Black Minds Matter

The Black Lives Matter zoom sessions were all such a great resource and place to learn! Whether it was Dr. Smith sharing the framework of Racial Battle Fatigue or seeing Michael Brown Senior, it was such a great way to connect academic concepts with real world applications and context. I’m sure I will remember that experience for years to come, as it really did feel like a once in a lifetime thing.

This course is well organized, easy to use, and thorough. Recommendations are based on extensive research and experience. Any higher education faculty can gain multicultural competence as teachers by participating in this program. Amazing presenters handled complicated and provocative questions during live sessions with grace, skill, and insight. Thank you!

CORA training is as essential a training as there is for teachers teaching in the community college system because it focuses on teaching men of color and all the ways they are misunderstood and our assumptions about them. And what I learned will help me be a better teacher to all students, which is bonus added.

The lessons I learned taking this program can be applied to all students. It made me reflect on my approach and understand what I’m doing right or wrong. All community college instructors, especially those that teach in racially diverse areas, should take this course. It will make you a better instructor.

As an instructor with over three decades of experience, I was surprised to find out how little I know about teaching men of color. The CORA training altered many of my preconceptions and gave me excellent tips to use in my classroom. For example, I just prepared my syllabus for the coming fall semester and, for the first time, opened with a letter to my students welcoming them and asking them to see their life experiences as a resource rather than as a set of obstacles to be overcome. I have many other great ideas that I am going to try this semester. Thank you CORA.

Teaching Men of Color in the Community College is a valuable course, especially to those who have been teaching for many years. It gave me a chance to reflect on my practices and to validate why something that I have been doing has worked, or why something else has not worked. It gave me an opportunity to rethink collaborative projects that required time outside of the class and has gotten me to think of ways to reach students outside the confines of official office hours.

The CORA training for the course Teaching Men of Color exceeded my expectations in terms of ease of use, accessibility, and reliability. In addition to the course being of high value, the material was relevant and the assessment tool (quizzes) allowed for immediate feedback process. The Discussion Boards were also easy to participate in and use.

The intentional design of the guidebook and webinar modules was effective in providing a research-based yet practical set of practices for educators of any racial/ethnic/gender background to help our students who are Men of Color.

No matter how much you *think* you already know about the problems facing men of color in the community college setting, you’ll learn something new, or deepen your understanding of the problems you’re already aware of, by participating in this course.

Bravo!!! Providing relevant content, statistics and examples on how to teach men of color in community college. I especially, like the strategies for building personal relationships or meaning full relationships and a light bulb switch in my mind was ‘Welcomeness to Engage – Mattering’.

The program was thought-provoking and informative. I appreciated the emphasis on both, the instructor’s and the institutional responsibility to create an environment that fosters student engagement and success. I also liked the fact that this program is research-based. And, that the message is empowering – we can all become more effective teachers by first, taking the time to understand the particular challenges of a particular group of students (in this case, men of color) face, and then using that awareness to take steps to make things better.

Teaching Men of Color in the Community College is an innovative and encouraging online course. With an effective balance of theoretical background and practical advice, this course offers refreshing, well-supported ideas for helping men of color succeed. Interactions with colleague-students and the course’s professors offer camaraderie and fine opportunities to discuss and explore the ideas and information presented. I recommend the course to new and experienced college faculty members.

Taking the CORA Teaching Men of Color course has helped me as an instructor realize the critical nature of what must be done in the classroom to help men of color succeed. This course has made me make critical changes to what happens in my own classroom and it should be required for all community college faculty and staff.

The course was really highly worthwhile. The readings were interesting and inspiring, the discussion was excellent. it provided me with many, many great ideas to include in my teaching, and with a lot to think about as a scholar and as a citizen. I’d strongly recommend it to all teachers.

Excellent, research-based and timely, this program has provided me with meaningful specifics related to the barriers to academic success men of color face in higher education. This program has shown me useful, practical and effective strategies that I can employ now as a professor to empower men of color in my classes to successfully pursue their academic development. I highly recommend it.

I found Teaching Men of Color a head-on encounter with the issue of declining educational system, straightforwardly going to our blind-spot and entrenchment in our own attitudes about men and/or students of color and asking for a trust and belief in the capabilities of students of color. It asks us to watch out for our micro-racism and actively intervene in the educational lives of students of color. So much to be learned and so many particular points to be filled out, this workshop is a good starting point for colleges with a predominantly under-represented and under-served students of color.

This workshop is equally engaging for any instructor who is new to the topic or for seasoned professionals who feel they already know all about it. The presenters use solid research-based theories while focusing on effective applications instructors can readily apply. I am confident the information learned in this course will make me a more effective instructor in reaching male students of color in my courses.

Our campus is working hard to address issues of equity, and to diversify our student body. This class on Teaching Men of Color in the Community College is productive, enlightening, and very useful. I like that there is theory, pedagogy and actual helpful information. Drs. Wood and Herrin are clearly knowledgable and dynamic.

We teach because we want to make a difference in the lives of our students, but we are so disconnected and do not find the time to reflect on their daily struggles and challenges. This program allows us to stop and feel the realities that some of our student experience. It allows to finally hear the calling for help by men of color: a calling that we have ignored for too long. These men are capable of experiencing the triumphs and tasting the fruits of success of higher education, but they need our support and encouragement. They need to be validated and told that their stories are as relevant as any other student’s story. They need to feel that success at a community college is realistic and possible and that their success will confirm that Dr. King’s dream is more alive today than at any other time in our history.

TMOC does an excellent job of explaining the environment within which men of color seek their educations. Their discussion of place and socialization allows a glimpse into the difficult circumstances within which men of color choose, or do not choose to engage. The fourth class session provides an extensive array of possible techniques for instructors to employ. Every instructor should experience this course, while continuing to address this important issue in their own classrooms.

My experience in this program was wonderful. The facilitators, Drs. Wood and Harris, did a fantastic job of organizing the course, laying the groundwork in terms of research, and attaining a high level of participation in the discussions surrounding this important work. They truly inspired me and empowered me to try to make these important improvements to my classroom practice.

I found CORA’s Teaching Men of Color in Community Colleges helpful and engaging concerning one of the most critical areas facing every educator. Their insights, trainings and techniques will definitely enhance my skills in and out of the classroom concerning not only the demographic it is geared toward, but with all students.

I would highly recommend this program. I wish it was mandatory for all classroom instructors. This program made me aware of the subtle micro aggression that I had but was totally unaware of this fact. I have been talking about this program non stop since I finished. Well done..

What I really enjoyed about this class was the ability to have open and candid discussions with other faculty about the readings and about our own experiences teaching men of color. The webinar created an atmosphere where faculty could have an honest discussion acknowledging our own shortcomings and how we can improve our teaching practices to best benefit our students.