is chapter):
6. What motivates Christians to work in low income schools to help close the achievement gap? (pg.
114)
Sample Answer: For many they have come from poorer backgrounds and want to help students achieve
as they did and for others they feel God calling them to work and to help these kids because many
districts dont have access to good, quality teachers.
Possible interjection:
Stories in this chapter: Aaron subbing for poor districts in college (quote from pg 116 Aarons work
allows him to show the type of compassion that Jesus Christ showed to people of every background; he
works to ensure every child has the opportunities God intended for all. Reflecting on the arc of his life,
Aaron states, God prepared me to do this, and my life was leading up to this moment. Terrie going
from a low income family to being the first to go to college, and attending Notre Damethis leads her
to decide to work with kids from backgrounds like hers. (pg 117)
Fulgram talks about educators having a moment (pg 116) (explain: time when they knew that God
was leading them a certain direction) Ask: (TPS) Talk to the person next to you for a moment and share
if youve had a moment in your life yet, or feel God is leading you in a certain direction with your
teaching.
Brians quote from pg 118. It wasnt fair that I had access to something that they didnt. What did
you think when you read that/how did that make you feel?
Discuss the role of Christian calling/attitude of humility. (pg 119) quote: When filtered through our own
human frailty and ego, a calling can make us feel that we have something to do to the community. This
places the importance on us rather than on the children who are stuck in failing schools. But when we
couple our sense of calling with a strong desire to do justicewell thats a different story altogether.
This shifts the conversation to working with the community to improve student outcomes.
If needed, share my opinion of calling and help to spark conversation.
I found the Authors take on calling to be very interesting. I hadnt thought of it as something that could
take the focus off of whats really important and central to working to close the achievement gap- the
students.
Sample Answers: I think she didnt get the definition of calling right. I dont think calling is something
that detracts from the kids.
I totally agree with her. Sometimes we get so caught up in the vision and the work that we forget the
reason were there for-the kids and to serve them humbly.

Pg. 121 A more mature teacher or child advocate realizes that this work is ultimately about the vast
injustices students in poor neighborhoods face on a daily basis. Touch on the meaning of social justice
if time permits.
Pg. 122 Education as an equalizer. Simply put: education provides the pathway to future
opportunities. Do you think education really is an equalizer?
Answers: Yes, I do think so. Take Pg 126-127 for example, Terries students in rural Louisiana vs the
Zachary School kids. They outscored the smart school kids by working very hard all year. This is a
real world example of education leveling the playing field.
7. What does it mean to be a vision caster? (explore from a personal standpoint as well) Why are vision
statements important/how are they helpful?
Pg 132 Vision statements bring me back to whats possible, even when I cannot see it anymore. Pg
132-133 We have to proclaim the potential in order to counter the deep underlying questions about
whether children from poor families can actually achieve at the highest levels. In short, Christians and
other people of faith can play a crucial role as they join the small, but growing chorus of visionary
voices proclaiming that we can close the academic achievement gap. If we are going to step into our
role as vision casters, we have to inspire those within our sphere of influence to act.
Sample Answer: Being a vision caster is all about setting goals and writing down dreams/ambitions. Its
about letting the world or your audience know what is possible. See tangible goals is a huge part of
being able to achieve them. Vision statements declare those dreams and visions in a way that is not
only tangible but able to be monitored and progress can be tracked. This is HUGE for students.
Why is it so important to talk/start conversations?
Have students turn to page 146 to view the 3 point recaps as we talk/wrap up this chapter. (Points are:
Individuals, Churches, and National Leaders)
Sample Answer: Its important to talk for many reasons, to bring awareness about the topic, to get
people thinking, to create interest, to inform, to direct in how we can change the problem or solve it.
Talking is huge because many dont realize how big of a problem this is and they certainly dont know
that we call can be doing something about it. In the book Allison set so many people on a path of
inquiry and desire to make some changes just by talking about the issue casually to many people that
she encountered. We see in churches that Pastors are advocating and national leaders on even bigger
platforms. This is how we lead to change.
8. What kind of tools would you need to be a labourer? Pg. 150-training. Pg 151 David and his team
(MTR) provide a unique Christian experience for each of the cohort members. He shared about MTRs
Christian Community Education idea: We endeavor to prepare responsible and highly educated
teachers, and were motivated by biblical kingdom values. These values require us to provide all
children, regardless of race, class, or religion, fair and equal access to basic civil rights such as K-12
education. Additionally, these motivations provide the opportunity for teachers to live their career as a
calling to bring fairness and justice to all of creation.
Sample Answers: Training, passion, a spirit of perseverance, a love for kids, compassion.
Highlight section on pg 153 where he talks about the pastor praying for better education for the kids
and for the teachers in public schools. Prayer is important.
Strong leaders are important. Pg 155
Partnering with churches. Pg 158-160 examples within the chapter: feeding kids, helping parents with
literacy
Points: pg 165 Meet needs, come to serve, build/grow relationships, growth, positive goals
How can we help to support public schools? Pg. 170-174

