Read the following class comment and respond to at least one of the questions that follow.
Your response will go in the threaded comments section.
Following each class, you will be given multiple prompts to respond to each week.
The comment(s):
We need to recognize and incorporate the cultural diversity of our students in order to better serve their learning needs and to help diminish oppressive white privilege.
The question(s):
1. How do you recognize cultural diversity in your students?
2. How do you incorporate cultural diversity in the classroom?
3. What elements require modification in order to better serve the learning needs of our students? How?
4. What constraints will you face in your classrooms that inhibit modifications?
5. To diminish oppressive white privilege one must define it first. How do you define white privilege? How is it manifested in our culture, in our society, in our classroom?
6. How does white privilege oppress?
7. How do you diminish white privilege?
A good strategy to diminish white privilege would be to diversify the curriculum in terms of choices. For example, instead of having a classroom with images of white men in history, it would be better to have men and women of various ethnicities whom have contributed to society in some way that is relevant to the course. For me, it would be an art class. I would include artists from various nations and points in history and they would not be all male. Simple tweeks to the image of the classroom and the people discussed can make all the difference. If a class is primarily hispanic, I would incorporate works from Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Diego Rivera, Gabriel Orozco, and Graciela Iturbide. Although male artists have a history of dominating the art scene, I would create a discussion about that situation and how female artists have pushed for recognition within the art world.
ReplyDeleteThank you for introducing me to Gabriel Orozco. :)
ReplyDelete1. How do you recognize cultural diversity in your students?
ReplyDeleteIt is hard, almost impossible, to find a classroom in a public school that has no diversity. It is almost a guarantee that you will find diversity in a classroom. There will be differences in age, culture, customs, educational level etc... These are only a few things I can use to recognize diversity.
5.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I’ve learned at UTSA, white privilege encompasses all the everyday luxuries that white people are afforded and take for granted. Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh, lists many privileges that white people have just on the basis of being white. These unearned privileges are manifested by almost every aspect of life. From television shows, to taking tests in schools, most things are skewed toward whites. In culture as well as society, white privilege is manifested by what people wear, drive, and where we live. The models used advertising are for the most part white, which leads the youth of other cultures into believing that is how they should look. In our classroom, hopefully white privilege is being addressed. Unfortunately the way some of the standardized tests and texts are written, white privilege remains evident. Culturally biased questions and information continue to manifest white privilege.
1. Diversity in all schools now, especially in South Texas. We have students of all ethnicities, races, backgrounds, age groups, genders, etc. This is a difficult challenge to accommodate for all these things. I think that might be the hardest part of teaching now days, is learning to ways of accommodating and helping them be ready for the high stakes test that will not have those accommodations. You can find a way to incorporate into your lesson, or once a week briefly introduce a new culture, through a video or assignment.
ReplyDeleteHannah Thornblom
To recognize cultural diversity in students teachers must listen and observe interactions their students have with members in the school and classroom. It is so important to take the time to get to know your students on a personal level so that you can better understand their backgrounds and beliefs. We all come to the classroom with our own backgrounds and experiences and if you are not talking the time to get to know your students you might make assumptions about who your students are that have no basis in reality. I remember reading about and discussing this at length in my ESL class this summer. For example knowing your student or their family is from say, Japan might lead you to assume things about that students based on what you know of Japanese culture. However, you need to take a closer look to understand that student's background. What part of Japan are they from? How long have they been in the U.S.? What is unique about their community or family? Taking the time to get to know your students is so important to accurately represent and celebrate their diversity in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI will be teaching Spanish therefore, cultural diversity would be an essential topic in my classroom. There is great cultural diversity in Texas classrooms considering the history of Texas alone. It is part of our culture.
ReplyDelete2. Literature is the most easiest way to introduce cultural diversity. Not all students will be able to read novels from dead white male authors because not all readers are white or male at times. There are so many different types of people in this world as well as writers. They need to be introduced, so all students can relate to them.
ReplyDeleteFrom an English stand point I must agree with Zane Arredondo, we as English educators often have it easy-there are SO many great authors that span across cultures and gender. By introducing the array of greatness we show that through hard work success is possible despite any constraints society may have.
ReplyDeleteIn art, there is Frida Kahlo,Diego Rivera,Francisco Goya,Hokusai,Basquait...are just some examples of minority artists who were powerful in their art. Having different cultural artists hanging in the classroom is a must!
ReplyDelete#1
ReplyDeleteRecognizing cultural diversity means acknowledging each of the different cultures that may be present within your classroom and celebrating the different backgrounds, experiences, and motivations of those cultures.
#2
Incorporating cultural diversity in the classroom means going beyond simply recognizing holidays and foods of different cultural groups; incorporating cultural diversity in the classroom encompasses utilizing different teaching strategies and techniques that that build upon the varying learning styles of different cultures. As a classroom teacher, it is critical that we be skilled in welcoming all students and cultures.
7
ReplyDeleteThe first step in diminishing white privilege is the hardest, by making a society that has been held under this status quo for so long see that there is actually a system linked to white privilege that has celebrated the dominant culture and marginalized others for many generation. This is the hardest because the dominant culture thinks that they have been working towards diversity, when they have actually been continuing the same cycle that has always been evident to one degree or another. Those of the dominant culture do not think they have it any better or are more represented in the media, literature, class lessons, and society, when they actually are. Celebrating cultural diversity in society and the classroom is also an important way to affirm all cultures in the classroom, instead of only the dominant culture.
White privilege is a topic that most teachers and people in general do not like to discuss, especially to their students. It is a topic that is often thought of as non existent and irrelevant in this time in history. Unfortunately, this is not the case. I believe that white privilege oppresses mostly by teaching children that it does not exist. Those that contribute to this belief state that we are a country are passed this and that white privilege is no longer something that effects us anymore. It is easiest to teach students about white privilege by introducing different types of literature that discuss it. There are numerous minority authors that discuss the different ways that white privilege have effected them and how to overcome it. I think that using this literature would be a great way to introduce and discuss this issue.
ReplyDelete1. Recognizing the cultural diversity within your classroom starts with just getting to know your students. I would love to have a "get to know the student" kind of survey on the first day of school where you could ask simple questions like do you speak any other languages other than english, what is your favorite food, favorite music, basic things that could give the teacher a few ideas about the cultures within the classroom. It also comes from just speaking with the students and noticing what they bring to conversations within the classrooms. In an English classroom, where I will be working, there is an additional resource in writing. Reading their papers and find out who they are through their writing about personal experiences. You could also either meet their parents through parent nights or through email and learn a little extra about their family through that.
ReplyDelete