Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

An Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy by Michelle Garcia (Video)

Indeed, the first step to understand an idea or concept is to define it. Garcia presents the experts’ own interpretations of “culturally relevant pedagogy” in what I interpret as an attempt to educate the public. The missing link in this video, albeit it short and well-intentioned, is the acknowledgement that culturally relevant pedagogy will be shaped by individual interpretations and its understanding will never achieve consensus. This is an advantage. I’ve come to accept the notion that very few ideas or concepts share a universal definition; from the bilingualism to to artificial intelligence to cultural relevancy, attempts to encapsulate the tangible and intangible with definitions slow the progress of their implementation. For me, the biggest takeaways from Garcia’s video are the experts’ identifications of what culturally relevant pedagogy is not, namely “conflating race with culture.” When presented with large, overarching ideas it’s like being handed a wooden block and instructed to carve a masterpiece. If masterpiece is what the expected outcome is, everyone will fail. When we are provided with parameters, such as the acknowledgement that culturally relevant pedagogy is not synonymous with race or language, and is in fact, a concept that needs to be shaped specifically to the teacher’s classroom and her students, a masterpiece is far more likely.

Teaching Bilinguals Even if You’re Not One Episodes 1-5 (Videos) by Sara Vogel

I’m highly impressed by the quality, accessibility, and practicality the Sara Vogel’s videos through the CUNY New York State Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals. The ideas and strategies demonstrated in the videos provide immediate comprehension of complex concepts, like translanguaging and bilingualism, and cater to the expectation of impatience embedded into our society’s media diet.

Vogel presents translanguaging as a “critical and flexible use of language.” This is highly appealing in its brevity and to scholars who may disagree with the principles of emergent bilingual classrooms. Yet, I’m constantly drawn back to the same gnawing question whenever I explore ideas I already support: How do we as educators draw the individuals who work in opposition to this issue to these resources? How do we share our point of view with them in a way it will be heard? “They’re” probably asking themselves the same thing.

Translanguaging is a direct response to repression and racism. I recently finished listening to the first season of “Missing and Murdered: Who Killed Alberta Williams?” by Connie Walker and Marnie Luke, a podcast that explores the murder of an indigenous woman in Canada and by proxy, the historical implications years of violence and repression against indigenous peoples manifests today. The reporter’s work instantly made me think of how translanguaging serves as response to the historical repression of students’ use of native languages in the classroom. I learned about Canada’s “residential schools,” institutions designed to “assimilate thousands of native children for more than a century” (Paquin) wherein children were subjected to serious abuse, neglect, and of course, repression of any native language. Much like our own institutions, students have been subjects and subjected to cultural repression for centuries, “punished for using their languages in classes.” I wonder if presenting the art of translanguaging as a reparation against repression and violence would be more alluring to those who work in its opposition?

But That’s Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy by Gloria Ladson-Billings

Ladson-Billings could’ve written “But That’s Just Good Teaching!” yesterday. But it was published in 1995. The lack of culturally relevant pedagogy in our public schools systems remains a pervasive issue 20 years after in-depth studies and calls to action were made, which weren’t the first of their kind. I can get stuck in large-scale problems like this like an insect to fresh tar. I don’t have a solution, so I must return to my classroom. I’m wondering what I can to make to sure my teaching style and classroom are culturally relevant learning spaces for my students. I also need to take a look at how they already are, to get a little unstuck from that tar. Our school lacks a diverse selection of books, which I’m working on through a grant. My classroom is a decent reflection of students’ interests, at least in terms of pop culture; I make a concerted effort to connect lessons to current issues, trends, and students’ tastes. I would like to improve the connection our learning has with external community organizations. I’m quite aware of the numerous, fantastic, and diverse organizations that exist to support students in and out of school, yet I’ve struggled to find the time to make the implementations. I’d love some suggestions for an accessible entry point.