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"Basics of culturally relevant teaching..."

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"Basics of culturally relevant teaching..."

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Sandy - The basics of culturally relevant teaching, as Ladson-Billings identifies them, are 1) practicing high self-esteem/high regard for others; 2) seeing themselves as part of the community and encouraging students to do the same; 3) viewing teaching as an art; 4) believing that all students can succeed; 5) helping students make connections between their community and global identify; and 6) interpreting teaching as "digging knowledge out" of students. As I read this chapter, I found myself having flashbacks to many of my former classrooms. In my classroom, my students and their needs (not the lesson plan) come first. I require a community of collaboration and confidence; I instill an ability to set goals and strive to meet them...together. No matter their performance level, my students know they are receiving what they need to succeed and that I am going to push them to their limits and beyond!

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Sandy - Classroom culture needs to be established in order for students to reach their potential. At the beginning of the year, the main focus is on building a sense of community, accepting each other, trust, building confidence, setting goals and promoting excellence (and high expectations) for all students. However, this only works if the student can connect with their teacher; the student needs to 'buy in' in order to succeed. Student behavior, academic success, confidence, etc. change from year to year based on who is in their corner. I have often heard that, for some students, my classroom is magic; it opens doors they thought were closed for good and provides a new path. As teachers we can go to school each day, teach what we've planned and go home, or we can strive to create a group of learners who advocate for themselves and their learning.

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"Four possible teacher behavior patterns..."

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"Four possible teacher behavior patterns..."

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Sandy: I do not feel that the "four possible teacher behavior patterns" only help us understand traditional approaches to teaching African American students; I've seen it across the board in certain school environments. Some teachers join the profession for the wrong reasons - because they know someone, because it's an easy job, etc. - and aren't invested in the success of their students. Sure, 'tutors' believe that students can improve and that it's their responsibility to get them there. Conductors and coaches, on the other hand, believe in their students and assume responsibility (and collaborate with others) for the academic success of their students. If the assumption is that African American students only receive instruction from tutors, general contractors, custodians, and referral agents, then we need to do better because all students deserve to be held to high expectations and have someone believe in their abilities.

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I have seen students change from year to year with the environment of their homeroom culture. Some years great personal growth is made and other years they seem to regress. There are so many factors to a classroom culture - number of students, experience of teacher/expectations, combination of needs in student population. Lack of consistency is a double edged sword. It teaches some students to adapt and for some this is a catalyst for growth and developing resiliency. For others it can have an adverse effect. I've seen students develop mistrust and withdraw or purposely fail as a cry for help. I think they need an anchor or for someone to be their island amidst the abrasiveness of negative change. If they have someone that can look them in the eye and really see what they're feeling then trust is retained no matter what the environment is from year to year. I believe that by our building up that trust eventually they will develop a confidence and unshakable trust in themselves to overcome uncomfortable changes.

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The original 4 teacher patterns of behavior have been thus far ineffective and rightfully so. They consider teaching a task to be completed in order to clean up a mess or to create a product. The conductors and coaches are working with skills and talents that are brought to the table and assisting students to hone them and apply them to create their own harmony. The art of working with students is convincing them to invest in themselves because they are our future. Building relationships with not only those around them but with themselves.

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My thoughts thus far regarding the exemplified teaching styles are ones of admiration and how I can do the same for our students. I want to pull out the wisdom that these students bring to us and help them recognize it in themselves. I want to build on the strengths that they possess and help them achieve their own personal success that is relevant to them. I want to get to know them better and build an unbreakable trust in our classroom family, our school community as well as in themselves.

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My thoughts thus far regarding the exemplified teaching styles are ones of admiration and how I can do the same for our students. I want to pull out the wisdom that these students bring to us and help them recognize it in themselves. I want to build on the strengths that they possess and help them achieve their own personal success that is relevant to them. I want to get to know them better and build an unbreakable trust in our classroom family, our school community as well as in themselves.

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The Dreamkeepers shows how culturally relevant teaching benefits both African American students and communities by describing ways in which particular culturally relevant teachers use African American culture in their classroom communities as strengths, rather than viewing them as abnormalities to the (white) school norm. For example, many teachers in the book create familial classroom cultures that binds students together and makes them responsible for each person's success and failures. One teacher in particular used a buddy system whereby two students became buddies for the year. When completing assignments, projects, and general emotional check-ins, each partner was held responsible for the success of the other. If one partner was struggling, the teacher would ask their partner "why are you letting them fail?" This would cause the partner to support the student so they could succeed. Teachers also commonly associated individual success back to the classroom "we" by saying things like "isn't it great that we have such smart people in our classroom?" This use of "we" and the idea of the classroom community as a family helps bind students together and makes the "classroom gang" more viable that the "street gang" as one teacher claimed.