Well share your need with our churchover the next two weeks the congregation raised $50,000 for
the schools computers. I wish you could have seen the faces of the teachers and the principal when
we brought them the check. Some of them literally wept with tears of encouragement and
appreciation.
Sample Answer: Send our kids. Send them to interact and be part of that world. Support them in their
ambitions for better education and reinforce the things theyre doing correctly.
What does it take to start high quality schools or improve low quality ones? (Compare/Contrast the
different schools in your hometown, do you have examples of high quality, wealthy schools, in-between
schools, and low-income schools?)
Sample Answers: Funding, good teachers/administration, students, a facility, supplies.
9. Why is education policy important? Discuss what is currently in place & what we might need. Check
out pg 191-192 and her questions.
Pg. 179 Public education policy, like the one that prohibits children from attending schools outside
their neighborhood boundaries, has a tremendous impact on parents like Kelley and, in some cases,
limits the educational prospects for their children.
Sample Answers: There doesnt seem to be much positively in place right now. We need to be putting
things in place and helping to reform education for our kids.
What do you think are challenges to education reform, as Christians and citizens of America?
Fulgram says: Appearing too political (pg 186), Meeting todays needs (pg 187), Making enemies (pg
189)
Highlight: pg 191 Research studies overwhelmingly suggest what most of us know intuitively: Quality
teachers significantly impact student achievement
Importance of parents, working together and communicating. Pg. 192
Getting a good foundation in your learning career. Pg 193
School choice. Pg 196 Mann vs Garfield in Washington DC
Money is important, but responsible stewardship of funds and proper usage is just as important, if not
more. Pg 198
10. pg 203: It must have been nice to leave, Ms. Baker. We couldnt go anywhere. We were stuck.
Discuss the story of the danger in Compton (black man beaten to death) and the kids who couldnt
leave for safety. How did that make you feel?
Sample Answer: I was horrified, and frankly the words have been haunting me since I read them. I am
so privileged and this was a powerful illustration of how some kids live and the differences in poorer
communities. I wondered, what would it be like to live there? And I dont know. I just know that I would
never want any children to have to suffer less than others because of a broken system that we could be
taking steps to fix.
pg 204 Now is the time for Christians and all people of faith to become passionate advocates who will
ensure all children in this country have the opportunities they deserve. The Christian community can
fully embrace our role as vision casters who educate others and ourselves about the challenges and
possibilities inherent in our nations academic achievement gap. Christians can become action oriented
laborers improving education in their local communities by supporting high-quality education nonprofits, tutoring children in low-income schools, and determining the most effective way to partner with
public schools. Finally, Christians have a strong and powerful advocacy voice. We can join the
education reform debate advocating for policies that will truly close the achievement gap; we can

stand for moral, equitable educational policies that help kids in our schools, instead of reinforcing the
status quo. I love how she closes this book. Its strong, powerful, memorable. Theres a call for us as
Christians to do something, even things that may seem small or insignificant. Id encourage you to
think about what you personally can do. Maybe its teach in a school like we saw in the book, or simply
pray, partner with your church to help, or vote for education policy that will help to close the
achievement gap.
Wrap up and how they felt about the book. (Summative Assessment)
Sample Answers: I loved the book because I felt that it was engaging, informative, and relevant to my
personal goals as a teacher and things that Im interested in/passionate about as a future teacher and
Christian leader. (This is my own personal opinion, may share this in closing.)
I was not a fan of the book. I felt like her expectations were unrealistic and that the achievement gap
cant be solved without scrapping our whole system.
IV. MATERIALS:
Lesson plan, discussion questions, book, notes
V.

ADAPTATIONS/PLAN MODIFICATIONS:
Be aware of the time and how long Emilys discussion has gone. Be sure to let good discussions
continue, and adapt number of questions used to fit time frame without hindering good discussions.
VI. EVALUATION:
1) Formative TPS, choral response, compare/contrast
2) Summative Exit Paragraph (verbal)
VII. REFLECTION:
1) Was I clear in my objectives/rules for the discussion (assessed through how the discussion goes)
2) Were the questions I chose leading into good discussion/hitting the main points?
3) Did I provide opportunity for all students to give input into the discussion, explain how?
4) Did my discussion flow smoothly after Emilys and did I feed off of her discussion of the first half?

5) Did students gain a deeper understanding of poverty and the achievement gap after reading the
book and discussing it in depth?