Professional Development

Being Culturally Responsive


Culturally responsive teaching recognizes the importance of including students' cultural references in all aspects of learning, enriching classroom experiences and keeping students engaged.

Corona High School teacher, Marcos Torres, talks about being culturally responsive in his classroom.

Look For:

  • Marcos says that his brown skin is important in his teaching brown students. But what if you have white skin and are teaching students-of-color? Does it matter? Why or why not?
  • What is something that Marcos says that middle class Caucasian students often have as a result of their position that working class students-of-color often don't have as much?
  • How do networks help us professionally?
  • What is your best guess about what a "middle class classroom" looks like? What about an "executive elite" classroom?

Reflect On:

  • What is "domestic literacy"?
  • What kinds of skills are taught in domestic/functional literacy?
  • What kinds of skills does the author believe are taught in middle and upper class schools?

Ready Resources:

Culturally Responsive Teaching

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Learning for Justice in the South

When it comes to investing in racial justice in education, we believe that the South is the best place to start. If you’re an educator, parent or caregiver, or community member living and working in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana or Mississippi, we’ll mail you a free introductory package of our resources when you join our community and subscribe to our magazine.

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