Chapter 2 - Cultural Responsive Classrooms

Culture (according to our) text is "ways of knowing, believing, valuing, and thinking among a group of people." How do we determine the culture of our classroom? Well, we need to communicate with our students. Questions I found interesting from the text are: Who is head of household? What are home rules for touching? and What home responsibilities do children have? We forget that not all families are like our own. Whether good or bad, family is a huge influence on the child. The child could come from a single parent household, or not, but be a latchkey kid. Is the child in charge of all of their siblings, or is the child even with his or her natural family? Does the child have food on the table or does he/she worry about the next meal? Is there a religion practiced in the home? Atheism? Is school the safe place for the child? Although, these all seem like concerns instead of cultural attributes, they are still what is making up the child.
It seems like a child should be allowed to go to school and only have to learn, but the fact is that many of our students will have the above mentioned burdens on their shoulders. How do we let our classroom be the one place without worry? Through literature. "we read to know, we are not alone." C.S. Lewis. Literature becomes the escape. It becomes the common thread for all the students. It becomes the imagination station where anything could be possible. If only, we as educators, will remember this when we have our own classroom.

One thing this chapter did well was to emphasize how to be sensitive to our cultural differences. I also want to do this, but I also want to find ways to show my students that through our differences, we have ways of being the same.

Burrowes, A. J. (2000). Grandma’s purple flowers is a book that demonstrates the loss of a loved one and how the child copes. No matter what the cultural difference, all people will at one time experience a loss and have to find a way to cope. Her site...

http://adjoaburrowes.com/

Also, Smith, C. L. (2002) is another author that shares her multicultural background for the education and entertainment of children. More information about her can be found at...

http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/