Running Head: REFLECTIONS ON RACE AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING

Reflections on Race and Culturally Responsive Teaching Sarah OConnor National Louis University

REFLECTIONS ON RACE AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING

In her article Preparing for Culturally Responsive Teaching, Geneva Gay identifies five elements of culturally responsive teaching: developing a knowledge base about cultural diversity, including ethnic and cultural diversity content in the curriculum, demonstrating caring and building learning communities, communicating with ethnically diverse students, and responding to ethnic diversity in the delivery of instruction (p. 106). By using Gays elements as a guideline, educators can develop a basis for culturally responsive education, and each day can continue to build upon that knowledge base. Educators must connect with their students by incorporating aspects of each child's culture and community into the classroom. By using culture to bridge the gap between abstract academic ideals and authentic realities, students are able to grasp a true understanding of concepts presented in the classroom. This allows children to bring their understanding outside of the classroom and transfer knowledge to other aspects of their lives. In Learning to Liberate , Vajra Watson explores various community groups to look for effective means of educating inner city youth. In her research, she discovers Dereca Blackmon, the executive director in Leadership Excellence in the Bay Area in the San Francisco. Blackmon described her work with children, citing the importance of communication to create a bond with each child: Creating an authentic connection is the top priority: if you want to cover a lot with these kids, you better get that relationship straight cause if you dont, you can forget it. This is especially crucial for students who are disengaged: without connection, all youre ever going to get are the people who had the aptitude in the first place (Watson, 18). Creating that connection must happen within the first few weeks of class, in order to create a community of learners. Exploring similarities and differences among younger students can create an open culture in the classroom, allowing students to express themselves freely and learn mutual respect.

REFLECTIONS ON RACE AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING Understanding this importance of a real connection and open communication, I sought

out long-term work and volunteer opportunities that allowed me to develop relationships with the children I worked with. As a part of the America Reads program through Saint Louis University, I was given the opportunity to tutor kindergarten and first grade students at an inner city St. Louis elementary school. The school has since been turned around by the state, and when I was tutoring there, only 13% of the third graders were meeting or exceeding state standards in reading. Working daily with these students gave me great insight into the importance of cultural responsiveness. With the exception of one student, the school was completely African American. I was one of three white adults in the school. My different skin tone was never addressed with my students, and theirs was never addressed either. The teachers I worked beneath were both African American. When discussing my experiences with Jumpstart, a HeadStart literacy program, and America Reads, I always received interesting comments from family and friends. Rebecca Goldstein had a similar experience: Whenever the topic of urban education came up, friends and family cast me in the role of savior: one who saved students in need of saving from themselves. The urban students werent the ones who needed saving; it was I who needed to be saved from the myths (p. 43). I had a passion for urban education, but was entirely unaware of the understanding I needed to succeed in schools. I picked up cultural nuances and incorporated rhythm into my spelling lessons while tutoring, but ignored the racial differences between my students and myself. I wrongly believed the students who achieved academic success came from stable homes, whereas the students who had behavioral problems had parents who did not care. I came to discover, over the course of the year, that one of the smartest students in the class had a father in jail and a drug addicted mother, and one of the children with behavioral concerns had a

REFLECTIONS ON RACE AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING very involved family. This instance reiterated the fact I must be quick to observe and slow to

judge. I continued, however, not to address race and to avoid attention to the differences between myself and the children, though I was sure they noticed. In January, after being an active presence in the school for over four months, a kindergartener looked up at me, confused, and stated You white. It amazed me that she had never noticed that I looked different before. I mentioned it to the kindergarten teacher, and she told me that many of my students lived in the neighborhood and had no experience with anyone outside. That same year, in the first grade classroom, a student asked if white people hated black people, as her stepfather had told her. I felt unprepared to answer the question, as the topic of race had never been brought up in the classroom. However, Black youth, in particular, begin to examine their own ethnic/racial identities even more than their White counterparts (Beachum, 323). Because I had grown up in a predominately white culture, I had never addressed my own ethnic or racial identity because it was never a necessity for me to do so, being a part of the dominant culture. Peggy McIntosh and Tim Wise both discuss white privilege and its definition as an unearned entitlement. Wise, an anti-racist activist and author of the book White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son, believes that By allowing white America to remain in this bubble of unreality, white privilege ultimately distorts our vision, and makes it difficult for us to function as fully rational beings (p. 60). For white citizens to understand privilege, it is important to examine oneself and unpack the beliefs and ideals that enter into the classroom, and to break down those barriers and attempt to bring about systemic change. McIntosh questions what people will do with their knowledge after unpacking racial advantages: it is an open question whether we will choose to use unearned advantage to weaken hidden system of

