Culturally Responsive Teaching

                

Throughout this study, I have found that language and literacy have much broader definitions than I first thought.  I never realized there could be more than one “English” language.  Now I realize that variations of English consist of some words that are derived from a different country and that are incorporated into every day vocabulary in a particular region.  Literacy is the ability to read, write, and think about the written word.  It also involves being able to understand all forms of communication.  As teachers, it is our responsibility to familiarize ourselves with the different languages and dialects in the classroom.  If we do not understand our students because of some differences in words and speech, then we will not be able to teach each student sufficiently.  It is important for us to be literate in all languages and dialects in the classroom so that we can help each student, not hurt them.  It is also important for us to help students to become literate in proper English as well as their own language.  We can build a strong foundation with student’s background knowledge and build upon that knowledge.  If students master the skill of code-switching, they will be able to talk in the appropriate language or dialect at the appropriate time.  This shows that the individual is literate, and will give them a better chance at succeeding in the future, thus having more power than others that do not have these skills.  Many people with power look down upon others that talk in a different dialect.  They see these people as dumb and uneducated.  

“The teacher was referring to the fact that Jenny... spoke in a southern mountain dialect, a dialect that is often used to characterize poor whites...  As this teacher demonstrated, this dialect is strongly associated with low levels of education and literacy as well as a number of social ills and dysfunctions. (Purcell-Gates, 2002)”

 This scenario also works opposite as well.  People that don’t talk in proper think of themselves as stupid or dumb because they don’t speak like the “smart” people do.  By teaching code-switching in schools, we can hopefully minimize these thought as and teach as students when it is appropriate to use their own dialect of speaking.       

I think teachers have the biggest part in teaching students that have poor literacy skills how to interact in more formal environment.  One of the main things teachers need to do is gain respect from the classroom.  It is important for teachers to become familiar with dialects and languages in the classroom so that communication is not strained.  This way, students can look at teachers as role models while they learn to improve their literacy skills.  Teachers need to possess a cultural difference perspective in which they understand that there are different cultures and ways of speaking among students and work with students to build upon these skills.  The next step is to make connections between the student’s language and proper English.  Making connections and teaching new vocabulary and skills will give students a foundation of proper English as well.  Finally, it is essential to teach students the appropriate time to use each type.  This is known as code-switching and it will help students to fit in in both their community, and in a more formal or proper setting.  Possessing this skill will hopefully boost students’ self-esteem and self-confidence when holding conversations with unfamiliar people for people in formal situations.  Teachers who are unwilling to help students make this connection and who believe that there is only one official English language and one proper way to speak hold a cultural deficit perspective.  Having this perspective and way of thinking can really hurt the atmosphere in the classroom.  If teachers are repeatedly using a corrective approach, students will be scared to speak for fear of saying the wrong thing and being corrected.  This humiliates students and makes them think that they are not smart.  This way of correcting is very discouraging and makes talking in class and answering questions a very rare occurrence.   

“When a teacher uses corrective measures to teach SAE, there is an automatic implication of wrongness in the student’s own dialect which ‘set[s] those children up to feel inferior and create[s] a dynamic of resistance to the school experience’”(Rowland & Marrow, 2010).   

In every classroom, there are going to be students with different cultures and backgrounds.  With these differences, teachers need to get away from their cultural deficit perspective and corrective approach, and move forward to build a thriving learning environment.  Based on what we have learned, I think the first step is for teachers to get to know the individual student on a personal basis.  Knowing where each student comes from and their family and community life, helps teachers to understand exactly who that person is and what previously learned skills and knowledge they bring into the classroom.  Next, I think it is extremely important to relate instruction to what each child already knows and build upon that foundation.  Every child has unique skills and knowledge specific to their family and community.  By incorporating these topics into instruction, students will feel more at home and will open up more which will result in much more classroom participation.  Luis Moll completed a study that consisted of teachers going into their students’ community and meeting with parents and community members to better understand these children and where they come from.  This study concluded that teachers can gain a better and more complete understanding of students by discovering where they come from and what is important to them.  This way of gathering “funds of knowledge,” really helped these classrooms and developed a social network for the classroom.  Students were much more engaged and enthusiastic to learn because lessons revolved around something important to them. 

