This reflection is a response to the following articles: Banks, J. A. (1993). Multicultural Education: Development, Dimensions, and Challenges. The Phi Delta Kappa, 75(1), 22-28. Gay, G. (2013). Teaching To and Through Cultural Diversity. Curriculum Inquiry, 43(1), 49-52. Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. American Education Research Journal, 32(3), 465-491. Paris, D. (2012). Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy: A Needed Change in Stance, Terminology, and Practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93-97. In her article "Teaching To and Through Cultural Diversity," Geneva Gay defines culturally responsive teaching as "using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them" (49-50).Gay explains that "traditional instruction ideologies... filter curriculum content and teaching strategies through their [middle-class European American] frames of reference… [making them] more personally meaningful and easy to master” (51). This is why schools have been best prepared to serve "middle-class European Americans" (Gay 51). This one way in which we have been unfair to our non-white students. However, this is also where we can start to address the inequity in the education system: we can address and incorporate the "cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students" (Gay 49-50). We can use ethnically diverse frames of reference to make curriculum more personally meaningful for our students and easier for our students to master. We should find ourselves as teachers called toward culturally relevant or responsive pedagogies. We should also, of course, bear in mind that the closely related goal of "multicultural education is to restructure schools so that all students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to function in an ethnically and racially diverse nation and world" (Banks 27). In this space, I will use culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally responsive pedagogy interchangeably. While this is a simplification, I do not believe it interferes with the conversation I am hoping to have here. It is worth noting that in his article "Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy: A Needed Change in Stance, Terminology, and Practice," Django Paris calls us to move from these terms to culturally sustaining pedagogy, pointing toward the need for "extended conversations" and "cultural connectedness" (Paris 95). As words both reflect and influence thought, his call for a change in terminology is worthwhile. However, I want to use this space to focus on the actions of educators engaging in culturally relevant/responsive/sustaining pedagogies. Therefore, let's look at what culturally relevant teachers do as culturally relevant teachers. And as you read, please keep in mind that Gay reminds us that as teachers we must "make [our] commitment explicit and how [we] exemplify the general principles and values of teaching to and through cultural diversity” (52). For her article "Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy," Ladson-Billings observed the teaching behaviors of educators and discovered that while there are no "fixed or rigid behaviors that teachers must adhere to in order to merit the designation 'culturally relevant,'" there are ideas and behaviors which are consistent between culturally relevant teachers (478). The "three broad propositions [which] emerged from this research center around the following:" Culturally relevant teachers recognize and address conceptions of self and others (Ladson-Billings 478). The teachers: In these classrooms, failure was not an option. Culturally relevant teachers "cajoled, nagged, pestered... the students to work at high intellectual levels" (Ladson-Billings 479). However, teachers were also open and honest about "their own shortcomings... and ways they needed to change to ensure student success" (Ladson-Billings 479). These teachers were responsive, and they were also spontaneous and energetic in the classroom. They were risk-takers (Ladson-Billings 479). These teachers existed in students' worlds outside the classroom as well. They "made conscious decisions to be a part of the community from which their students come" (Ladson-Billings 479). This is not, however, to neglect the classroom community, which brings us to the second "tenet" of culturally relevant teachers: social relations. Culturally relevant teachers "consciously create social interactions [for] academic success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness. Briefly, the teachers:" Students understood that each and every one of them were "expected to excel at something" (Ladson-Billings 480). These teachers "encouraged a community of learners rather than competitive, individual achievement" (Ladson-Billings 480). James Banks's "Multicultural Education: Development, Dimensions, and Challenges" affirms this approach, noting that "research indicates that many African American students and Mexican American students are more likely to experience academic success in cooperative rather than in competitive learning environments" (26). Furthermore, it is my personal belief (supported by research) that all students benefit from an emphasis on learning communities. Returning to Ladson-Billings, culturally relevant teachers encouraged a community of learners by "encourag[ing] the students to learn collaboratively, teach each other, and be responsible for the academic success of others" (Ladson-Billings 481). In these learning communities, "knowledge was about doing" (Ladson-Billings 481). Teachers' beliefs about knowledge were: As mentioned earlier, culturally relevant teachers expected students to bring expertise into the classroom. Students constructed knowledge for themselves and with each other (Ladson-Billings 482). Here again I want to note what Banks has to say: "An examination of the knowledge construction process is an important part of multicultural teaching. Teachers help students to understand how knowledge is created and how it is influenced by factors of race, ethnicity, gender, and social class" (25). While Ladson-Billings does not explicitly mention this aspect of knowledge construction, I personally believe the ideas are implicitly interwoven under the umbrella of viewing knowledge critically. Additionally, teachers demonstrated a critical stance toward school curriculum and "trusted the students with this information and enlisted them as allies against the school district's policies" (Ladson-Billings 482). These same teachers used "complex assessment strategies... [and] actively fought students' right-answer approach to school tasks without putting the students' down" (Ladson-Billings 482). The teachers encouraged critical thinking and asking why. And now, dear reader, you may ask why. "Why does this matter?" Here's one reason: "None of the [culturally responsive] teachers or their students seemed to have test anxiety about the school district's standardized tests. Instead, they viewed the tests as necessary irritations, took them, scored better than their age-grade mates at their school, and quickly returned to the rhythm of learning in their classroom" (Ladson-Billings 482, emphasis added).
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AuthorI'm a high school English teacher looking to share with students, parents, and peers some of what I'm learning in the classroom as a teacher. Archives
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