General Consideration of Culturally Responsive Instruction Culture Ethnicity Culture is best explained as the ways in which we perceive, believe, evaluate, and behave. Culture explains the norms that guide our language, actions, feelings, and thinking. Ethnicity is explained as more subjective view that a group holds regarding its common membership because of its decent or historical background and similarities of customs, language, and even physical type.

Some think it is difficult to understand a culture that we are not a part of. We have to look at a students behavior and see how it reflects their culture. A teacher must be careful not to offend a students culture accidently. As a teacher you always need to consider that in your lesson plans. Examples follow: Asking an Asian child to make eye contact during a discussion. Having a Native American student cut out construction paper feathers. Assuming a Muslim does not shake hands.

Each classroom has its own unique culture, composition, and characteristics, but there are some general principals of culturally responsive instruction. Ladson- Billings (1994) Helping students whose educational, economic, social, political, and cultural futures are most at risk to become intellectual leaders in the classroom. Supporting students as apprentices in a learning community. Recognizing students’ real-life experiences as a legitimate part of the curriculum. Participating in a broad concept of literacy involving both written and oral traditions. Engaging collaboratively in a struggle against the status quo. Recognizing the teacher as a political being. Geertz (1973) argues that only a native can make first order of interpretations of their own culture. Helping students whose educational, economic, social, political, and cultural futures are most at risk to become intellectual leaders in the classroom. Supporting students as apprentices in a learning community. Recognizing students’ real-life experiences as a legitimate part of the curriculum. Participating in a broad concept of literacy involving both written and oral traditions. Engaging collaboratively in a struggle against the status quo. Recognizing the teacher as a political being. Geertz (1973) argues that only a native can make first order of interpretations of their own culture.

A culturally responsive classroom is a more successful classroom! This is very helpful for students to understand their place in their community and the larger world. They can visualize themselves as important pieces of the bigger picture. Teaching children about their own cultures and helping them to understand others will make them more successful in the future.

Gay (2000) further describes culturally responsive teaching as instruction that uses the cultural knowledge, experiences, and learning styles of students to make learning more appropriate and effective for them. Culturally responsive teaching: Acknowledge the legitimacy of cultural heritages as legacies that affect students’ disposition, attitudes, and approaches to learning and as worthy content to be taught in the formal curriculum. Builds on meaningfulness between home and school experiences as well as between academic abstractions and lived sociocultural realities. Uses a variety of instructional strategies that are connected to different learning styles. Teaches students to know and praise their own and each others’ cultural heritages. Incorporates multicultural information, resources and materials in all the subjects and skills taught in school. Culturally responsive teaches promote a learning community, honor human dignity, and promote individual self-concepts.

There are several specific principles that support the learning of students from various ethnic, cultural, and linguistic groups. These include: Utilizing cultural themes in instruction. Utilizing cooperative learning. Recognizing a school-wide vision of quality schooling for all students. If you expect a child to learn using one set of cultural beliefs and expecting them to adjust to one set of beliefs will end up very unsuccessful.

Boykin and Bailey (2000) addressed this issue for African American students, identifying three Afro-Cultural themes in the lives of their students. These themes included: Communalism, the importance placed on social bonds and interconnections with others, or the acculturation toward social relations rather than objects. In communalism, identity is tied to the social group rather then individual rights and privileges. Movement, with an emphasis on rhythmic speech, movement, patter, and music. Students and family members demonstrated a rich movement and gestural repertoire in their interactions. Verve, and intensity of liveliness, with an interest in a variety of intense experiences.

Children prefer learning in groups. Cooperative learning promotes sharing knowledge and materials as well as working and studying together Here is an example of the kind of diversity we are going to have in our classrooms. The children in these pictures are, African American, White, German, and Irish. They represent our future and the ways different ethnic groups mix and possibly create a new culture!

Final Thoughts Culturally responsive instruction is good instruction for every child; all children are valued, and their contributions to the classroom community are recognized. Teachers have a commitment to meeting the needs of each child, care deeply about each child, and reflect on their instructional and managerial decisions about each student. Individualization is an ongoing teaching process. It is important to begin with common ground, and then move to celebrate the unique contributions of each student. Each of us is grounded in our culture, and, if we recognize the contributions each of us makes in the community of learners, then there is no “dominant” culture.