  Moll “points out that his research calls the “deficit model’ of student assessment into serious question” (Moll, 1992).  

I definitely believe that if teachers worked to change their perspective in the classroom from a cultural deficit perspective to one that was more inclusive and took advantage of the differences in the classroom, a more positive learning environment would be created and students would be actively engaged in learning.        

At the beginning of the school year it is the teacher’s responsibility to learn the cultural capital of each student.  By gaining this knowledge and finding some way to include these unique backgrounds and interests in the classroom, teachers are setting up an interesting learning environment that makes students feel at home.  When students are comfortable, they tend to open up more and be more interested and involved in classroom activities.  Incorporating students’ “funds of knowledge” into regular instruction sets a firm foundation and building block to build upon rather than starting from the bottom and having to completely recreate this knowledge.  Teachers have found that letting students use their local dialect in the classroom makes them more comfortable.  It also give teachers the opportunity to make connections between the local dialect and proper English, ultimately getting students to move automatically back and forth from each variant of language in the appropriate circumstances. 

  “I know my kids as individuals, and this is who they are.  It’s my responsibility to teach the learning standards, but not to change them or take their dialect away” (Epstien & Herring-Harris, 2011).  

We need to focus more on making more connections to the language and knowledge that already exists, not taking these pre-existing skills away. 

I think the video portion of this project really showed me a different side of my fellow classmates rather than what I have seen at school and in the classroom.  I found out so many new things about people and their lives that I probably would have never learned if we hadn't created our digital stories.  I think it is important to link home and school so that a deeper relationship is formed between students and between the teacher and students.  This will make students more comfortable in the classroom and they will open up more and share their personal experiences more willingly.  Having this knowledge of students’ pasts and cultures will provide more teaching opportunities in the classroom.  Teachers can direct instruction towards the interests of students.  This will make students have more fun and not think of school and learning as work, but more as an enjoyable experience.  You can incorporate these unique things in the classroom by creating thematic units revolving around a particular topic, relate problems and writings to real world experiences, and show students that they matter by having them share personal experiences with the class like how we did with our digital story.  I think another idea to implement is for students to have learning groups in the classroom.  Groups can help each other gain understanding of topics and teach children how to work together and become comfortable with each other.  I hope to set up a positive environment in my classroom so that students can openly share and not be embarrassed.  Teaching students the importance of being supportive, will create an environment that promotes the best learning. 

I believe that it is important to make the connection between non-standard English varieties of language early on in instruction.  This way, children will be able to build upon these connections and create a more fluent vocabulary of proper English.  I want every student to feel wanted and needed in the classroom.  A good way to show students that they are essential is to give students jobs in the classroom.  These jobs can change every week so that each person gets to experience each job.  I think this will teach students responsibility and teach them that they are essential to the classroom and what they bring to the classroom promotes learning.  I think it is important for students to share their feelings so I would like to incorporate a time for journaling in my school day.  In these journals students can write how they feel and if anything is bothering them.  This is also a chance for them to share ideas and interests with me and also problems that may be occurring.  I will read each journal and comment back so that students know that they matter and that their thoughts and opinions are important to me.  I will work my hardest to not have negativity in the classroom and if it does occur, I will use these instances as a teaching experience and show students why they are negative and the impact they have on others so that they will not happen again.      

References

Purcell-Gates, V. (2002). “...As soon as she opened her mouth!” In L. Delpit & J.K. Dowdy (Eds.), The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language, culture and power.

Rowland, J. & Marrow, D. (2010).  Dialect Awareness Education: The importance of Watching Our Words. USC Undergraduate Research Journal vol 3.

Gonzalez, N.,  Greenberg, J. & Velez, C. Thanks Funds of Knowledge: A Look at Luis Moll's Research Into Hidden Family Resources. CITYSCHOOLS, 1 (1), 19-21, 1994.

Epstein, P. &  Herring-Harris, L (2011).Honoring Dialect and increasing Student Performance in Standard English. Retrieved October 12, 2012: http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3655