Culturally Responsive Teaching Reflection

 In the articles and readings regarding literacy and its instruction, there are many examples of when teachers missed the mark and labelled students because of their accent or different use of words.  The relationship between language, literacy, and power is that in our society one equals the next.  What this means is when a person learns and masters language then that will equal literacy; when a person masters literacy then that will equal power.  This is the mistake the teacher in the reading "... As Soon As She Opened Her Mouth!" made; she decided that her student would not achieve success because of her dialect.  The teacher also dismissed her mother as well, believing this family did not have the correct language to succeed and be powerful and so they were written off. 

"I knew she was ignorant just as soon as she opened her mouth!  This teacher was referring to the fact that Jenny, the mother of Donny, one of her students, spoke in a southern mountain dialect, a dialect that is often used to characterize poor whites known as "hillbillie," or "ridgerunners," (Purcell-Gates, 2002).

Many teachers and schools contribute to poor literacy because they hold a cultural deficit perspective.  They teach that Standard American English is the "correct" way, the only way to be successful.  Teachers fail to take into account what a students background can contribute.  Cultural difference perspective offers students the ability to see the value in their own language and dialects and also in Standard English and switch back and forth.  It is the teacher's responsibility to explain the value of both to students. 

"...beliefs affect (emotion/feeling), and overt behaviors" are reflected in and a reflection of one's attitudes.  Using these definitions, we can then see that the negative attitude toward dialect variation in the U.S. involves an underlying belief that there is one correct version of English-- Standard American English" (Rowland & Marrow, 2010).
    
Teachers can overcome their cultural deficit perspective by learning the value of their students background and culture.  It is vital to create an inclusive environment of acceptance to stop "correcting" and start giving options.  As in the Moll reading, his research showed that when teachers used the family's knowledge and background, the students' were able to learn at an acceptable rate. 

"He believes the secret to literacy instruction is for schools to investigate and tap into the "hidden" home and community resources of their students" (Moll, 1992).

There are ways to improve literacy instruction for speakers of non- standard English.  One of them is mentioned in the Moll reading, where the teacher used background knowledge and family wisdom to utilize project based learning.  The teacher accessed the community to assist and support the learning process. Another is to not expect too much too fast.  If a student is learning English as a new language, then of course that student needs the basics first.  Also, if students are able to bring a new definition of a word, or a new word to our language, it is the responsibility of the teacher to acknowledge the student, the word, and definition and give examples of that word in standard English, to build a bridge, to aid in code-switching. The National Council of Teachers of English recommends that writing is in the nest of talk and so setting up ways of establishing balance between talk and writing in classroom management and writing must accommodate the explosion in technology around us. 

"In early writing, we can expect lots of talk to surround writing, since what children are doing is figuring out how to get speech onto paper.... As they grow, writers still need opportunities to talk about what they are writing about, to rehearse the language of their upcoming texts and run ideas by trusted colleagues before taking the risk of committing words to paper" (NCTE, 2008).

Others ways to celebrate the individuality of students are the Where I am From photo stories. In completing these projects, students are given the opportunity to research their origins and have their peers review them and give feedback to them.  This allows other students to identify with other student's backgrounds and build connections and bridges.  These projects also encourage students to listen and know eachother and fosters the community within your classroom. 

"As Phillips says, "I know my kids as individuals, and this is who they are.  It's my responsibility to teach the learning standards, but not to change them or take away their dialect"  (Epstien & Herring-Harris, 2011).

    
Teaching students of non-standard English varieties of language may be challenging and will take patience.  In my classroom, I will explain the reasoning behind each language and its importance.  I hope to celebrate differences among us and dive deeper into knowledge of culture and background.  Together, my students and I will create a community that feels safe and nutured.  Our classroom will be one of discovery not correction of dialect.