What will culturally relevant pedagogy look like, sound like, feel like, in your future classroom?
Culturally relevant pedagogy focuses on the importance of “students needing to learn about experiences and points of view of people from racial groups different from their own, understanding where others are “coming from” and why” (Lopez, 2011, p. 15). To present culturally relevant pedagogy in my classroom, I will encourage my students to express themselves and their cultural identities through various assignments, for example, I want all of my students to create a presentation about themselves as individual’s to intrigue the class to develop connections to different cultures. I will also bring in guest speakers as well as use online resources to demonstrate and depict a range of cultures. With the incorporation of a variety of culture’s outside of the Western-society, students will develop further understanding of culture norms outside of their own and be able to perceive cultural inequalities. With the use of culturally relevant pedagogy, us future educators will promote critical thinking as well as inclusion among our future students.
How will you, as teacher, contribute to the sense of place for your future students?
Elementary arts education and music education programs are often overlooked in the school system and are the first programs to receive budget cuts, meaning that us future educators must take extra time to place focus on the subject. The article Placing elementary music education: a case study of a Canadian rural music program place an emphasis of the disadvantage reflects on the benefits of place-based music education with the use of the five core themes, specifically towards elementary students. Julia Brook states: “students can develop unique and long-lasting relationships through rural music education programmes…the music concerts are valuable tradition in these communities, thus strengthening students’ connections to place (Brook, 2013, p. 2). As a teacher, I will incorporate activities with the use of instruments, song, dance, and listening to various types of music to represent different cultures outside of Western types of music to contribute to my student’s feeling a sense of place within the community. Students may not feel that they are interested in music education unless it is presented to them, therefore, us future educators must include these measures in our classrooms to promote a sense of community as well as promote interest in music.
E. 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–.
Brook, J. (2016). Placed-Based Music Education: A Case Study of a Rural Canadian School. Action, Criticism, & Theory for Music Education, 15(4), 104–126. https://doi.org/10.22176/act15.4.104
One Comment
Zoe Akrigg
Hi Taelynn! I think bringing in guest speakers is a great way for students to learn about different cultures and this can also develop into the students finding role models in their community as well. It is so important for students to learn about all of the different cultures that are not their own but I also think that it is important that we make sure we are representing all of the cultures within our classroom and bring in guest speakers can help students feel ore comfortable with their own culture knowing that there are other people in the community who share it in common with them. I like how you address that music education is overlooked most of the time even though it can be so beneficial to our students’ sense of place.