Cultural Relevancy and A Sense of Place

Blog #8:

As stated by Brooks, a culturally relevant pedagogy is “an effective way of centring the cultures, languages and experiences that diverse students bring to classrooms so as to increase their engagement and academic achievement,” (2013). That being said, a culturally relevant pedagogy looks like the integration of mirrors, windows, and doors into classroom materials, content, and environment (Botelho, 2021). Mirrors refer to self-reflection. Learners should be able to see themselves in the content they are learning – novels, lessons, holidays, etc. – as learning “must be relevant to their lives and experiences” for students to “achieve academic success,” (Brooks, 2013). When learners look through windows, they can see into someone else’s reality, such as reading different points of view or learning through various cultural lenses. Upon doors being opened, students imagine alternative possibilities through entering the world they are learning about. Thus, providing “entry points to reconstruct power” (Botelho, 2021). These entry points should feel empowering to learners, ultimately promoting a drive towards activism.

Adding to the point of activism, when connections are made to personal environments “we offer our youth the experience of caring for the things around them, which enhances their understanding that caring requires work, rather than just talk,” (Lopez, 2011). To contribute to the sense of place for learners, I plan on integrating diverse local voices, content, land, and resources into the classroom. An example of this could be bringing in a local Elder to teach educate learners on honouring and respecting Treaty 4 land.  Overall, it is crucial that students – especially for the goal of critical thinking – learn from multiple perspectives and local lenses. Only then can students truly formulate their opinions and views about the community around them.

Sources

Botelho, M. J. (2021). Reframing Mirrors, Windows, and Doors: A Critical Analysis of the Metaphors for Multicultural Children’s Literature. Journal of Children’s Literature, 47(1), 119–126.

Brook, J. (2013). Placing elementary music education: a case study of a Canadian rural music program. Music Education Research, 15(3), 290-303.

Lopez, A. (2011). Culturally relevant pedagogy and critical literacy in diverse English classrooms: A case study of a secondary English teacher’s activism and agency. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 10(4), 75-93.