RES 5535: Race, Class, and Gender in Literacy Research (summer 2010)

I also found this article to remind me of how important our students' cultures are. There is such a diverse learning environment that is ever so changing. It is our job to make everyone feel comfortable in their own culture while meshing as a class. I too have had many ideas of how to make my students feel proud of who they are and where they come from. There is never enough you can do with culture in an elementary classroom. In the past when I was doing my National Boards I did a lot more with my students' cultures, but have lost a little focus on that this past year. It is something I too want to include more of in my classroom. Teaching these kids respect toward others is a huge aspect in our society that is becoming so controversial, especially in the media. I too, need to take my own advice. Thanks for the insight in your own personal interests and desires as a teacher, as it reminded me of what I need to do as well!

Jamie,

I totally agree with your standpoint on considering all cultures. I too, feel it is important for children to feel that they are appreciated for their roots.

I am currently teaching at a school that has many different diverse groups that wander about the hallways. I joined our Multi-Cultural committee in the fall, and am so glad that I took the time to choose this route. On our Multi-cultural night, we welcomed all different types of cultures. Parent volunteers and family members came in to describe their backgrounds and share artifacts from their families. In my classroom, a Mexican family that originated in the Baja California area brought in clothes, photos, toys, musical instruments and other goods for families to look at and view. Other classrooms included cultures from the Middle East, South Africa, Kenya, Australia, Canada and then some of the local states around us in the US. It was so astounding to see the amount of people who came to visit and learn about the cultures of others that were included in the school. I was impressed with the amount of work and effort that went into this program and I know that I personally learned so much!

I think this shows our students that it is important to treasure differences and to appreciate all people.

Renee Hennings June 8, 2010

Jamie,

Having a cultural fair at school seems like a great idea. Not only could it take place in your classroom, but maybe involve the outside community. Bring in leaders, businesses, community members, etc, and have them tell about their lives. Students could learn about their peer’s cultures and be presenters during the fair. I really like this idea and may actually suggest using it next year as a school wide project. Thanks for the idea!

When you spoke of Daniel and Zonnie and their use of music, I always think about musicians of today. If teachers could get with these famous artists and have them make songs about different concepts children need to learn for school and life, then maybe less students would fall behind. I would definitely give it a try, but I'm sure no one would want to listen to me rap or sing about why a question mark goes at the end of a question sentence. Then again I might be the next American Idol...(joking)
Meredith

Meredith

I agree that it is important to teach kids about their culture and celebrate this throughout the year, however, I think we have to be careful not to patronize them in the process. What I mean is, it has to be more than pinatas and sombreros, or teepees and headbands. Teachers need to really get to know the heritage and backgrounds of the students they teach and include it in a way that is meaningful and significant. Sometimes we make the mistake of "assuming" we know about a particular group or culture and, in reality, we are clueless. I have seen many teachers who try and teach like they are the experts and know exactly what it's like to be African-American, Hispanic, or Native American. Or they think they understand and can relate to what it's like to grow up poor or in the inner-cities. Kids know better and they don't appreciate it. There's a great scene in "Freedom Writers" when Hillary Swank tries to relate to her inner-city high school students by presenting them with a rap by Tupoc Shakur. She intended to teach them what he was really saying through the prose. Needles to say, the students were irritated and commenced to "school" her on the rap and remind her she had no idea what he was really trying to say or what it was like to be them. You see, it is really easy to offend even when you have the best intentions. I believe this is where parents, grandparents, and even the students themselves can be of great help. This is also a perfect opportunity to open the door of our classroom and begin to form a real relationship with the families we serve. Just because we are the teachers doesn't always mean we know everything.

Sally -
You took the words right out of my mouth! I agree that it is important to embrace and teach different cultures, but we must be careful. I think we pretend to know a lot, but in reality know far too little. I find it helpful to have the students discuss their culture with the class. We are all students, we are all teachers, and we can learn a lot from each other. Students can teach you so much if you take the time to listen.

I thought it was interesting that Zonnie and Daniel both relied on some type of writing as a means to express themselves and I suppose, vent their frustrations. I am glad they were given opportunities to express themselves in writing in class. Sometimes teachers forget the value of writing in the classroom. Free writing is almost just as important as assigned writing in this case. Zonnie and Daniel needed their comic strips and poems to understand what they were experiencing and going through. I couldn’t imagine having to be a teenager or adolescent in their shoes. I agree with you that they were indeed very versatile in the way they could connect with the real world and their own Native American heritage. They were almost like code switching their behaviors. You are right culture is so important to us teachers. I am planning on doing more literature circles that deal with certain cultures next year. Until reading this article I thought I was doing alright addressing the few cultures I addressed each year via thematic units and book studies. But I was wrong. Our students need more cultural awareness to lessen the racism apparent in our society. I had a child the other day draw a KKK illustration and note at the bottom of it that his dad was in the KKK. It made my stomach hurt and I immediately thought, what can I do to prevent this child from following in his father’s footsteps? After reading our Noll article and seeing what this Native American adolescents use to deal with their harassments, I decided that it is our jobs as educators, like you said to address various cultures and heritages through our instructing. Reading, writing, and music, even story telling are all ways we can do this.

I like the culture fair idea. Our school participates in World View. We send a team to Chapel Hill each year to a conference on World View. The conference focuses on one or more countries and they study all parts of that country. The team brings ideas back to our school and we have a world view night where the cultures are celebrated. We have done Madagascar, China, Mexico, etc.... It is a year long study of the countries and cultures they represent.

Jamie,
I like how open and honest you are with yourself as a teacher. That shows that you are willing to grow and change. I also find myself not taking the time to get to know all of my students and give them the chance to let the class learn more about who they are. So, much of our day is spent teaching and talking that we forget to that truthfully our students need time to talk if we really want them to learn. I think having a culture day is a wonderful idea. It would also be neat if you could get some of the parents to come in and speak about their heritage. Several people have mentioned the idea of having a culture event at your school where different people from different ethnic backgrounds talk, do craft projects, sing, dance, etc… to help the school and community learn and appreciate who they are and where they come from.

I completely agree that we need to incorporate the cultures of our students into our classrooms. I think this helps our students feel a sense of belonging and acceptance, but I also think it gives our other students a chance to understand that culture and to gain a respect for the people of that culture. The more we expose our students to the cultures and ethnicities around us, I think we will see more acceptance from our students. I am also guilty of not providing enough information, books, and/or lessons on the cultures of the students in my class, and after reading this article I definitely see the importance of providing our students with this information. I look forward to the challenge of making the Daniel's and Zonnie's in the future feel comfortable in my room with their culture and feel respected by their peers.

Jamie,
I really liked your ideas and insights; especially, “They must learn to survive in a world where Native American culture barely exists, while still being true to their Native American identity.” I think that the key world there is survival, which can often be more difficult than people realize. Often at my school, I see the social struggles that take place due to the differences in cultures present, and it reminds me of National Geographic’s lion shows more often than not.
William Byland

Jamie,
I really enjoyed reading your post. It is so true about the attitude we have towards other cultures in our classroom. Depending on the attitude we have will depict the ones that our students have! As William quoted you above, it is so true how they must survive in world where their culture barely exist. I just had 12 students in the last group of kids that I taught and out of those only 1 Hispanic boy the rest were white boys and girls. So the week of Cinco De Mayo we celebrated his culture all week long. The other students loved it! But previous to this we did research our family history and gave presentations.