Being culturally responsive while teaching can be difficult. It can be seen as being racially discriminatory. As a teacher you are supposed to have the mindset that all students are capable of learning the information that you are presenting, but realizing that culturally background can effect the way that students learn can help you tap into what you can do to help your students learn more effectively. It seems that if you were in a classroom that was really diverse that it would be difficult to be sensitive to all the different ethnicity. I think that since I have been in school, many of my classes teach you to be culturally sensitive. I think that in most schools it is rare that you would have a wide range of ethnicity. I know most of the schools that I have visited have been mostly homogeneous when it comes race with a few exceptions. I think it is very important not to ignore the fact that students with different heritage and backgrounds are in your classroom because I think there is a lot to be learned from that student by the others in your classroom and you as a teacher. I also think that it is difficult to recognize these culturally differences without make those students who are different feel singled out. Some kids can be very sensitive about feeling different then other students and there is always that want to feel excepted and belonging.
With students that are said to have "deficits" due to there heritage, I think that as a teacher it is your responsibility to find those students who need more motivation or have health problems and do that you can to help them succeed in the classroom. Giving students confidence in themselves and showing them that you think that they have the potential to complete the tasks that you have given them will go a long way. I really like this quote by J. Banks, 1975, pp.165-166, "minority students should not be taught contempt for their cultures. Teachers should use elements of their cultures to help them attain the skills which they need to live alternative lifestyles." I think it is important for students to embrace their culture and figure out how they can incorporate it into their school.
I agree with you that we can help our students academically by realizing that cultural backgrounds have an affect on learning. While it does seem difficult in an extremely diverse classroom (and like you, most of my experiences in courses have dealt with diversity while most of my classroom experiences have been fairly homogenous) it seems that it would be another part of getting to know your students. I think that through our digital stories, we will see just how much information our brains hold about our students.
ReplyDeleteIn another education class, we had a guest speaker who researched race in the classroom and found similar conclusions that you reached. It was important to be aware of race and culture, but then there is also a phenomenon of singling kids out because of their culture. It is a very fine balance.
One of the quotes that struck me the most from this article about culturally responsive teaching was, "Success begets success" (p. 24) You wrote about encouraging students and I agree that this is so important. When I student taught (5 years ago!) a friend was in my building, but student teaching in kindergarten. Her goal for the year was that kids would feel encouraged to go on - since they had so many years ahead of them! It didn't dawn on me right away that 4th graders need the same thing. They still have a long way to go and it is important for me as a teacher to create experiences where kids can be successful and feel encouraged.
I would like to push both of you to think about diversity in more diverse ways. so even if all of our students are White, Black, Asian and there isn't much diversity, we still have diversity in terms of our students' life experiences. A kid who comes from a 2 parent household will have a different experience than a kid from a single parent, foster or adoptive household..
ReplyDeleteit is really easy to create a dichotomy when it comes to things like culturally responsive pedagogy-you either include (exploit?) it or ignore it-right? I'm of the mindset that we keep culturally difference in mind, but ultimately what we DO is RESPECT EVERY SINGLE KID and model that respect through our teaching practice, curriculum, the kinds of books we have on our shelves, etc. this seems so simple, yet there are so many teachers who want to teach in ONE way and that way might only rea.ch 10% of their kids-even if they are White
also, really great points about expectation for kids and pushing them to continue. My alternative ed kids were often the ones that teachers had low expectations for and therefore they struggled and ended up failing in that system. When they came to our school-we not only had to find out who they were, where they came from and what their past experiences in schools were like (this often took months), but also meet them academically. I believe that when you hold high expectations for ANY kid (elementary, high school, undergrad, grad) they will most likely reach those expectation. But the important thing is that we are there to help them meet them. Often they are expected to do this on their own and that is where the trouble ensues...
ReplyDelete