Educators offer ideas and guidance on cultural competence:
"Don't try to save us. Don't speak for us. Be yourself, and be willing to make fun of yourself. Get to know your students as people. And remember to value your students for their strengths; don't define them by their deficits."
-- Emmett Martin, Lakota Studies teacher, Todd County High, Mission, S.D.
"Every year, I encounter teachers who don't get involved in the community because they're afraid of doing something wrong. That's a huge problem. And if you have a bad experience, you're less likely to try again. Keep trying anyway. And ask questions. And don't be afraid of making mistakes."
-- Dottie Le Beau, curriculum director, Todd County School District, Mission, S.D.
"I think teachers need to go back and rethink the things we were taught. The hardest thing for anyone to do is to suspend all of your beliefs and think that everything you were taught was not necessarily wrong, but that there's another side to the story."
-- Chris Mosner, teacher, Rosebud Elementary, Rosebud, S.D.
"Teachers should help us learn about our heritage. In textbooks, there's not a lot of information about us. And the stories that are there talk mostly about war and make us look like savages. It makes us think our history isn't important."
-- Marjorie Lunderman, senior, Todd County High, Mission, S.D.
