Cultural Sensitivity Keeps Students Engaged

A young language arts student teacher directed her class to “close your eyes and imagine what your characters might look like.” I was observing her second-ever presentation to one of the classes where she would practice-teach for the next few weeks.

“Details are very important in descriptions,” she continued, “but you can’t write about them if you can’t see them. Maybe you want to write about a beautiful young girl. Think about the details. She’d have big blue eyes and long blond hair, and her hands would be slender and delicate.”

As she spoke, I watched her seventh-grade students. They represented the lower-middle-class school’s racial and ethnic mix pretty well: About half of them appeared to be Hispanic, almost a third could be considered African-American and the rest looked Caucasian. I didn’t see a blond hair or a blue eye among them. Most also had round, soft bodies.

This teacher’s description of beauty fit her own appearance to a certain extent—but it did not fit a single one of her students. It was inappropriate for me to interrupt the presentation, but during a break afterward, I spoke with her privately. I shared my observation with her.

Her eyes went wide with dismay. “Oh!” she cried. “I never even thought ...!”

We talked about ways she might adjust her presentation, and during the conversation, I asked if her preparation for teaching had included any classes about cultural diversity.

“No,” she said. “I’m beginning to wish it had, though.”

I echoed her sentiment. I’m always shocked to discover how many education programs continue to ignore or gloss over diversity issues when preparing young teachers. We live in a nation where the student population is becoming more and more diverse. The chances increase every year that these new teachers will be working with students from several different ethnic backgrounds and cultures. A teacher who does not understand how to reach across a cultural divide with sensitivity and respect will be at more of a disadvantage as time goes on.

Later that day, the student teacher had another opportunity to give her presentation on writing descriptions in fiction. “Let’s say one of your characters is a beautiful young girl,” she prompted this time. “Think about her. Picture her in your mind. Who wants to share their ideas for some details?”

Hands went up. The first student she called upon offered the blond, blue-eyed stereotype.

“Well, that’s one picture of beauty,” she answered. “But think about some of the beautiful singers or actresses you admire. Are all of them blond with blue eyes?” Throughout the room, heads shook vigorously. “That’s what I thought,” she agreed. “There are lots of ways to be beautiful. Let’s get past hair color and so on. What makes a person beautiful?”

This began a good discussion. As a result, it took longer than the first approach I’d seen. But it also engaged the students more personally and nudged them gently toward thinking past stereotypes and accepting more diversity. From the smile on her face, I had a feeling this student teacher had learned at least as much as her students that day.

Gephardt teaches private art classes in Kansas.