Throughout my experience in the classroom, I have realized culture and language can go one of two ways for all students. Either students are most proud of their culture above everything else, or it is the thing they are most ashamed of. No matter how students feel about their culture, it is our duty to ask meaningful questions and reassure them that culture and language are both things to be proud of. After all, they make each of us who we are: good, bad, or indifferent. 

 

I believe we should be continuously implementing strategies that strive to understand each student and his or her background. Understanding the culture and language of our students is the key to developing cultural responsiveness in a classroom environment. I have tried several different strategies to provide opportunities for students to step outside of their comfort zone and get to know others outside of their immediate circle. I create lessons that encourage crossover between all students in the room through icebreakers, think-pair-share, assigned seats, presentations and group work. Icebreakers give students the opportunity to get their blood pumping by being out of their seat. They have the chance to move about and bond with others in the classroom environment. I really use think-pair-share often in my lesson plans, as it’s so simple and easy to throw into any sort of lesson. Allowing students to communicate with each other about meaningful content reinforces the information and also cuts back on talking while I’m teaching because they know they will get their chance to speak to each other.  I try to assign seats according to which kids have Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or 504s and are gifted and talented (GT). From there, I have them get with their table mates when creating groups. Students are placed into several seating charts throughout the semester, enabling them to communicate and work with each student in the class. I also encourage work-based learning and project-based learning exponentially. When we have reached the end of a unit, all of my summative assessments are in the format of options of which students have the ability to choose how they will present what they know. This gives them an opportunity to express their unique culture and language however they may choose. 

 

Overall, I would encourage all educators in every content area to create and implement strategies throughout their lesson plan and often. It is vital to the learning environment that we learn our students’ cultures and for other students to learn one another’s.