The African American community sees this kind of teaching as most effectively serving in children's interests because it mirrors the culture they have outside of school. Children often watch out for younger siblings or neighbors, and have multi-generational families. Therefore, this kind of teaching draws on the norms students use outside of school, thereby bridging the gap between African American culture and what is traditionally a white school culture. Students don't have to code-switch from school to home because their culture exists in both spaces.

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The basics of Culturally Relevant Teaching, as described by Gloria Ladson-Billings in chapter 3,  are for teachers to . . .  1. have high self-esteem and a high regard for others, 2. see themselves and students as part of the community 3. see teaching as an art 4. believe that all students can succeed, 5. help students make connections and, finally, 6. see teaching as "digging it out of students." I found the examples the author gave of certain teachers having these basics very convincing and I could identify with many of them. In the section about "helping students make connections between their community, national and global identities, it reminded me that in the last county I worked in for 20+ years, they really emphasized "real world" applications/examples when teaching students in all subject areas. While it was easier in reading and social studies for me to do that in, sometimes in math it was a bit more difficult. I also related to the part about "digging knowledge out of students." The author said that the teachers she describes in chapter 3 believe that students come to school with knowledge and it must be "explored and utilized in order for students to become achievers." Although I did, and still do, have students often share their work in front of the class or turn to a neighbor and tell him/her the strategy used on a problem, I think the teacher can't see teaching as a complete "equal reciprocal process."

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Add your thoughts about question 7 from page 222. 

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Add your thoughts about question 7 from page 222. 

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Add your thoughts about question 6 from page 222. 

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Add your thoughts about question 6 from page 222. 

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Add your thoughts about question 5 from page 222. 

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Add your thoughts about question 5 from page 222. 

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-Middle-Upper Middle Income family
-Education was highly valued and expected
-Mostly public but some private school        education
-College-educated
-Big emphasis on family culture and traditions (Canadian, German, English).
-Moved around a lot and lived in 5 states
-Coloradan at heart

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It's the foundation of everything. Each and every experience teaches us. Without learning we wither.
I had an aunt who was a Catholic school principal and I loved visiting her school during summer.
After graduating Northwood I enrolled in NC State with the idea of becoming a vet. Pulled out at the last minute and took a year off - pursued art career instead. I now have 3 degrees - art, business, and teaching.

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*Upper Middle class
*Public School
*College Educated
*Caucasian American
*Strong belief in relationships
*Importance of Family
*Generation Z
*Catholic
*Core Belief - Respect for Others
*Virginian at Heart

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Low income, high society, Catholic, Baptist, upstate NY, rural south, conservative, liberal

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I come from a white, single parent, lower class family in Northeastern, PA. I learned at a young age that I needed to be independent and persevere in order to break the cycle. I grew up in a world where I had to be ashamed of my background, and needed to find tools to embrace who I am. I am extremely passionate about education because it opened doors I knew would remain closed if I followed the path of my "role models". Communication and relationships have always been a barrier in my family; their beliefs are 'old school' and cannot be changed.

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My background is middle class on my mom's side, a bit more blue collar on my dad's side.
Started life up in Rhode Island in the 70's where there were lots of cultural groups-Italians, Portuguese, etc. (My mom's side is Portuguese and her father worked hard in factories to make a good life for his family)
Parents divorced in 80's and we relocated to Florida.
In Florida, my mom and stepdad provided an upper middle class life for me and valued education. I was expected to do well in school and go to college.
Liberal on both sides of family.

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I have been a part of various cultures within the U.S. I was raised in a white Catholic home in upstate NY and attended Catholic School for 7 years. I lived in rural Pittsboro, Chapel Hill, then western NC - very rural, racist, misogynistic, low income. I moved back to Chapel Hill. My first marriage was into highly well to do family. I'm fluent in high society, and low income; both conservative and liberal, rural south and upstate NY.

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I come from a small, close knit, white family in New England. Personally, I value family and relationships over everything else.

Education was highly valued in my family. College and getting good grades was a non-negotiable.

I believe that whatever you look for in the world, is what you’ll find.

I’m a fairly classic, fall loving, pumpkin spiced, ice coffee #millennial

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Culture is...a malleable set of beliefs, characteristics and skills that shape how people interpret and interact with the world.  

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Culture is...a malleable set of beliefs, characteristics and skills that shape how people interpret and interact with the world.  

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This includes: Core Values, Religion, When and where you were born, what you believe about relationships.
Characteristics such as language, dialect, class, communication norms, relationships.
Skills-experiences, education -both formal and informal.

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White
Christian
Rural NC (urban/rural divide)
Southern
Millenial
Triplet
Upper middle class (upbringing)
College educated
Public school
English-speaking
Y'all

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Add your thoughts about question 4 from page 222. 

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Add your thoughts about question 4 from page 222. 