Cultural Competence in the classroom

EDU 692 Creativity, Culture, and Global Contexts in Education Decision Making

Cultural Competence in the Classroom

Cultural competence should be big in the classroom and should be no matter what kind of education you are receiving. There will always be cultural differences. There will be skills that need to be addressed by not only the teacher but the student and parents as well. We must give each student the opportunity to express their learning in innovative skills in different ways. There are so many ways to be able to touch cultural competence in the classroom. We as teachers and parents and students must be able to create a team for the overall purpose of allowing each student to progress and move forward in their educational endeavors.

A lot of the experiences and cultural competence as seen did not seem very positive based on the information presented in the video. It seemed as if the teacher should have been taking a little bit more intuitive in showing that each student was important and meant something not only to them but also to the school and their education process. Most students do not learn in the same way. We’re not all cut from the same mold. In Nick’s case he felt as if he was being put into a corner and made to have to be around similar people. He was put into a group where all the students where the same in some way according to a test result. In this situation with Nick and his school, the teachers should have been aware of what his interests are and what excited him more about school. Given that the time was not taken, we encountered the making of a high school dropout. Although Nick learned other ways to be able to contend with the world, it was not much help from the educational school system. Nick Perez educated himself on the things that were interesting to him and kept him engaged. Everyone’s culture is different, and everyone were raised in different manners to do different things. We must learn to adjust not only the students but also the educators that are interacting with students every day.

I believe that creativity in innovation is not adequate just in typical classroom environments. There is always a set way to do things in every classroom environment or school. The teachers adjust to curriculum that might not be helpful to some students and helpful to others. But there’s not room for much adjustment for the educators with the students. Therefore, causing the students to jeopardize or compromise their creativity side and their innovative side of learning. I believe that another skill that is lacking in the educational system is communication. Not only is there not much communication with the teachers and the parents as also lack of communication with the students and the teachers. I believe that this is because in some cases the teachers are given a curriculum and don’t know exactly how to deliver the information that is given for them to deliver to the student or the parents. The lack of communication with the parents is simply due to the parents not knowing curriculum for students in the educational system. In order for communication to be better for the teacher to the parents, the teacher would have to educate the parents as well as the students at the same time, granite that the teacher knows exactly what they are supposed to teach and are comfortable with teaching it themselves.

Accusation of learning and innovative skills to culturally relevant instruction can lead to a much greater student success because their interests in what they’re learning and what they’re doing. Often you will lose students due to the fact of them being uninterested in what is being taught to them. The teacher must find innovative ways to keep the students engaged in what is being taught as well as being able to make sure that they understand the curriculum. Allowing ways for students to bring forth their cultural integrity and making sure that the teacher is letting them know that it’s OK to be different. Doing things in the classroom to reinforce their cultural integrity makes a student feel like their cultural aspects are important to the classroom and their educational learning. Involving students and the construction of knowledge is very important as well. Allow the students to give their input on the things that are working and not working. Allowing a student to be a part of the learning process can be very beneficial to a teacher and they can know where help is needed and where they comprehend what is being taught. It’s always good to keep a student engaged in their learning process. They must be participators of their own education in order to be able to move forward. Being able to tap into the home and community resources is always a good way to help a student progress. The teacher, parents, and students should all be a part of a team for any student’s educational learning process. Being able to use resources from the community is another form of help that students can use to succeed in their learning process. I always say it takes a village to raise a child and that includes education as well.

So, in conclusion, cultural competences in the classroom is a big deal for any student that is in the educational system. There always be some challenging times for each student due to different cultures, different scenarios in their lives, and gender. All students will be presented with a set of challenges that they must overcome in order to succeed. It is a teacher’s responsibility to make sure that every part of the student including their cultural differences are embraced in this process.

References

Wardle, F. (2013). Human relationships and learning in the multicultural environment [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Teachers’ Lounge (2014, February 11). Why kids hate school?: Nikhil Goyal at TEDxYouth@BFS (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/0Iz4APbOOcI

Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy [PDF]. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 159-165. Retrieved from https://nationalequityproject.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/ladson-billings_1995.pdf