Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Summary

“But That’s Just Good Teaching!” is about the Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. Ladson-Billings advocates for schooling and culture being intertwined. This article is mainly focused on teachers’ ability to meet the students where they are in their life. She says that educators should insert themselves into their students’ culture rather than inserting culture into education. It is believed that when a student’s home language is incorporated in what they are learning in the classroom, they are more likely to achieve academic success. There are three main criteria in Culturally relevant pedagogy. First, students must experience academic success. Second, they must develop or maintain their cultural competence. Third, students must develop a critical consciousness in which they challenge the status quo. Ladson-Billings put this pedagogy in action by doing a 3-year study of successful teachers of African American students.

She was familiar with the music of the youth culture and turned it into a lesson with her second-grade class. This lesson, helped her students’ understanding of poetry exceed. This is an example of how culture and schooling can be merged. Teachers should not be just telling students to achieve academic success, but students should choose that for themselves. Some ways that students can maintain cultural competence is by inviting parents in the classroom, so students can learn from each other’s parents and cultural knowledge. Also, encouraging students to use home language and express themselves by using it to speak and write. For some students they are not aware of the world outside of their community. Students should learn how to engage the world and others critically. An example in the article is, writing a letter to the editor of the local newspaper to inform of a certain