Preparing For Culturally Responsive Teaching

Einstein said: “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Now imagine the various students that enter the classroom. They come from all walks of life with different backgrounds and stories to tell. If educators don’t recognize that these differences do in fact exist then some of the fish that pass through those school doors will leave the building believing that they are incapable because of the trees presented for them to climb. Enter culturally responsive teaching. This method or pedagogical device is the answer to bridging this gap that students may encounter when they are not given the opportunity to show their particular geniuses or to act as their own agent in their education.

Culturally Responsive Teaching is an emerging field that focuses on student cultural backgrounds and experiences in the development of pedagogy. According to Kea (2013) cultural difference is the single largest difference in U.S. schools and also the most neglected. The goal of Culturally Responsive Teaching is to provide an equal opportunity for all students to learn in school, regardless of their gender, social class, ethnic, racial or cultural characteristics (Banks 2005). Ladson-Billings (1994) suggest that the historic failings of educators in educating non-white students is that educators attempt to insert culture into education rather than insert education into the culture. In other words, educators are not providing an equal multi-culturally relevant education by bringing tokens of culture such as food, national flags, or maps from around the world into the classroom alone. Although these actions promote a sense of multiculturalism, an education that is relative to a diversity of cultures is not necessarily being provided. Culturally Responsive Teaching attempts to bring the various experiences of the student’s cultural home life into the classroom. Schmidt (2005) identifies seven characteristics that must be incorporated into curriculum in order to provide culturally responsive instruction. These characteristics are high expectations,

Public schools are beginning to see a shift in demographics in the United States. There is now a culturally diverse student population and educators need to respond to this shift in order to ensure an equal education for all students. Culture aids in determining how students learn, and culturally responsive teaching is a way teachers can educate culturally diverse students and provide an equal education for all. Culturally responsive teaching is defined by Geneva Gay as using the various characteristics, perspectives, and experiences of many cultures to effectively teach culturally diverse students (2000). Culturally responsive teaching prepares teachers to work with and teach a culturally diverse classroom of students and allows teachers to create a classroom environment that is similar to their students’ home environments so students do not have to assimilate to the dominant culture or change from their home culture to their school culture depending on their setting (Brown). Multicultural education is not only important for ensuring equal education for all students, but also creates youth who will be able to function and be effective citizens in a pluralistic society (Gay 2003). In order to implement culturally responsive teaching, teachers must acknowledge potential biases and reconstruct their attitudes, create a diverse knowledge base, be caring and empowering, and create a classroom environment that is conducive to a culturally diverse

Culturally Responsive Teaching is a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students' cultural references in all aspects of learning (Ladson-Billings, 1994). This approach to teaching encompasses how knowledge is both communicated and perceived by the students. The teacher must have a good relationship with the parents, have high expectations, learn about their students culture, have culturally mediated student-centered instruction, willing to reshape the curriculum, and be a facilitator in order to accomplish this method of teaching. These are key points a teacher must be willing to do if they intend to be an effective teacher especially in a highly culturally diverse area like central

To effectively reach all learners from diverse backgrounds, it is imperative that implementation of the content reflect and relate to students cultural background (Woidkowski & Ginsberg, 1995). Culturally responsive teaching is multidimensional including curriculum and instructional practices as aforementioned however; failure to address teacher-student interaction, classroom climate, performance assessment, and overall school culture will lead to a fractured approach (Howard, 2012). Wiodkowski and Ginsberg outline a framework for culturally responsive teaching focusing on motivational conditions related to respect, choice, rigor, and competence. This framework included establishment of an inclusive setting so all members of the community feel included and respected, development of positive attitude towards the learning experience through personal significance and choice, creation of challenging work that creates values for learning new material and having been exposed to the growth experience (Woidkowski &

4-5). A culturally responsive classroom opens up the world of teaching. It is important for students and teachers to learn about the values, norms, and customs of different cultures. The United States is a melting pot is it vital to learning about diversity. Teachers have to participate in reforming of the curriculum to establish culture standards and values (Kozleski, p. 5).

The purpose of my research is to examine school leader’s perceptions towards cultural responsiveness and how culturally responsive practices can reduce disparities in school discipline? I became interested in my topic for a number of reasons. I’ve included some literature review that explains why my topic is important to society. Following that text, I will elaborate on why I am fervent about my topic from an individual perspective.

