For school year 2013-2014, Culturally Responsive Education (CRE) remained a key focus of ESI. During the summer’s CRE Immersion Week, teachers received an even deeper understanding of how a culturally relevant lens can be infused into and throughout a curriculum in History/Social Studies (led by Felicia Pride), Math (led by Prof. Danté Tawfeeq), Science (led by Prof. Janell Catlin), and English (led by Prof Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz). James Torta, AP at Teachers Preparatory High School, and a fellow staff member at Teachers Prep attended and shares his reflections.
After attending two training sessions on the subject of Culturally Relevant Education at the Open Society Foundations (offered by the Expanded Success Initiative), my colleague and I were reminded of how essential it is that our curriculum and classroom practices are designed to empower our students to develop a spirit of critical inquiry. While most teachers would agree that these are noble ideals, many would also argue that the pressures of standardized testing render such “lofty” notions impractical. What emerged from this week of discussion and exploration was the sense that focusing on CRE is our best hope of helping our young men and women develop the skills they will need to overcome the achievement gap and emerge from our
schools ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
This week of training was more than a clarion call to shift our practices and tailor curriculum to meet the needs of our students—it provided resources and ideas that helped teachers develop a “tool-box” of strategies to implement CRE in their classrooms. The focus on identity development, critical inquiry, and relationship building was consistent throughout the training sessions and the presenters offered means and methods to use our students’ cultural identity as a vehicle for learning. Presentations were made by Michelle Knight (Columbia University), Dr. Yolanda Sealy-Ruiz (Teachers College), and by Felicia Pride, writer and producer who worked closely on the PBS film “Slavery by Another Name.” During the week we explored ideas around the classroom as a cultural space, cultivating digital and popular literacy, and recognizing our own preconceptions and understandings of culture and race.
This movement toward cultural recognition and inclusion requires teachers to take steps to better know and understand their students, beyond just basic test scores. Teachers must then use this understanding to help students make connections to the content—as well as shifting some of our pedagogical practices to ensure that we are fostering a learning community that recognizes the importance of culture and diversity. There is a moral and ethical imperative to make these shifts. Now, the work needs to be done.
For my own school, we will seek to improve our CRE practices with the support of experts like Michelle Knight, who has planned four sessions of professional development for our faculty. It is our hope that the Ms. Knight’s expertise and passion will help ignite a professional conversation that allows teachers to develop a clear understanding of why this work is essential and to discover best practices in this area. We are planning a “book-club” for our teachers that will focus on CRE, and hope to invite students to join our discussion. We will also take the opportunity to reflect on our curriculum at the departmental level and to provide feedback aligned to the principals of CRE. These are only the first steps, and we also know that developing a more culturally aware and responsive community takes time—but the work cannot wait. Our students are depending on us.
By James Torta