REFLECTIONS ON RACE AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING advantage and whether we will use any of our arbitrarily-awarded power to reconstruct power systems on a broader base (p. 4). I realized the importance of discussing culture with students, not only to embrace their own culture, but to understand that stereotypes are not true. White privilege is one of the barriers present in a classroom with a white teacher and minority students. By unpacking privilege and other beliefs they may hold, educators must thoroughly understand existing obstacles to culturally responsive teaching before they can successfully remove them (Gay, 108). After eradicating preconceived notions, educators are

able to use the culture and community of their students as their strength, instead of attempting to remove their culture and assimilate them to the dominant group. Culturally responsive teaching involves including community and culture throughout the curriculum. To be an effective educator, one must value her students strengths- community and cultural knowledge- and use those strengths and knowledges to develop new knowledge that enables students to challenge assumptions that others have about them (Goldstein, 46). By challenging assumptions others may hold, students gain confidence in their own identity and embrace their community. Over time, children can use their knowledge to give back to the community. Jack, another community activist interviewed by Vajra Watson, told a group at a training institute, "What you know you owe! Never forget roots of the extended family, from the youngest to the oldest!" (Watson, 138). Jack wanted those who succeeded in the community to come back and instruct those in the community, in order to eradicate ignorance and build up the community. Contributing to the community is an extremely important value that must be conveyed to students. In Gloria Ladson-Billings The Dreamkeepers, Julia Devereaux, a fourth grade teacher, lived in the community she now teaches in, and she believes that teaching offers a humane, ethical way for people to give back to the community[she tells her students] youve got to get

REFLECTIONS ON RACE AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING a good education because the community needs your brain power (39). Culturally responsive teaching is more than just educating students in a way they can relate to, it involves getting

students involved in giving back to their community. My junior year of college, I got involved in a literacy program called Succeeding with Reading. Third through fifth graders came to school on Saturday mornings and read high interest low level books. The man in charge of the program, Josh Goldman, desired to give back to the community he had grown up in, and since joined a community center to work with both adults and children on literacy goals. Josh, in addition to Julia, understand the importance of keeping students active in their communities and the art of giving back. Katia Goldfarb discusses the importance of understanding the diversity of urban families: Educators of all levels should be trained to understand the importance of working with and not on the community and the families. Families should be seen as equal partners in the education of their children. Their voices should be heard and respected (p. 265). Just as educators are not defined solely by their in-school persona, students come into the classroom each day with new experiences from their home. In order to achieve a well-rounded understanding of each child, teachers must communicate effectively with their families by any means possible. By creating a culture of parental communication and partnership at the beginning of the school year, classrooms can bridge the gap between home and school. According to Goldfarb, It has been documented that a positive communication between schools and families improves student achievement, especially in families from minority and immigrant groups (p. 263). Students grow and develop to the maximum extent possible when everyone is working towards a commonly understood goal.

REFLECTIONS ON RACE AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING There is a school in St. Louis based around Howard Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Students as young as kindergarten can name all eight intelligences, tell you activities to strengthen each, and have determined their strengths and weaknesses. This school prides itself on diversity in a variety of forms, and it encourages its students to understand themselves and use their knowledge of self as a basis for further exploration of history, science, art, math, and writing. Completing a second grade practicum experience here was immensely informative. I

learned how to teach young children to acknowledge their strengths and areas of growth through educational exploration, and to embrace diversity in all forms. This school, based around selfdiscovery, models the importance for culturally responsive teaching. Through the exploration of self, connection of home, school and community, and using authentic based learning experiences, students achieve maximized success. I will continue to build my knowledge base and use culturally responsive teaching techniques to most effectively reach my students.

References

REFLECTIONS ON RACE AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING Beachum, F. D., & McCray, C. R. (2008). Dealing with cultural collision: What pre-service educators should know. In G. Goodman (Ed.), Educational psychology: An application of critical constructivism (pp. 53-70). New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Gay, G. (2002). Preparing for Culturally Responsive Teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53 (2), 106-116. Goldfarb, K. (2007). Who is included in the urban family? In Kincheloe, J. & Hayes, K. (Eds.), Teaching city kids: Understanding them and appreciating them. New York: Peter Lang. Goldstein, R.A. (2007). Who are our urban students and what makes them so different? In Kincheloe, J. & Hayes, K. (Eds.), Teaching city kids: Understanding them and appreciating them. New York: Peter Lang. Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Wellesley: Wellesley College Center for Research on Women. Watson, V. (2012). Learning to liberate: Community-based solutions to the crisis in urban education. New York: Routledge.