A Culturally Responsive World Language Classroom
By World Language Teacher and Guest Blogger Michele Hill
***🎙 Don’t miss: Michele will be giving a workshop on culturally responsive schools and classrooms at the New Jersey Education Association Convention this fall!***
“Culturally Responsive” is a big buzzword in education today, but what exactly does it mean? I imagine that in the early 1900’s when our country was being populated with so many immigrants coming from other parts of the world, they did not use this word to describe being respectful of one another’s diversity, but indeed, that’s exactly what it was — and is. The basis for being culturally responsive as a teacher and a school is not just tolerating each other’s differences, but respecting and embracing the things that make us stand apart.
As a world language teacher, I am deeply entrenched in offering my students the opportunity to experience the diversity of world around them. Students engage in studying, not only the language, but also the similarities and differences of distinct groups in contrast to the American culture. The world language classroom is filled with exploration of language, celebrations, geography, religion and everything that is culture. Students are invited to embrace different viewpoints and challenge stereotypes of people that are different. It can be a profound experience for many students who have never been exposed to people that look different, speak another language, eat very unique foods or worship in ways that may be in direct conflict to their own religious views. This attitude of embracing diversity is intuitive in a world language classroom, but may not be the standard everywhere.
Many schools that have a diverse student body are ahead of the curve on creating a culturally responsive school and classroom, but for so many schools where there is a dominant culture, they may still be unaware of the necessity to honor and celebrate the uniqueness of the backgrounds of students and staff. To build a foundation of acceptance of all cultures, schools must intentionally create a climate where students and staff feel a strong sense of belonging, feel safe and be confident that their diversity is a source of pride for the school and community. Schools that are successful with being culturally responsive have strategies in place that celebrate diversity. Here are some ideas that have been successful:
- Know your students/staff as individuals; make personal connections
- Be introspective of personal bias, work toward eradicating stereotypes
- Provide representation/image of cultural diversity
- Educate staff of the backgrounds of students and explore their culture
- School campus/classroom should be inviting to all
- Celebrations/holidays should include all cultures
- Collaborate with diverse professionals to include alternate view points
- Professional Development for staff on ways to be culturally responsive
- Student character training with emphasis on diversity
- Build a strong sense of community for all
- Partner with families
- Select resources that offer diverse characterization/subjects
- Offer additional assistance to students with resources intended for diverse students
- Communication should be expressed in home language, translations services
- Signs should welcome diversity
The beauty of the world lies in the diversity of its people; honor them and celebrate them!
Michele Hill, World Language and Special Education Teacher
Michele Hill is a passionate educator in her 24th year of teaching–students first, curriculum second. Michele teaches Spanish as well as a special program working with At-Risk students that she affectionately refers to as At-Promise students. Throughout her career as an educator, Michele has been an advocate for struggling and impoverished students; she works diligently to create an environment where all students can succeed. Michele has written articles for ASCD and MCGraw-Hill. In addition to presenting and facilitating professional development on a variety of educational topics. This year, Michele will be presenting at the NJEA conference in November in Atlantic City, NJ. You can follow her on Twitter @HillMrispo or spiritededucator.blogspot.com.
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