Educators today hear a lot about gaps in education – achievement gaps, funding gaps, school-readiness gaps. Still, there's another gap that often goes unexamined: the cultural gap between students and teachers.
"A bunch of teachers here, they think they know what's wrong with us. But they don't know. If people want to help us, they have to see what we've been through, not from what their own experiences tell them."
– Billie, a Lakota teen speaking of the teachers at her high school
Most of us in the education profession are white, middle-class, monolingual-English speakers. Increasingly, the same profile does not hold true for our students. Often, when we stand before our classrooms, the faces looking back at us do not look like our own. Many of us try to bridge this difference with an embrace of color-blindness or the Golden Rule, treating others the way we would want to be treated.
But the truth is: culture matters.
Culture isn't just a list of holidays or shared recipes, religious traditions, or language; it is a lived experience unique to each individual. As educators, it's our job to stimulate the intellectual development of children, and, in this era, it's simply not enough to operate on the axis of color-blindness.
To truly engage students, we must reach out to them in ways that are culturally and linguistically responsive and appropriate, and we must examine the cultural assumptions and stereotypes we bring into the classroom that may hinder interconnectedness.
Overcoming Stereotypes
To engage students effectively in the learning process, teachers must know their students and their academic abilities individually, rather than relying on racial or ethnic stereotypes or prior experience with other students of similar backgrounds.
Many teachers, for example, admire the perceived academic prowess and motivation of Asian American students and fail to recognize how even a "positive" stereotype isn't positive if it presses students into molds not built for them individually.
Hear elementary school teacher, Diane Holtam, speak about how she works with other teachers to disabuse stereotypic notions of Asian American students' abilities.
Look For:
- What are some of the myths about Asian American students in the classroom that Diane speaks about?
- How does Diane suggest teachers reach out to Asian students?
Go Deeper:
You're Asian, How Could You Fail at Math?
In this essay from Rethinking Schools, Benji Chang and Wayne Au unmask the myth of the "model minority."
Reflect On:
- How are Asian students and their non-Asian counterparts affected by inappropriate teacher expectations and stereotypes?
- Which of the strategies that the authors offer to overcome this "model minority" myth can you use in your classroom? Can you think of other ways to build cohesion and understanding in your classroom?
Ready Resources:
Mythtakes
Test yourself for hidden biases.
Questions for Reflective Practice (PDF)
Checking Stereotypes
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