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CULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM

CULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM. Writing that Honors Where Students Come From and Who They Are Sara Jones. Culture Matters.

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CULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM

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  1. CULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM Writing that Honors Where Students Come From and Who They Are Sara Jones

  2. Culture Matters Culturally responsive pedagogy starts with the premise that race and class matter, and that some schools fail to send diverse students signals that they belong. To make sure all students feel valued, teachers need to be aware of their own biases, work deeply to understand their individual students, find ways to bring students' heritage and community into the classroom, and hold all students to a high academic standard. http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/11/good-teachers-embrace-their-students-cultural-backgrounds/281337/

  3. WHAT IS CULTURE? In the space provided on your note taker, please draw 5pictures that describe YOU. Don’t panic! Feel free to use stick pictures.

  4. Based on what you wrote, tell a partner… About your culture. (Your first impulse may be to say, “But I was drawing pictures about myself!” You’re right! However, everything you drew expresses your personal identity, which is inextricably linked to your CULTURE.)

  5. My First “Multicultural Education” Training: Are your students one or more of these? - Hispanic - Black - Asian or Pacific Islander - Other person of color If so, you should: • Lower your expectations • Not modify inappropriate behaviors • Not call on these students • Reward effort • Focus on basic skills

  6. THESE ARE THE WRONG METHODS BECAUSE: Success in the majority educational culture in the US at the moment requires: • Active, appropriate participation in groups, including the ability to form and support an intelligent, well-reasoned argument • Ability to conform to MLA and/or APA English, which requires academic tone and conformity to spelling, punctuation, and grammar rules • Organizational and social skills such as being in a particular place at a particular time, doing what you say you’re going to do

  7. Wait a minute… We’ve been taught in the past that “culture” has to do with skin color, languages other than English, and coming from another country. Yes and no…

  8. The Conundrum of “Culture” is… that it is an accumulation of social expectations, skin color, beliefs, customs, art, music, knowledge, behavior, belief, religion, values, goals, behaviors, language, dress, attitude, convention, slang, haircut, tradition, gesture, duration of gaze, education, possessions, eating habits, parenthood (or not), body fat, and everything else you can imagine or describe about yourself. YOU are an expression of your CULTURES: ALL of them. Regional Culture Historical Culture Situational Culture And… The concept of “Additive Culture” is…

  9. Which students’ cultures should you respect?

  10. And Don’t Allow Marginalization: • Even the most "standard" curriculum decides whose history is worthy of study, whose books are worthy of reading, which curriculum and text selections… can help students to find and value their own voices, histories, and cultures. • http://www.tolerance.org/culture-classroom

  11. HOW? How the heck are you supposed to value all of your students?

  12. List of General Recommendations • Develop caring relationships with students while maintaining highexpectations • Engage and motivate students • Assess student performance and modify instruction as needed • Group students for instruction • Select and effectively use learning resources • Promote and learn from family and community engagement

  13. More Specifically: • TALK about culture in your classroom: *What it is and what it isn’t *Educational culture in YOUR classroom * Majority culture, right or wrong 2. IDENTIFY cultural agenda: *Offer curriculum that allows you to teach your students to ask which culture has power, how that culture wants the world to be, and whether that’s right or wrong 3. OFFER power: *Show students how to express how they feel about the way culture is being used, and teach them the methods to use that will make their voice heard *Show students people who have successfully fought a majority culture decision

  14. Designing Lessons: Let’s get down to it!

  15. Designing Lessons: I brought many resources and have laid them out on the desks. • Choose a partner • Come up and choose at least three resources for your pair that look interesting and that you think you might be able to connect to something you already teach in your classroom.

  16. Designing Lessons: Please turn your note taker over, where you will find a VERY simple lesson design format.

  17. Idea #1: Talk about Culture How are you going to help your students TALK about culture? How can you help them understand what it is and isn’t, what the culture is like in your classroom, and the what the majority culture in the US requires?

  18. What is this picture saying about the people it shows? Whose voice is the message in? What change in the photo would change the message?

  19. Idea #1: Lesson Design

  20. Idea #1: Talk About Culture What cultural questions might you ask your students about one of the resources you chose? • Reserve YOUR OWN cultural bias and THINK: • What bias does the piece show? • What are the “sides” implicit in the piece? • Whose voice is being heard, and whose isn’t? • What would have to happen to this piece to change its message? • What is this piece saying people (the young, the old, people of color, a particular sex, a particular sexual orientation, etc) should BE or DO?

  21. Idea #1: Talk Culture & Write a Lesson! You have five minutes to quickly sketch the outline of a lesson with a partner.

  22. Tell Another Group About Your Design: Show another group how you’re going to encourage TALK about the resource you chose!

  23. Idea #2: Identify Cultural Agenda Look through the resources you chose. Find one that clearly shows a culture with power. This will be the source of your next lesson outline. Using this resource, how will you encourage your students to explore who has power, and who doesn’t?

  24. Idea #2: Cultural Agenda Example Answer the following questions in at least one page of writing: What would a Russian have to say about the international image produced by the difference in the way his or her country is pictured in these maps? Where was each map maker born?

  25. Idea #2: Lesson Design

  26. Idea #2: Identify Agenda & Write a Lesson You have five minutes to quickly sketch the outline of a lesson with a partner.

  27. Tell Another Group About Your Design Show another group how you’re going to encourage your students to identify cultural agenda in the resource you chose!

  28. Idea #3: Offer Power Look through your resources and find one that shows someone who has suffered for his or her culture taking power. How will you help your students discover which culture has power, how that culture wants the world to be, and whether that’s right or wrong?

  29. Idea #3: Offer Power DO not forget to: *Show students appropriate ways to express how they feel about the way culture is being used, and teach them the methods to use that will make their voice heard *Show students people who have appropriately fought a majority culture decision

  30. Idea #3: Offer Power Read the article titled “These Inspiring Middle Schoolers Are Fighting for Their Right to Wear Leggings.” Compose a letter to the editor that supports your position on this issue. Address it to the principal of the school the girls attend.

  31. Idea #3: Lesson Design

  32. Idea #2: Identify Agenda & Write a Lesson You have five minutes to quickly sketch the outline of a lesson with a partner.

  33. Tell Another Group About Your Design Show them how you’re going to OFFER POWER through the resource you chose!

  34. Culture is… Culture is power. Culture is authority. Culture is who has control and whether they’re willing to give it awayor fight for it.

  35. Culture is… Give power away. Ask others to take the power and show them how to use it wisely and well. Honor the authority we all deserve in our own areas of expertise…

  36. Culture is… Because who has more expertise about your students than they do?

  37. Thank You For Participating! Thank you for your kind participation in this session! If you have any questions or would like assistance, please feel free to contact sejones@washoeschools.net.

  38. Template Provided By www.animationfactory.com 500,000 Downloadable PowerPoint Templates, Animated Clip Art, Backgrounds and Videos

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