Aurora Cedillo's Analysis

In the reading, Culture and Power in the Classroom: A Critical Foundation for Bicultural Education, Antonia Darder argues that education is a critical tool and necessity for the advancement of people of color. She highlights that education is tied to status, which in turn, then gives you power in society. She helps us see many of the flaws in the school system that prevents students of color from excelling in the academic world. She points to us, that although there are many things within the school institution itself that fail students of color over and over again, the blame is always placed on the individual. She also highlights that there are many myths about students of color that say that their failure is tied to coming from cultures and backgrounds that do not value education. Finally, Darder argues that conservative educators hurt bicultural student’s education, and liberal educators, although may seem the better option, still fail to attack the institutions that help foster failure in the education setting. They also end up alluding to student failure to individual failure.

Teachers must learn about their student’s cultures if they want to educate them to the best of their ability. Many of the students in culturally diverse classrooms will want to learn in different ways. Some will want to learn in pairs, groups, as a class, or just alone. If the teacher is educated in their culture then lessons can be adjusted to appeal to every student as much as possible instead of forcing some to forget about their culture and learn like others. Students from

Students are often the first people to call teachers out for being disconnected. A prime example is displayed in chapter two of Milner. Mr. Hall, a science teacher working in an urban school believed that he just needed to know his content area to be a successful educator (49). However, he discovered that he also need to know his students deeply to get his students to respond to him in meaningful ways. Disconnect can be defined as a lack of personal connection between teachers and students. Disconnect can come at any stage of the school year. It can happen at the fault of the teacher or at a cultural level. The two types of disconnect that I will discuss in this paper are cultural and linguistic disconnect. Cultural disconnect refers to the customs, music, and pop culture of the students and ways that teachers do not understand their students’ culture or depreciate it. Linguistic disconnect refers to the phrases, words, sayings that are used amongst students and can include Ebonics and other cultural languages. This paper will attempt to expose the impacts of disconnect and discuss what measures first year teachers can take in order to be a culturally and linguistically responsive.

In the article Creating the Conditions for Cultural Democracy in the Classroom Darder examines the issue of why institutions fail to provide for students who fall outside the dominant culture. Darder calls for the creation of a more inclusive bicultural pedagogy laying out various means by which to achieve such a pedagogy. The article dissects academia’s perceptions of culture and language usage, with specific attention paid the ways in which those perceptions reinforce the power dynamics in teacher training programs. Beyond calling for reform of practices that take place in the classroom, Darder looks at the school as an institution and concludes that as such it inherently reinforces hierarchical relationships; not only between teacher and

This is where culturally contrasting individuals clash together in a social space, such as a college lecture hall. The university where Pratt worked at offered a course called “Cultures, Ideas, Values” which taught about the Americas and other countries histories, rallying up an assorted student body (Pratt 39). A diverse class with a culturally inclusive curriculum led to the creation of a “safe house”, which are “social and intellectual spaces” for all cultures to have “shared understandings” (Pratt 40). If every school vitalized “contact zones”, then Rodriguez and other students could succeed academically while having integrity for where they came from making school a “safe house”. Cultural diversity promotes free-thinking since students do not lose their ethnic virtues and avoid shifting into robotic containers to fill since their environments are more inclusive towards other ideas. Open-ended discussions and dialect open a multitude of doors since education is no longer restricted towards one mindset. With this in effect, various dispositions can be embraced, thus encouraging students to foster their own sense of reality and what they constitute as the real

My cultural perspectives are based on my life experiences of growing up and living in the Midwest to a middle class, mixed nationality family. I’ve learned what is appropriate and how to act to survive in my world, based on my culture. My fiancé is from a similar culture to me, and even we have different beliefs on certain issues. Inside a culture, every one is not exactly the same. There are different individuals in each group, who can all relate to each other. Professionally, I am different and similar to many teachers in my school, and also the students in my school. As a colleague and educator, we all need to learn how to interact and succeed together. It can be difficult to align different cultural values of students and teachers to all be successful and teach the students how to survive in their world. The article gives solutions to the myths that surround multiple cultures coming together.

Another challenge educator’s encounter is the cultural gap that is between students and teachers. It is important for educators to understand that some culturally diverse children may need things explained to them in a different way for them to gain an understanding.

Our community and world is forever changing. Through the years our classrooms are looking more and more different. There isn’t just one type of student anymore. There isn’t one race or type of culture per a classroom. Educators especially in urban areas are faced with multiple cultures and races within their classroom.

Within education teachers come in contact with a large population of culturally diverse individuals (students,

I believe it is important for educators to critically examine their own values, beliefs and attitudes in relation to difference and diversity as we apply them into our daily life. (Chopra, 2012). It is important that educators are respectful of all languages and dialects and do not make judgements about the language used by children and families (Arthur et al 2012, p57). Children learn from important adult figures in their life, parents, family, educators and community all shape a child’s perspective and how they view different situations. Families have different beliefs and values; these include beliefs about family roles, how children learn, what they believe is important for children and their visions for society (Arthur et al 2012, p 57).

Hawley and Nieto present the idea that all students bring merit to the classroom; yet all too often, those gifts and experiences are overlooked due to a lack of understanding of the students’ culture. Ignorance should no longer be an accepted practice in schools. In fact, the school is where children should learn the empathy our world craves. School should be a safe haven where differences are not only accepted, but encouraged.

In country where schools are becoming increasingly diverse and the teachers are becoming less diverse, the author writes about how teachers can better convey and accept culture in the classroom. Currently prejudice, stereotypes and cultural assumptions are present in classrooms but are ineffectively met by educators. The author attributes these problems to children of color and low economic situations are a result of miscommunication within the classroom and teaching staff. One of the major themes of this book is the imbalance of power and how this culture of power is impacting the classroom and the dynamics are in turn damaging our education system. Throughout the book, the author uses interviews, stories, and personal narratives from various cultural backgrounds to display the ineffective process of education for children of color, Native Alaskans, and children from low economic status. She claims that educators are making assumptions about these students’ motivation, capabilities, and integrity. The author uses her own experiences to shape her personal beliefs about education. She wants to understand education through various contexts and insights. By putting herself into different situations she is able to discover different realities.

In order for educators to ensure their students are attaining a quality education and are leaving school as productive, educated members of society, it is essential that educators have sufficient knowledge of student diversity, the resources/programs available to them and are able to devise and implement the curriculum in a way that is inclusive to all students. According to Definition of Diversity diversity is best described as the “understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.” Therefore, diversity is the ability to recognize and accept that no one person is the same, and that educators and students must be respectful and inclusive of all people and their different cultures. They must not discriminate but “embrace” their differences in order to move forward as a nurturing and inclusive world. An interview was conducted with a mother of 5 children, who migrated from England when she was 16 years of age (see Appendix). Her father worked as a coal miner who left school early and studied

Dervin, F. (2017). “I find it odd that people have to highlight other people’s differences - even when there are none”: Experiential learning and interculturality in teacher education. International Review of Education, 63(1), 87–102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-017-9620-y

The schools in the United States are built on the culture values of the dominant culture of white European, Protestant, English speaking populations (Ariza, 2010). Schools impose a hidden curriculum on students that deviate from that of the dominant culture, causing many barriers to students and families that are considered minority (George and Aronson, 2003). Schools play a role in maintaining the dominant culture, yet teachers can serve as cultural change agents, individuals that that shifts mindsets away from the dominant culture and into a more inclusive cultural that respects and values different cultures. The purpose of this paper is to examine significant points of Goodwin (2000), examine the themes, and conclude with a critical evaluation.