I
believe “But that’s just good teaching” is certainly an appropriate title to the
article by Ladson-Billings. Often times a person wants to learn about something
solely because it is relevant to that person and therefore they feel the
knowledge necessary and interesting. To make a subject “culturally relevant” is
to make it effectively engaging to multiple students and even the community as
a whole. This seems like a fairly simple idea; however, this idea can prove
difficult to carry out. Ladson-Billings makes an excellent point in her article
when she states that traditionally teachers attempt “to insert culture into the
education, instead of inserting education into the culture” (1995). I can think
of multiple classrooms I have attended that are guilty of “inserting culture
into the education” by simply making side notes on historical events or figures
that contributed to the subject or how this subject may now apply to a general population
that does not even include the students.
The
article continues by listing possible ways to achieve “inserting education into
the culture” with examples specifically geared toward African American
students. As teachers, we might have students bring rap into the classroom when
studying poetry or simply in order to use culture as an effective tool for
learning. Another example given was to ask parents or relatives who are successful
in their occupations or active in the community to speak at the school and design
a lesson plan around the ability. This allows students to view themselves and
their community has having significance. Lastly, Ladson-Billings offers us a
strategy that helps students develop the skill of “code-switching” by allowing
them to speak in the language they are most comfortable with and speak at home,
but then requiring them to translate that into the “standard form” of English.
All
of these strategies sound useful and according to the evidence referenced in
the article, these strategies are effective. However, these strategies were all
implemented in elementary or middle school classrooms. In high school classes
there is arguable much more content to cover for teachers, there is more
pressure stressed on test scores, and there is less time during the day spent
with the same students like in elementary school. In order to practice these
strategies, especially to design lessons around parents’ occupations, it
endangers the course’s coverage over the content and achieving the goals set by
standards. Thinking especially for science teachers who will have to start
covering even more content with the Next Generation Science Standards taking
effect, I wonder if there strategies out there not for “inserting education
into culture” but for intertwining culture with education.
In
my search, I found that “culturally relevant” teaching fits into the category
of responsive or differentiated teaching as discussed in chapter 2 of our UbD
and DI text. To employ culturally responsive teaching strategies is to focus
upon the students as individuals of their culture and to make modifications in
the classroom that respond to the needs of students, whether they be
motivational, academic, or environmental. The Metropolitan Center for Urban
Education from the NYU Steinhardt School offers many such strategies in their academic
journal. Below, I have included a table from their August 2008 issue.
Even with excellent strategies as such offered in the
table or by Ladson-Billings, I am still left wondering:
How are we to intertwine culture with education in order
to create academic growth, critical thinking, and community activism without
cutting out any content and still adhering to all standards set by the state,
district, and school?
Incredibly tough question Lenny. During the readings I kept asking myself very similar questions. I also could not stop and wonder how would you do this at a high school level. The best example I can give is one that I experience myself during my sophomore year in high school. The school of Social Justice at LVLHS took up an issue of quality of air around a local coal plant. For years Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization (PERRO) and the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) has been fighting to get two coal plants shut down in the Pilsen and Little Village communities. They have conducted research on the poor air quality and the affects on the health of community members.
ReplyDeleteStudents from the Social Justice High School decide to conduct their own research and find out how much of an affect the plant was having on the community. In the classroom they divided themselves up by region and each one was responsible for gather data at different points across the community around a 2-mile radius. What they found out was that the closer people lived to the coal plant the higher the likelihood was for them to suffer from asthma.
In this example the teachers incorporated a local/community issue into their science courses, where they still learned valuable ways to conduct research. Homework assignments consisted of asking their neighbors to answer surveys that helped with their research, to collect data and then collaborating in class to put that research together.
Just like this, local organizations are always looking for ways to get more young people involved. Currently, LVEJO is working to turn empty lots into parks, open spaces and urban agriculture. But in order to do so, they conduct research on the pollution of the space and what to look for potential in an empty lot. Over this summer a group of kids conducted a huge survey on locations that would be ideal to turn into open spaces and presented their research and ideas to local activist and their alderman.
Here are some links:
http://lvejo.org/archives/1625
http://enlacechicago.org/programs-page/community-education/
Lenny,
ReplyDeleteMany articles mention that culturally relevant activities lead to students’ academic success, just as it is mentioned in the article by Ladson-Billings and in some of the chapters of UbD and DI, and I believe that those activities are the ones that help students understand that teachers want them to succeed; I believe that a teacher should implement culturally relevant activities, but also the school could do so. The school could also provide those opportunities. The high school that I graduated from had a week of so called Cultural Awareness week where songs from different cultures were played during the day, and at the end of the week different cultures performed their traditional dance where students were dressed in the attire specific to that particular culture. The parents were also invited to attend the event, and it involved the community that way as well. That week was always a great week, and the students got exposed to other cultures as well. It mattered to students that the school came up with such an idea because that event helped students to be open to other cultures and at the same time acknowledge the culture of other students.
