Incorporating Multicultural Pespectives

             “Diversity is being asked to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.”
                                                                                                             - Verna Myers

My students come from diverse cultures, language groups, religions, socio-economic backgrounds and other social constructs that separate and divide people. They come with different experiences, expectations, talents, abilities, hopes and dreams. They have been asked to the party. And like all kids who are invited to a party, they come through their classroom door with great expectations, a bit nervous and wondering: will I be asked to dance?

 What can I do to ensure that the light in their eyes reflecting their hopes and dreams are not snuffed out? How can I create a learning environment in which each student will feel accepted and understood? Culture, as defined by Scharf (2014), “can refer to an individual’s race, class, gender sexual orientation, religion, immigration status and age, among other things.” Marzano recommends bringing students’ interests- which can include any of the factors listed by Scharf- into content and personalizing learning activities. Knowing the range of diverse cultures in my class will enable me to personalize learning activities and make learning relevant and meaningful for my students by connecting it to their real-world experiences.

 This diversity in my class gives me an opportunity to teach my students to understand and embrace diversity as it exists in the real world. I need to craft my lessons to reflect the diverse cultures. I can use multicultural resources in a variety of ways to expose students to, and help them to learn about their peers’ cultures. For example, reading about different cultures and discussing the different aspects of the culture will help students to learn about cultures other than theirs. We can explore and learn about the history, stories, literature, hopes and dreams of different people groups. 
Some things that I can do in my class to celebrate diversity:

·         Reading stories from different cultures and having books from different cultures available at different levels

·         Watching videos and movies of different cultures

·         Learning about dress, music, dance, and literature of countries represented in class

·         Celebrating their national holidays

·         Learning a song, dance, or a game; getting the students to teach them to their classmates

·         Making and eating food from different cultures

·         Learning about a culture by setting a day aside to celebrate that culture, and inviting parents to take part

In almost every community today, myriad cultures are represented. To prepare my students to live and work successfully in the community, I should help them to appreciate diversity by focusing on understanding each other’s cultures and on what we can learn from, as well as do for, each other.  Learning about their classmates’ cultures will help students to understand and respect each other. The quiet ELL student may be a great dancer, singer, or soccer player, and may become the class hero overnight. There’s nothing like music, dance, and games to break down cultural barriers and I can incorporate these into my lessons to help students to get to know each other.

How will I know if my students are developing cultural competence? They will respect and accept each other and be willing to work, play and spend time together. They will be sensitive to the needs of the special needs student, and will offer to work with him/her. They will encourage the shy ELL student to join in their games. They will share their supplies with those who are not as privileged as they are. Most importantly, they will learn to see things from other people’s perspectives as they are exposed to new cultural experiences. And hopefully, they will learn to ‘walk in another’s shoes.’

Scharf (2014), in Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Education, talks about the importance of “genuinely seeing diversity as a strength and an opportunity, rather than as an “issue” or problem.” I, the teacher, should lead the way in seeing the diversity in my class as a strength and opportunity, and in making each student feel accepted and valued. My attitude and behavior should reflect this belief. I would need to let them know that I’m interested in them as individuals, and that their interests and dreams matter to me.

Marzano calls the teacher-student relationship the ‘keystone’ to creating an effective learning environment, and that “teacher behavior is the language of that relationship.” This is a language I will have to learn to speak each day to make every student feel valued and supported. That every day, every student in my class should hear me say: May I have this dance with you?



References:
Marzano, R.J. (2007). The Science and Practice of Teaching and Learning. Alexandria, VA. ASCD.

Scharf, Amy. (2014). Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Education. Montgomery, Alabama. Teaching Tolerance.