Cultural Competence

A Facebook request yields more than 150 responses and lots of resources. Now the first-grade teacher who made the request has ordered new books and is sharing with her school’s staff. 

The parent-teacher relationship doesn’t have to be stressful. Here are a few ways to make the process easier.

Culturally responsive teaching is really about building relationships and validating students. Ensuring the academic success of students takes care and a little tough love. 

This English teacher picked up a few tips for connecting with students. It’s all about how you speak. 

A couple of years ago a student approached me after history class. Avoiding eye contact, he trembled a bit before speaking. His voice was shaking.

“I am sorry, teacher,” Armando began. “I could not finish my project. My parents were killed a couple days ago.”

What would it look like if schools offered every child daily opportunities to do something in which they excel? What if, instead of just celebrating academic successes, we highlighted the unique talents and joys of all our students?

The room was quiet.

In our staff development session, we had just watched a short video about the best way to instruct our students in speaking Standard English. The teacher in the video explained to her students that they would be practicing the “language of the job interview.”

My school director asked, “How did people feel about that?”

I needed to expose my preservice teachers to a real, lasting experience with diversity. I had one day.
Growing up in South Dakota, where 86 percent of the population is white, my students come to college with few experiences interacting with culturally diverse students. The reality is that classrooms today are becoming increasingly diverse.