Kelsey Wheaton EPS 512 Final Paper July 28, 2012

When I first received the news that I had been accepted into the AUSL program I was super excited. Then after the excitement settled down I started to panic. I had no idea how I was going to seem relevant and relatable to these new students. This would be a totally new environment that I had never really experienced. Was I going to be in over my head? I was relieved to see that we had a culturally relevant class that would be taught before we began our teaching. This class has taught me more than I ever thought I would learn in such a short period of time. The various articles, our textbook, video clips, and classroom discussions have provoked some deep thinking and true learning to occur. In this paper I will discuss my understanding of what it means to be a true culturally relevant educator. Throughout my undergraduate years my professors tried to expose us to as many different cultures and beliefs that would help strengthen our teaching practices. We read a few books, and had the opportunity to complete a practicum on either a reservation or on the south side of Chicago. They had us conduct research about the diverse populations that were located within the state of Minnesota. After graduating I believed that I had some tools in my toolbox that would help me be a culturally relevant teacher. In the last job I had there was very little diversity and I soon discovered the truth in the concept if you dont use it-you lose it. Even though there was a growing Hispanic population, a Chinese family, and a few African American kids there was very little to zero culturally relevant teaching that happened. A few teachers really tried to embrace the idea of being culturally relevant and sensitive, but that attitude didnt carry over to the vast majority of the teachers. The minorities were expected to assimilate to the

dominant Caucasian population. The teachers didnt like it when there was more than one Hispanic within a class because they feared that the Hispanic students would only speak in Spanish and wouldnt try to learn English. Instead of embracing and welcoming their culture in a sincere way, the teachers were happy to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and that was it. This environment didnt quite grasp the concept of being a culturally relevant teacher. I was a youth program coordinator and one of my responsibilities was to run an after school program for students grades K-6. For the first few months of my after school program I focused on setting up my routines and procedures and all the knowledge I thought I had about being a culturally relevant teacher was pushed to the side. I didnt notice other teachers being culturally relevant so I kind of forgot about this idea. It took a few incidents to shake me awake. One of the incidents involved my students who were of a Chinese descent. To summarize the incident, these students were embarrassed of their culture and avoided anything that would make them seem different than their peers. These children were ashamed because they had experienced years of being made fun of with very little support or help from the teachers. I then became ashamed of myself because it had taken me so long to realize that I was not being the teacher and mentor that I should have been. From that day on I tried my best to make a more positive impact on these kids. I was able to build relationships with these students. During one on one time we held very candid conversations about what it meant to be different and how to deal with their feelings. I also tried my best to provide all my students with more culturally relevant experiences. I was fortunate to have some Chinese foreign exchange students (who were studying at the university) and they presented some lessons on their culture. I also had a staff member present weekly lessons that were focused on building a sense of community while celebrating all the differences that make people unique. Looking back I realize that ones peers

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and environment can be a big influence. Because I didnt see others recognizing and celebrating differences I didnt notice that I was neglecting my students. This experience really taught me to be very aware of not only my surroundings but to be in tune with my students and their needs. The readings in the Davis book really solidified the belief that not only do I need to expose my students to different cultures and such but that I need to realize that due to their different cultural backgrounds that they may have different dispositions and approaches to learning and it is my job as a teacher to accept these differences. Throughout the multiple readings I have learned that many different cultures have different educational norms that influence how they interact within the classroom. I know that it is very important to take these attitudes and beliefs into consideration when planning my lessons and that I should use a variety of lesson plans not only to cater to their needs but to challenge them as well. I do realize that just because someone may look one way (African American, Asian, Native American, Hispanic etc) that that is not the only determining factor in identifying their culture and beliefs. Many people make the mistake of only relying on ones skin color when making these types of decisions. My goal is to never make judgments regarding ones appearance without having a conversation with that student and their family. It is very important to me to make sure that the student and their families know that I have their best interest at heart. Not only is it important for me to realize that my students have very rich cultural backgrounds that are different from mine, but also that they may have very different social realities that I have never experienced. The article about respect really opened up my mind to a whole different world. It made me realize that some of my students may not be that concerned with their education but are more worried about building up the respect that they gain on the streets. Some of the students may feel this way because that is how they were brought up and

