This week I read two articles about culturally relevant pedagogy. “Culturally relevant pedagogy and critical literacy in diverse English classrooms: a case study of secondary English teacher’s activism and agency” by Anne E Lopez and “Placing elementary music education: a case study of a Canadian rural music program” by Julia Brook both outline how culturally relevant pedagogy can be incorporated in the classroom.

The first article by Anne E. Lopez begins by outlining how Meriah’s (a secondary teacher) “agency and activism in a secondary English classroom [….] build[s] cross-cultural understanding and increas[es] student engagement through culturally relevant pedagogy and critical literacy” (76). Lopez writes that the school where Meriah taught was usually quite diverse and included students from all over the world but the class where Meriah incorporated cultural pedagogy was mostly composed of white students. Meriah decided to bring spoken word poetry into the classroom which was interesting because “she had never done performance poetry with predominantly white students” (82). This got students talking about the social issues that the different races of their school face everyday. Student began sharing their thoughts through journaling and opened up to the class only when they were comfortable. The topic of race made many of these white students uncomfortable as it is not often talked about. Lopez writes that “it was important for Meriah to acknowledge the discomfort of some students and she allowed them to have time to reflect” (83). The next step was allowing the students to construct their own performance poetry based on their personal experiences. These teens wrote about struggling to fit in, being bullied and not feeling like they are good enough writers.

I really enjoyed reading the different spoken word poetry that the students made and would like to incorporate that into my own classroom. I also love the idea of using creative writing to talk about social issues that students may be facing in their personal lives. Relating to the previous reading we did, hip hop is another way to incorporate culturally relevant pedagogy into the classroom. I could also play music from different places in the word, making a game out of it or just playing it during independent work. Another idea is to allow students to bring their culture into the classroom like traditional dances, music, art, food and their personal history.

The other article by Julia Brook explained how music programmes can reflect the community in which the students live. Brook writes “the importance that music education plays in these communities by providing a place for students to make music and by presenting performances the the community can enjoy highlights the role that much has–allowing for students to be in culture, rather than learning about culture” (293). I like the point about allowing students to be in culture instead of just learning about culture. Everything is better hands-on! This article also outlines the culture of Winkler, Manitoba and how Christian beliefs and traditions as well as rich agriculture tradition are a big part of the community. Brook explains that “the music programme at Parkland [a school in Winkler] aims to support the traditions of the community, while at the same time introducing students to different ideas and experiences that do not counter the community’s beliefs” (296).

When I am a teacher, there are many ways I can contribute to the sense of place for my future students. Specifically, I will talk about my hometown, Nipawin Sk. Nipawin has a very large Ukrainian community so bring Ukrainian dance and music into the classroom helps my students to learn about their place. Nipawin also has a large Indigenous presence and incorporating Indigenous dances and music is another way to bring culture into the classroom. My hometown is also quite country and so bringing in folk dances like the two step or learning to jive is another way to incorporate culturally relevant pedagogy.