Kenadi Bolf
Dr. Courtney Beers
Fall 2017 EDEC 3573-900
What can teachers do to create a culturally responsive classroom?
A culturally responsive classroom is a classroom that recognizes all students
Welcoming All Students To Room 202: Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms by Donna Y. Ford
This article gave an analogy that compares students in a classroom to guests in a home. Most people put a lot of time and effort into planning before guests come over. Then, they want their guests to feel welcome and comfortable at their house. Most hosts will prepare food based on their guests likes and avoid foods that their guests do not like or allergic to. When creating …show more content…
There are prerequisites for teachers for having culturally responsive classroom management. “First, we must recognize that we are all cultural beings, with our own beliefs, biases, and assumptions about human behavior.” If teachers recognize their own biases, then they are less likely to judge students who are a different culture than them and treat the children more fairly. “Second, we must acknowledge the cultural, racial, ethnic, and class differences that exist among people.” Some teachers try to avoid discussing different cultures because they do not want to create stereotypes of cultures. However, it is important that teachers learn about different cultures and teach their students what they learn so that they can have CRCM. A teacher’s cultural content knowledge can be used to model an openness to include and learn more about other cultures, which can be meaningful to students and families. “Finally, culturally responsive classroom management requires that teachers understand the ways that schools reflect and perpetuate discriminatory practices of the larger society.” Teachers need to understand that schools may have structure based on race and that some races may have more privilege than others. This may cause an uneven divide in the …show more content…
To create a culturally responsive classroom, teachers must first assess themselves and their own beliefs. Many educators have a lack of knowledge about cultures other than their own. It can be difficult for teachers to include all students in the classroom when they do not know anything about a culture or have bias. It is important that teachers make their unconscious bias, conscious. When teachers do this, then they can better meet the needs of their students. Educators can be aware of their biases by asking themselves questions about what they believe. For example a teacher might ask, “How do I feel about people who are different from me?” After answering these questions, teachers should reflect on why they gave the answers that they