Building The Bridge Between Home Culture And A School Culture

Toppel noted that cultural responsive requires teachers to question the curricula taught at school whether they promote inclusiveness or not. Furthermore, teachers should be more flexible and find a way out to include some reading materials with linkage to students’ live experiences (Toppel, 2015). Having knowledge of cultural responsive instructions expand teachers’ pedagogical practices and make them rely little on the traditional methods. In the same token, Ellis et al (2017) asserted that when teachers develop their cultural responsiveness, they broaden their awareness and gain insights into issues facing diverse students, as well as family, and communities. Cultural responsive instructions not only allow teachers to better understand ELLs’ concerns but also contribute to maintaining collaboration with family and community as a whole.

After reading Geneva Gay’s article Preparing for Culturally Responsive Teaching I realized my pedagogy is culturally responsive in many ways. For one, I always

Race, Gender, Class, and ethnicity are the fabrics that form a Multicultural Society. As a teacher, it is important to think about my students’ various cultures and influences their cultures possess over their learning. After all, students are taught within the context of culture. Culture is what we teach whether it is explicit or institutional. Culture is integral to learning, considering culture is dependent on education for its survival. Culture is transferred from one generation to the next using informal or formal education (Convertino, Levinson, Gonzalez 27). As teachers, we should ensure our instruction is relevant to our students, otherwise they will lose interest, and then, they will never learn (Banks 2013). So, teachers should approach their students within a culturally relevant pedagogy.

In order to develop an effective culturally responsive framework, Utely, Obiakor, and Bakken (2011) define culture as the “unique blending of characteristics among individuals within groups and may include variables such as socioeconomic status, life experiences, gender, language, education, sexual orientation, psychological state, and political viewpoints.” Culturally responsive teaching principles are used to empower the student by using their cultural background. Teaching is based on their strengths to include various learning styles, cultural knowledge, and it should be “actively construed” so students can

In Chapter 1. of ‘Culturally Responsive Instruction’ teachers have to identify ways to make everyone feel comfortable as much as necessary to have them concentrate on the learning. In chapter 1, illustrates that we have to teach not by culture but by ways that everyone can relate to (Kadhir, 2017, p. 2). It is important that we identify their visual, auditory,

Ladson-Billings (1994) describes the culturally responsive classroom as “a pedagogy that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes.” I’m in total agreement with their definition because I’ve personally witnessed the power of embedding relatable aspects of students’ daily lives into the curriculum. Four years ago, I moved from Memphis, TN to the Bronx, New York for the sole purpose of diversifying my teaching career and expanding my repertoire as an educator. I had very knowledge about the community of students I served. As a matter of fact, I had never seen a Dominican, Haitian, or Puerto Rican in my whole life. I had a complete culture

Being a culturally responsive teacher is more than implementing multicultural activities and programs within the classroom. It involves confronting issues of power and privilege that arise in the face of diversity, and recognizing the influence this has on a child’s ability to learn. This is particularly difficult in the field of education. Teachers are required to respect the values that are associated with every child’s culture, and the many differences amongst them including, physical and mental ability, gender, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, language, religion, sexual orientation, geography, and age. As a result, today’s teachers have to be able to separate their professional and private lives and ignore any bias in the latter.

Culturally Responsive Teaching is a teaching style that recognizes all aspects of students’ cultural references. Professor Geneva Gay states, “culturally responsive teaching connects students’ cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and performance styles to academic knowledge and intellectual tools in ways that legitimize what students already know (Kozleski , p. 1). The PowerPoint also states, characteristics of a culturally responsive teaching: positive perspectives on families and culture, communicates high expectations, uses culture as a context for learning, reshapes curriculum and instruction. This type of teaching opens up children’s mind and allows for a new and innovated style of teaching. 2.

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.

Through the years, many articles have been written about teacher’s being culturally responsive in the classroom. What exactly is being “culturally responsive”? Becoming culturally responsive means to acknowledge the differences and the similarities between individuals and groups and connect them within the teaching environment. This acknowledgment should be modeled by the teachers working with students in the classroom. Teachers play an important role in balancing the academic and social curriculum for students.

2)“Culturally responsive pedagogy is a student-centered approach to teaching in which the students’ unique cultural strengths are identified and nurtured to promote student achievement and a sense of well-being about the student’s cultural place in the world”. My understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy is that as educators we must promote respect and values in our students. Our learning environment, our institution and the staff members should reflect the appropriate respect and values which support the diverse makeup of our students. We therefore, would have to nurture and support each child diverse nature through new learning experiences that encourages and develops new learning outcomes.

From January 12th through February 23rd, I observed Mrs. Nelson’s 5th grade classroom for a total of 10 hours. Mrs. Nelson’s class is located at Nielson elementary school in Galesburg, Illinois. Mrs. Nelson’s teaching style has helped me discover new ways to promote different types of meaningful learning and culturally relevant and responsive teaching in the classroom. Throughout this paper, I will identify the ways in which Mrs. Nelson has used these methods in her classroom by providing examples. I will also be discussing the best and worst tactic’s of culturally relevant and responsive teaching that she implemented.

Cultural competence is the foundation in creating a successful academic environment for diverse students. Being culturally competent means being knowledgeable of other cultures, including the awareness of that culture’s world view. When someone is culturally competent they are able to effectively communicate and interact with people across cultures, and hold a positive attitude towards culture differences. (Nieto 2014) Teachers should be able to understand their student’s cultural views, traditions, language, and home life, and incorporate these cultural factors into their lesson plans and classroom settings. When early educators use culture competence, children are able to develop a sense of belonging, form strong

By trying to see someone else’s culture through their eyes I need to be curious and introspective. Teachers that are culturally responsive strive to learn about themselves, their culture, and how their beliefs and experiences influence their perceptions and interactions with their students (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011). I would like to work toward all of my students gaining resilience within my classroom. According to Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, the real goal of helping students is to develop their capacity to be resilient. This will help students to succeed despite adverse circumstances and challenges (pg. 65).

Culturally relevant pedagogy is defined as addressing student achievement and helping students to accept and affirm their cultural identity while developing critical perspectives. Culturally relevant pedagogy produces students who can achieve academically and provides equitable educational experiences for all students. Critically multicultural education is defined as securing social justice for individuals and communities, regardless of a person’s race, ethnicity, gender, language, sexual orientation, disability, religion, socioeconomic status, etc. Multicultural education seeks to eliminate educational inequities and recognizes that comprehensive school reform can only be achieved through a critical analysis of systems of power and privilege.