Culturally Responsive Teaching
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Name
Professor’s Name
Date
Culturally Responsive Teaching
A culturally responsive teacher delivers his/her content in a way that befits the socio-cultural context of the students; fully acknowledging the existing cultural, racial, political, and economic diversities in the classroom. This eliminates perceived biases and the feeling of alienation from part of the student body thus promoting learning for all.
Culturally responsive teaching aspires to be student-centered as opposed to the traditional method of teaching that was one way: from teacher to student (Samuels, 2018). The teacher engages the students more in the learning process by allowing them to cite instances from their past experiences that relate to the topic of study. The student-centered approach to learning empowers the students to gain some important life skills such as self-esteem and good communication skills. Further, the students develop excellent cross-cultural understanding and relationships with each other thus promoting security and trust among each other.
In the spirit of appreciation of diversity in a classroom, culturally responsive teaching is structured to treat each student equally and in an unbiased manner. Consequently, the students are encouraged to relate the teaching with socio-cultural experiences from their background. Moreover, the instructor might borrow instances from perceived minority communities to explain a concept in class. This improves the learner’s critical thinking as well as promotes cohesion in a classroom (Samuels, 2018).
Culture affects the way we think and relate with others. Our cultural background can have either a negative or positive impact on our education. For instance, in a culture that deters minors from questioning adults, a student may be afraid to ask for clarifications from their instructor. Some cultures discourage their people from associating with certain people. This promotes alienation in a classroom thus discouraging teamwork. Therefore, culture has a huge impact on our studies.
Therefore, to ensure an all-inclusive learning approach, while appreciating the diversity that exists in our society today, teachers and learners have to be culturally responsive. This will promote holistic learning where everybody trusts and respects the other.
References
Samuels, A. J. (2018). Exploring Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Teachers’ Perspectives on Fostering Equitable and Inclusive Classrooms, 27(1).
