Cultural Sensitivity is a BIG issue

It is a scary society we live in where some people are not free to enjoy their culture without fear of getting the cops called on them. Maybe the food they brought to lunch does not smell desirable enough to Lauren in accounting, or your hair is not “neat enough” for your manager Bill, or your accent is too thick for the conversation on the subway. Situations like this are a constant reminder for people of color that they are forced to assimilate as to not offend the white people they are seated next to.This one time my younger brother and his friends stole a man’s racist confederate flag. I was tasked with taking him to the man’s house to apologies, and of course the man had to come up to me sitting patiently waiting and start making conversation. I began by explaining that I’m sorry my brother did this of course, but your flag is inherently racist and frankly un-American. He obviously disagreed and said that “the Puerto Ricans fly that flag as disrespect to Americans.” What that man failed to realize was that the Puerto Rican flag is an American flag and in no way disrespectful, just an expression of their culture. I should send that man this video.  We clearly did not see eye to eye, and I’m not admitting anything but if that flag goes missing again, this time they won’t be able to connect my brother to it.

In education, especially inside a classroom, students should feel free to express their joy in different cultures. We as educators have a duty to the students to not tolerate differences but celebrate them. As a white man, I have done the work to reprogram my thoughts to allow for a more compassionate approach to teaching. Gary and Stockman suggest that “rather than merely consuming content, students who learn in compassionate classrooms produce it as well” (99). It my biggest fear in my classroom to put a lot of effort into a lesson or activity for my students to be unengaged and really not enjoying it at all. By leading with compassion and understanding, I believe that students will want to be engaged as a way to express their cultures and beliefs.  

There are many different methods to compassionate cultural teaching and they all offer different positives and negatives. A staple in class instruction is simply conversations. Sometimes, teacher lead, small group, and one on one. I obviously look forward to being a teacher in the classic sense, standing in front of the class talking, mostly because I like the way I sound, but also because I think I have a lot of good things to say! This allows for students to focus on one thing and really absorb what I’m trying to teach. I agree with Kay when they said, “This teacher-student-teacher rhythm has been ingrained enough to make any disruption in the pattern feel monumental” (63). Although this method works, it almost eliminates the students voice and creativity, which is linked to their cultural expression and identity. I find that teachers often forget that students have ideas and probably know how they are to learn best and they “rarely as students how they feel about the different methods we faithfully employ” (63). I think it would be beneficial during the school year to take a sample group of students and do almost a focus group for lessons and activities. That way I could do a better job planning my lessons, and thus allowing me to be more sensitive to cultures and identities. Small groups were one of my favorite learning styles growing up. I think I really shine in a smaller group; I find that it’s the perfect size to show off my knowledge without feeling like I have to battle to get my words out. In these small groups, it is less teacher supervised which allows students to “freely deal in stereotypes and half logic” (72-3) which is a great place to be in as a student who wants to learn and grow.

 A pressing issue that is always involved when thinking about student’s growth and learning is the achievement gap. This I feel is unavoidable, but we must do our best to fight it. How are we as educators to change a system that is flawed and designed only for students to are granted a certain level of privilege. This system is still controlled by the same people who created it and it is clear that it was not made for people of color or of differing abilities. Winn and Johnson say, “Remnants of classist and racist theories continue to linger in the policies and pedagogies that shape schooling for minority and poor children” (13). This is so true considering schooling has changed very little while history is changing rapidly. More and more students are attending school and seeking higher education, and more often than not, education may be the only way “out” of the situation they were born into. It is crucial that we see all students, regardless of their varying abilities. It is important that we purposely create lessons that are easily changed to fit the needs to all students we are tasks to educate. I still feel hopeless at times because these systems are so deeply ingrained in the system that I don’t know how easy it is to change from the inside like this, especially speaking as someone who hasn’t even begun teaching yet.