How to be More Culturally Responsive

Being "culturally responsive" is a big buzz word in teaching, but what is it exactly? To me, it means that I am respectful of others and do not make assumptions based upon race or ethnicity. For example, when I speak with my Hispanic students, I recognize that some are from Guatemala and Spanish is not even their first language. I remind them that they are learning English as their third language and it is okay to be frustrated sometimes. When the students have a misconception about the meaning of a word that sounds like a word in their heritage language, I ask them to teach me about the word and let them be the expert so they know that their language and culture is valued.

Here are some other ideas I have learned from other teachers and my coursework at American College of Education:

Include books from other cultures in your classroom library. Kids want to read books that feature characters that look like them and it's important that they know they matter. This will take a conscious effort, since I recently read that there are more main characters in kids' books that are animals that people of color. Here are some good lists to get you started:

• Edutopia
• Inclusive Schools Network
• Curriculum Associates

One of the best ways to be culturally responsive is to get to know your students as individuals. I have to admit I have been guilty of making assumptions and thinking stereotypes are true when I had no knowledge to confirm them. For example, we were recently discussing this topic in my literacy class and admitted that one preconceived idea I have around ELL students is that their families will not be able to support their education at home due to a language barrier. I have found that to be true for some families, but some parents will take their child to our Parent Resource Center or to their church for free tutoring. We have started some after school academic camps and I used to only invite the students at our Extended Day program, because I assumed other students would not have transportation. Last year I started working with our Parent Liaison and we found that parents will find a way to get their children to educational opportunities, even if they have to carpool. Now when I am planning any after-school event I include all students who will benefit.

Take the time to really get to know your students and families. I think learning more is the key to altering stereotypes and biases. Just simply reaching out to those in the community can really teach you a lot about them and change your mind and assumptions.

The last idea I had is being more mindful. Wait, before you start snickering, hear me out. I have been listening to the wonderful Dr. Laurie Santos and her podcast, The Happiness Lab, and she promotes mindfulness as being one path to being more happier. I think that we can apply that to our teaching practice, too. I found an article from the website mindful.org that supports the idea of using mindfulness to combat bias. Here are some suggestions from the article:

• Emotional Awareness: Be aware of your emotions when dealing with students. Acknowledge your emotions. Think, “when dealing with this student, I sometimes feel …” Be aware of any feelings of judgement, apathy, or fear.
• Decenter from Negative Thought Patterns: When you feel negative thoughts, think about whether the thoughts are grounded in reality or perception. Our negative thoughts do not define us and are not permanent.
• Mindful Listening and Speech: Focus on really listening to the student who is causing negative emotions. Repeat back what they are saying to clarify. Focus on moving forward instead of fixating on what has happened to cause the emotional reaction.

I hope this ideas help you and I would love to hear your ideas about fighting bias and stereotyping in the classroom. Please leave a comment and share your ideas!