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more value is placed upon the idea of respect. Being a teacher I cannot ignore this reality. In this case, I believe that it is important for me to not only set rules and expectations within my classroom but to enforce them as well. I want my students to realize that my classroom is a place where learning is valued. I dont want them to feel ashamed of their beliefs or lives outside of school. I dont want to be seen as a teacher who pities and shuns them, but as one who is a listener. I dont ever want the students to think that I am being fake or not true and I will never pretend that I understand 100% of what happens outside of the school district. But I will make it very clear that I have high expectations that will be met within the classroom. It is also very important to make sure that the students are seeing some relevance to what they are learning within my classroom to their real life situations. Research states that students are not excited and engrossed in school because they feel like it is not meeting their diverse needs. I think this will be one area that I will need to pay extra attention to because I am not necessarily familiar to what their exact needs are. To combat my unfamiliarity I will make sure that I am keeping open lines of communication with my parents and community members. Davis suggests having a family book club to involve all the parents and their students to build a sense of community. I believe that if a teacher takes the time to foster and nurture the relationships between the families and themselves that they will have an abundant amount of information and resources that will help contribute to the success of the students. Another important aspect of being a culturally relevant teacher is to teach the students to embrace their cultural heritage. Not only is it important for students to embrace their cultural heritage, but it is equally as important to expose them to all different types of cultures. I touched briefly on this concept at the beginning of the paper, but I would like to go more in depth with this idea. During class we watched a video clip that highlighted what a culturally relevant

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teaching should look like. This clip had some great ideas and strategies to incorporate within a classroom. One idea that I really liked was that she had created a culturally responsive library for the students to use. The library was divided into different categories and the students were able to read books about important females, different explorers, and other cultures. I think this is a great way to showcase more authentic work from specific cultures. Sometimes the basals will have a few multicultural stories or they will make sure that the students that they show are of different races, but that doesnt provide true culturally responsive materials. Most the time, these stories will not paint a thorough picture of the culture or society and then the students will only have one idea or one story about a certain group of people, and as we all know, people cant only have just one story. I also looked at a culturally responsive lesson plan for a high school physics class. This lesson used many different facets to incorporate this concept into their physic concepts. It used different types of music and having the students research people who came from different backgrounds who have made a contribution to the science field. I thought that this was very relevant because it is good to show students someone that they can relate to. Students like it when they can relate to the curriculum within the classroom. In one of my readings for the other class they are writing about how the African Americans fought so hard for their educational rights and schools around the civil war period. Before this class, I had very little knowledge about the fact that they fought so hard for the education. I believe that this is pertinent information that should be shared with all students. I believe that it would empower students of African American descent while shedding more light on this culture for all the students. I also know how important it is to incorporate more multicultural and culturally relevant teaching practices because of personal experiences. Throughout my schooling there was no

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effort to provide me with anything that was culturally relevant to my heritage and it made me feel like my Chinese students did- embarrassed and unwilling to accept my differences. I wish that I would have had teachers who realized how important it was to be a culturally relevant teacher. I believe that you as a teacher have a responsibility to help the students learn about themselves and be proud of who they are. In another article it talks about how kids are the most impressionable when they hit their tween and teen years. If we as teachers instill in our students a sense of self-worth, pride, and an accepting attitude, they will have a better chance of making good decisions during this stage of their life. To me, being a culturally relevant teacher seems like the only way to go. I have experienced teachers who are not practicing this belief, have briefly been one of those teachers, and have witnessed teachers who embrace this concept. I know that this is a journey that will continually involve me learning and educating myself. In the culturally responsive class I have learned so much in these last few weeks than I have learned throughout my life about culture. I realized that reading just one article and learning something new can change your whole mindset. Through our class discussions and readings I have been exposed to so many different ideas, beliefs, and strategies that will help me become a culturally relevant teacher. I know realize that even though I had some exposure to this concept in my undergraduate career I was nowhere as near prepared as I am know. With that being said, I will continually strive to learn about different cultures and beliefs so I can strengthen my teaching. I know that being a culturally relevant teacher will be a continuous, rewarding journey that will impact and inspire the students and myself.

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