As America’s racial and ethnic diversity grows and evolves, so also classroom instruction must evolve such that it meets the array of needs of students from increasingly diverse backgrounds. For example, the U. S. Department of Education predicted that minority student enrollment will grow in K-12 schools in America and become the majority in public schools. However, many students from culturally diverse backgrounds in urban high schools are failing high-stakes assessment tests (Achinstein & Ogawa, 2012; Bonner & Adams, 2012). Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies (CRTS) are instructional strategies that address ways to teach students from culturally diverse backgrounds with the goal of improving their educational results. The National

Teachers guides, facilities and encourage students to become life-long learners during their school years. Besides teaching them academics, we build relationships and community through their school year. Coupled with, create on the student autonomy of their own learning to grow up and become professionals. Equally important, teachers become learners when building those relationships in order to create a culturally responsive classroom. The course Enhancing Learning through Linguistic and Cultural Diversity has shown me the importance of why getting to know the students that we have in the classroom. Dr. Garcia (n.d) explained the importance of using the five R’s not only in the classroom, but also in the school environment. In addition, he focused on the importance of getting to know the roots of the students, where they come from, how they were raised, know their culture in order to connect them to the learning.

Culture in short terms makes you, you; everyone has it. Culture is a shared representation of who you are and value, it deals with your identity, traditions, and it develops over time. Culture is ever changing. However, culture is sometimes hard to understand. A great teacher needs to be culturally diverse, they need to respect each others differences. A culturally competent teacher understands one’s own bias and cultural identity. As a teacher, it’s important to be get to know your student and become educated about their background. Our country is changing and becoming extremely diverse, this is why we need to continue to educate ourselves. When a teacher becomes culturally competent, they increase their ability to support their students and

As a future educator it’s important to understand that diversity will be seen in classrooms. As a result, it’s the educator’s role to become cultural competence, which is the ability to successfully teach students who come from cultures other than your own. Diversity can be different types of race, religions, gender, languages, customs, and culture. Teachers need to see all their students equal regardless of their diversity and culture background. This course helped shape my character and broaden my views toward other cultures. I had many memorable experiences due to taking this course.

As a future teacher of ELL students, I have learned some awesome techniques to help me encourage the development of both of the languages that they are learning, as well as helping them to be successful in school. One piece of information that I want to take away from this chapter is that each culture views how American’s teach in a different way, and as a future educator, it is my responsibility to ensure that not only the children feel comfortable with the way that I teach, but that the parents do also. I know that it is going to be impossible to make sure that each parent feels comfortable with every teaching strategy that I use, but that they know that I am trying to make an effort to include their culture in my classroom. One way that I have thought about doing this is to do home visits before school starts. This will allow me to explain to the parents what my goals are or the school year and ask for their opinion. I am a huge advocate for parent feedback, so I would love to hear what they have to say! I love the idea of teaching a culturally diverse classroom, and yes, it will bring its challenges, but I feel that I could learn so much from the families and their

Culturally responsive pedagogy was a fascinating topic to read. Several items in the Richards’ article connected with me. I began my teaching career as someone who migrated from the north to the south. As Richard states a teacher may need to have conversations with family members to understand cultural biases (Richards, 2007, p. 65). I spoke with my mother to grasp how my upbringing impacted the connection I could have with my students. Also, she explained ways I would not be able to relate with my students as a result of my learning experiences. Another point brought out in the Richards article was fostering community involvement (Richards, 2007, p. 67). During one of my district meetings, a principal share how she took the PTA meeting to

As an educator it is important to be aware of the various learners in the classroom as well as being able to shift lessons accordingly to adapt to a greater number of students. In addition it is essential that culturally responsive practices is adapted in the classroom in order for all students to have a sense of belonging and are able to participate. For this reason, a teacher must actively use culturally responsive practices to engage students and their families because it helps to develop a relationship and maintain a level of communication. Learning “facts” about different cultures is not enough, it is more important that we make

An example as to how culturally relevant pedagogy is an approach used to provide equitable educational experiences for all students is stated in the class text White Teachers/Diverse Classrooms. Culturally relevant teachers imagine somewhere in the classroom is the next Toni Morrison, or Benjamin Carson, which helps the teacher to feel with the student rather than feel for them. By doing this, teachers are able to