Lenny, many of the points and questions you bring up resonated with me as well! I also liked the distinction presented between "inserting culture into education" and "inserting education into culture." I am still trying envision how these would play out differently in the classroom, but it is interesting to think about. As for your question, I think the quote above and the conclusion of the article do a fair job at providing some insight. I believe achieving the goals you outlined stems largely from having a genuine interest in your students' personal growth and academic development, and taking the time to talk with them and discover what has relevance to them. Something I have learned during college is that people like to be included in decision making, they like transparency and knowing that they are being provided with resources and knowledge that will be of benefit to them. Students must have a desire for the end goal you're working them towards, and believe that what you are teaching will bring them there. If that doesn't happen, motivation will likely be lost. I think as long as the teacher keeps their eyes on the prize (student learning), the standards will fall into place.
ReplyDeleteLenny, I think your question is very interesting. The answer to it might lie in finding a good balance between what the curriculum demands and our delivery method. I am inclined to think that as educators we can present quality material that can be diversified to address every students’ need and at the same time challenge them. If we present material with pedagogic strategies that focus on dense material, we might lose the students’ interest on the subject. On the other hand, if we are always having “fun” activities we might lack a solid delivery of curriculum goals. Like I said before, I truly believe that the key to being a successful teacher is to diversify our lessons to include a variety of activities that meet all of our students’ needs and create ample opportunities for the students to take ownership of their learning.
ReplyDeleteLenny, I like your blog post, and find what you have to say relevant for all disciplines. It surely will be a balancing act between the diversity in our classrooms and the standards we will all have to meet in our classrooms. To answer your question is very difficult. I do not think there is a one fits all answer. Every teacher will have to figure out strategies and constantly be changing those strategies for each classroom. We will also have to keep changing those strategies within each classroom as time moves on and we get to know the students in our classrooms better. I believe the key will be to have a multitude of strategies in your tool box that you can utilize in many different circumstances and know when something is not working.
ReplyDeleteI think one way to answer your question is by imaging yourself as the student looking through common core and ask yourself, "Why am I learning this? How will this affect me in my life?" It's these questions that are commonly brought up among students. Also, I would suggest using a service learning project to have students make an impact on the world while learning.
ReplyDeleteThe service learning standards can be found here: http://www.nylc.org/sites/nylc.org/files/files/Standards_Oct2009-web.pdf
Lenny,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post. I agree that the intertwining of education into students culture is one of the ways we can succeed in helping diverse students.For persons who are able to make these kinds of connections for their students, they will see the most wide range of success in the classroom with their goals for their students and the students will also see the most range of success by being able to connect to aspects of their lives which they find interesting. I believe that though this is difficult and cannot be done in every lesson for all disciples, by having teachers who are willing to find those cultural keys will see lots of success in reaching their students.
Hey Lenny,
ReplyDeleteLove your question. I'm sure we've all heard it before, but I've had professor upon professor talk about the culture "iceberg" and how what is addressed in schools is usually the superficial stuff just to cover the requirement. I think, however, if we, as educators, allow students to explore their cultures by exploring learning in our classrooms, we'd be moving in the right direction. Helping students to intimately understand their community and become an active member of it is a step towards integrating culture into education. When teachers show genuine interests in getting to know their students, classroom response is generally positive. Look at the many standards that are asked of us and start asking yourself "how can I make this relevant to my students?"
Lenny,
ReplyDeleteThe table you provide is very helpful to see the difference between a traditional classroom and a differentiated classroom (which is the one we should be working towards). One of the things that Ladson-Billings mentions is that "students need to be 'centered' or the subjects rather than the objects of study." If we were to apply this in our teaching, then student's lives and experiences would matter, and their cultures/backgrounds as well. This would make the classroom feel like a community and an environment that is welcoming to all cultures and backgrounds. This will set a good foundation for student learning and allow them to achieve academic success.
Great post Lenny. I agree it appears to be a problem to balance the teaching of content and adhering to Common Core standards, on one side, and encouraging academic growth, critical thinking, and activism on the other. I agree with other posters, and Ladson-Billings, that a student-centered, culturally relevant pedagogy is the best practice to foster student learning for numerous reasons. The point I want to make is that this pedagogy is also the most effective way to achieve mastery of content and meet Core standards. The transmission model, one that imposes content on students and asked them to replicate it, is especially ineffectual at engaging students outside the mainstream. The "dismal academic performance of many African American students" that the article cites may be a symptom of this style of teaching. In response, rather than rededicate ourselves to the transmission of content, I believe the instructional scaffolding should be deployed so that students can construct knowledge for themselves. By this process students make content meaningful, memorable, and useful; good test scores and mastery of content necessarily follow.
ReplyDelete