Preparing for Culturally Relevant Teaching

Some people may ask what is the difference between culturally relevant curriculum and a tourist curriculum.  I even asked the same question in the beginning and what I have come to find out is that a lot of times, one will find a tourist curriculum in class.  

They want the children to learn about different cultures, but the children don't get the in-depth learning that we want them to have.  The teacher might have some stereotypical clothing and have children dress up in the outfits or do some activities that children will only get to do for a short time.  The children will not be able to go back to it in future and learn more about it.

For example, if you have a child who comes from Japan and the teacher want to teach the class about the Japanese culture, she may bring in some traditional Japanese clothes (kimono) or drums (taiko).

Taiko Drumming

 

Kimono

But the teacher is only giving a fake idea of what someone who is Japanese does or dresses.  Even the people in Japan don't dress like this normally or do drumming.  There are certain times and places that one would see this occurring. Just like in America, we don't all where long formal gowns and tuxedos everyday of our lives.  

Culturally relevant curriculum is very important in today's world with students coming from many different backgrounds, and it is important that teacher include practice in the classroom that will help all students learn to the best of their abilities.  Teachers need to keep in mind that culturally relevant teaching helps students retain cultural integrity.  Culturally Relevant Teaching Practices (2011) mentioned something that got me thinking:

How do we honor what children and families bring to school?

• Observe the different ways children/parents express themselves that reflect their diversity.

• Honor families' home language (cultural language) and diverse experiences.

• Expand on the classroom diversity to build skill and language

Include the family in the learning process of the children.  Culture is not only one's heritage, but also characteristics of a social group.  As a teacher, we can invite families to contribute to the learning environment by bringing materials for class use (use for different centers).  If we have families in the class who speak different languages, have them share a few words that we can use in our every day life.  I have seen in classrooms something as simple as a counting chart that lists numbers in multiple languages (Hawaiian, Filipino, Japanese, Marshallese, etc.)

References:

"Culturally Relevant Teaching Practices - Ideas from the Field." Culturally Relevant Teaching Practices - Ideas from the Field. N.p., 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.