A good teacher in my opinion is a teacher that is continuing to better
themselves so it makes complete sense that the 8th rubric for a
distinguished teacher is about professional practice and development. Part of
this rubric describes a teacher that collaborates with others in their
profession, takes initiative and seeks feedback. While there are so many facets
of this rubric and how to go about being fulfilling this standard cultural
responsive teaching comes to mind. There are so many dimensions to cultural
responsive teaching but it really begins with your own culture.
A lot of Americans say that they do not have culture and this couldn’t be
more wrong. Culture males up who you are as a person and how you interact with
the people around you and being aware of your own cultural bias is a step in
the right direction. I, myself, come from a lower socioeconomic economic
household, half of my life was spent as a military child so we moved around a
lot, I am a white female, my parents are divorces, my mother remarried, I am
the oldest of 4 children and education was not important in my household. All
these things can create connections with my students or it could possibly lead
to a disconnection because I might not know where an individual student is when
they walk through the door every morning. This fact is why it is so important
to get to know your students and where they come from.
Discovering the world that your students comes from brings me to my most
important point because the only way to know your students better is to ask! Ask
about their lives and traditions. Being ignorant about someone’s culture doesn’t
make you dumb or a bad person but when you hide behind the ignorance it is your
students that suffer. There are so many opportunities that you can create
within the class to get to know the children more. Below is an excerpt from an
article by Elizabeth B. Kozleski titled Culturally Responsive Teaching. This specific
passage reiterates my point but adds to it. As the author states below this is learning
more about your students can outline the differences between perspectives which
can give you a further understanding. This entire article really dives into the
topic and I have made sure to save a copy for further reference in my career.
Learning is a part of teaching, not just for the students but for the
teachers as well. Each year I hope that my culture competence increases and I
can create the type of classroom environment that will facilitate learning for
all children from whatever background they come from. As a teacher you should
never stop striving to learn more and there are an unlimited amount of
tradition and cultures that you can learn about. Take classes, go out and experience
events that might not be a part of your culture and ask questions!
