Culturally relevant pedagogy is the process of focusing on numerous aspects of students’ accomplishments and supporting students to uphold and value their cultural identities (California Department of Education, n.d.) As an aspiring teacher, culturally relevant pedagogy will constantly be used as a teaching method. This means that I want my future students to share their own experiences that they had with their cultural backgrounds in the classroom. This is helpful because students will gain socialization skills. With culturally relevant pedagogy, I will also assign projects which require my future students to share information about their own backgrounds and history, and allow them to connect these experiences to the real world. This is useful because students will be able to think deeply and analyze their own thoughts.
A sense of place refers to the bonds, attachments, and connections individuals form in their environments or communities. Furthermore, a sense of place means providing security, safety, and in general, developing a positive community (Foote and Azaryahu, 2009). In my future classroom, I will foster a sense of place that includes safety and positivity. This is mainly because I want my future students to consider school not only as a learning environment, but to label it as a second home. This is significant because it has a positive impact on individuals’ emotional, spiritual, and mental health (Roy, 2019).
References:
California Department of Education. (n.d.) Culturally Relevent Pedagogy. Retrieved March 1st, 2023, from
https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ee/culturalrelevantpedagogy.asp#:~:text=Culturally%20Relevant%20Pedagogy%20is%20a,perspectives%20that%20challenge%20societal%20inequalities.
Foote, K.E., and Azaryahu, M. (n.d.). Sense of Place. Science Direct. Retrieved March 1st, 2023, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/sense-of-place#:~:text=Sense%20of%20place%20refers%20to,of%20particular%20localities%20and%20regions.
Roy, M. (2019, May 11). The Positive Effects Of Nature On Your Mental Wellbeing. PositivePsychology.Com. Retrieved March 1st, 2023, from Mayhttps://positivepsychology.com/positive-effects-of-nature/#:~:text=A%20strong%20connection%20to%20the,and%20different%20forms%20of%20anxiety.
Hi there,
I enjoyed reading your blog post. I agree with you that in order to have culturally relevant pedagogy we must meet the needs of our students. You had mentioned you would like to incorporate students cultural backgrounds in the classroom. DO you have any ideas on how you might incorporate these cultural backgrounds in the classroom? would you incorporate more than just their cultural differences between students?
Hello Abdurrahman! I really enjoyed reading your insights in this blog post. I especially agree with your teaching philosophy that encourages students to get to know and understand their own cultural background. Kids should not carry the weight of being ashamed of their culture and I’m afraid that that feeling is all too common in today’s world, and also in the classroom. My question for you is how as teachers can we implement small actions everyday that build toward breaking the idea of there being one “normal” culture in a specific region? while the other cultures get categorized as not belonging?
Hi Muhammad,
I really liked how you used the term second home in your blog post. I honestly think some students may find school their first home just because their real home might be too crazy or overwhelming for them. Especially with foster care students, I think they need that support, and love within schools.
Thanks for sharing!