Instructional Practices (CAEP R1.

3)

SOURCES USED
Fergus, E. (2017). Confronting colorblindness. Phi Delta Kappan 98(5), 30-35.
a. Talking about race can be hard, awkward, and uncomfortable, but that’s kind of the point. We have to become
comfortable with being uncomfortable. We have to relax into that feeling of being uncomfortable and we’ll have
better lives. It’s time for us to be comfortably uncomfortable about race and have real conversations about the issue.
b. You need to observe your environment. You need to look around you purposefully and intentionally. You need
to invite people into your life who don’t look like you, don’t think like you, don’t act like you, who don’t come form
where you come from. These people will challenge your assumptions and make your grow as a person.
Hobson, M. (2014, May 5). Mellody Hobson: Color blind or color brave? TED.
https://www.google.com/search?q=mellody+hobson+ted+talk&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS835US835&oq=
mellody+hobson+ted+talk&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j46j0l2j46j0j46j69i60.3136j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie
=UTF-8
a. Those who embrace colorblindness have good intentions because they feel they are looking beyond race to see
individuals as themselves, rather than representatives of a particular race or ethnicity. However, given that
colorblindness ignores significant parts of their experience, persons of color will fail to be fully understood by those
embracing colorblindness. Furthermore, colorblindness is dangerous because it allows room for the denial of
institutional racism or discrimination, since it places sole responsibility on individuals/groups.
b. Colorblindness can send messages to students that everyone shares the same cultural experiences. IT can be
detrimental when included in the curriculum, as well, because it can send messages to students that the cultural
experience of being white and middle class is the goal standard. To help combat these issues within the classroom,
educators can model what it means to be color conscious versus colorblind.
San Bernardino City Schools. (2019, Feb. 2019). Increasing engagement by using culturally responsive
curriculum. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CoV2pPmTCQ
a. You have to let students struggle a bit in order to push them. This will make them better because, when you allow
them to struggle, you are working on specific skills, standards, and who they are as people.
b. Using culturally responsive teaching will result in students placing intrinsic value on their education because they
see themselves as a part of it. This is incredibly important. Inserting who students are and incorporating their lifestyles
makes all students belong in education. It takes their education deeper because they can learn about themselves and
how to express themselves and they can learn about other people.
Reflection:
From the Culturally Responsive Teaching video, I learned that by teaching in a way that immerses the
cultures of students within lessons, you create an environment of maximum inclusion. This is
something that logically make sense to me but is something that I had never thought about previously.
Before watching the TED Talk and reading the article, I honestly had never heard of the term
colorblindness. I have a better understanding of what it is and how damaging it can be students,
including how important having conversations about race is.
I will use what I learned in my future classroom by, first and foremost, getting to know my students
and what their cultures are like through non-academic discussions. I can’t include aspects of my
students’ cultures if I don’t know what their cultures are like. I will also constantly ask myself
questions like “How can I put my students into this? How can I make what I am teaching reflect my
classroom?” By asking these types of questions, I will be able to keep my students at the center of
what I am teaching, rather than making the content the center. I will also be able to make myself more
conscious about relating everything back to my students’ lives, so that it eventually becomes habitual
or second nature. Furthermore, I will celebrate diversity in my classroom by having discussions about
the differences of my students and by ensuring that they are interacting with people who are different
from themselves. I will approach racial and ethnic differences with openness, communicating that in
my room we cherish what makes people different and that my room is a safe space where we can have
respectful, honest conversations about those differences. I will also communicate that in my room
students are safe to discuss what is going on in the world and in students’ lives with regard to racial
and ethnic issues.