In the United States today there is a great amount of cultural diversity, but unfortunately the predominant American culture causes other cultures to be overshadowed causing difficulties for students of other cultures to succeed in our school system. This is what we see in the story of the Indian Wind-Wolf as he begins going to kindergarten. For Wind-Wolf, this is his first time outside of the Indian culture and it is very difficult for him to be the only Indian in his classroom. It causes him to feel like an outcast. As teachers we have the responsibility to create an environment in the classroom that makes each student feel that they belong there. For Wind-Wolf, and any other cultural minorities, the typical classroom does not have these …show more content…
important qualities. There are a few ways Wind-Wolf's teacher can create the classroom environment necessary for his success: working with his father to see what will be helpful for his learning experience, being culturally responsive, and incorporating his culture into the classroom. Although Wind-Wolf is different than most of the other students in his class, his differences aren't deficits. His father's letter sent to the teacher was to enlighten the teacher on the issues that Wind-Wolf was having currently and express his concern for the pattern of education being used for Wind-Wolf. The teacher did not intend for Wind-Wolf to feel his differences were a negative, but the lack of relatable methods of teaching put these thoughts into his mind. Also, although not to the fault of the teacher, the students he was surrounded with had vast differences that damaged his viewpoint of his culture. The father did not send his letter to be attacking, but in hopes for change. The teacher has many ways she can work to reasonably accommodate Wind-Wolf as well as guide him through the new aspects of being in a classroom. For the teacher to have to greatest success in creating this environment for Wind-Wolf, it would be important for her to sit down with his father to see what kinds of things he enjoys and the kinds of things he does not.
This is important because as the teacher in an American culture, she would not be able to have the knowledge of Indian culture that the father would have. To prevent things that could be potentially offensive to Wind-Wolf or his father, talking about the approaches to implementing Indian culture that were to be considered. Also, if there were a certain activity that Wind-Wolf particularly enjoyed, such as learning to count using sticks, that would be an easy way to bring culture into the classroom. A face to face conversation about developing his culture into the classroom will also be able to give Wind-Wolf's father confidence in the teacher's abilities to help his …show more content…
son. To incorporate the Indian culture into the classroom, the teacher will have to be culturally responsive. Doing this includes learning about the culture, which is why she would talk to Wind-Wolf's father, understanding some different rituals and the meaning behind them, and also embracing the differences at hand. Instead of taking knowledge from the history books, learning from the actual culture and becoming familiar with it shows a certain level of care the teacher has for Wind-Wolf and his success in her classroom. In the letter from Wind-Wolf's father, he mentions that Wind-Wolf had refused to go to an urban powwow with him because “[it's] weird.” Instead of his mind associating this with something weird, it can be incorporated into a part of the classes activities. In the kindergarten class routine there is a time called “circle time.” During this time they sing songs relating to their lessons, play group games, and are taught some of their lessons for the day. Instead of this time being called this, it could be called the “Kindergarten Powwow.” The same activities would happen during this time, but now the time is something Wind-Wolf can relate to. Similarly, there is a time in kindergarten called “calendar time.” During calendar time students talk about the months of the year, days of the week, weather, and telling time. There is also a great deal of time spent telling the story of the week. The letter mentions time spent around the campfire singing songs and telling stories. Calendar time could be renamed to the “Campfire Calendar Time.” Just as before, students will still be doing the same activities but this makes it relatable to Wind-Wolf. These changes will help Wind-Wolf in the classroom to feel more accepted, but they don't directly help his learning process.
To do this, incorporating natural objects to use for sorting and counting could be beneficial. For example, in the letter it tells us that Wind-Wolf practiced counting with sticks. Instead of only the typical counting objects in a kindergarten classroom, sticks, stones, acorns, or leaves could all be additional methods to learning. Also stones of different shapes and colors could be used to practice sorting. Whether they are bought in certain shapes, painted colorfully, or all natural, it incorporates this culture into the classroom learning.
In kindergarten they sing many songs. Wind-Wolf's Indian culture also has music throughout their lives. To incorporate music, songs can be used to learn counting, days of the week, months of the year, appropriate behavior, letter sounds, and many, many other things. This method will help Wind-Wolf's learning process because he has already been accustomed to knowing songs and singing them often. Not only will he be able to enjoy singing, but through it he will learn the American aspects of class that are not in the Indian culture, but necessary for him to thrive in the school
system. Now that the classroom has been adjusted to help him culturally, what about the students? Wind-Wolf should be able to understand that his culture is worth embracing. He should not have to be ashamed because of what the other students think of him. In order to fix this, the other students need to be shown what Wind-Wolf's life is like. He can have the opportunity to come in with a couple of his family members and tell his classmates what life is like being Indian. By bringing artifacts, objects that aren't typical in American culture, and demonstrating some of their lifestyles, the students will be able to see more into his life. Instead of making fun of it, their curiosity will take over and they will want to know more about the different ways people live right around them! Opportunities can also be given to other students to show their classmates about their lifestyles at home. This prevents Wind-Wolf or his family from feeling like an exhibit for the American's enjoyment. This also is a beautiful way of showing the kindergarteners that differences are okay. It does not matter what kind of clothes you wear, food you eat, or vehicle you travel by. What is really important is who you are on the inside. Kind words and kind actions are what really matter. Most of this response to Wind-Wolf's father appears that everything is being changed for Wind-Wolf and the other kids are not important. Of course this is focused on making Wind-Wolf's experience easier, but not everything can be done to make his schooling easier. For example, just because he does not live by thinking there are 12 months in a year, he will have to know that for kindergarten. Also, his father mentions the animosity that was had towards Indians in early America's history. These facts cannot be avoided just because he does not understand. However, it should not be given to him without explanation. All of the students should be taught the facts, but also taught that not everything in history was morally correct. It should be made clear to the students that the hatred towards the Indians was not okay but that it is not that way anymore. The reality of this cultural difference can be sad to go through, but that does not mean that things cannot be changed for the better. We see how a kindergarten age Indian boy starts school and feels like an outcast right away changing his haircut and the activities he does with his family. But because the teacher was informed of the hardships, she will be able to help him. Being culturally responsive through different activities and teaching methods is how she can be on their side. If the points stated above are taken into consideration, Wind-Wolf's kindergarten experience can be changed for the better. He will be able to overcome cultural differences with his classmates and grow as an Indian boy in the American school system.
To be brief, culturally relevant teaching "is a pedagogy that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes (Ladson-Billings, 2009, pp. 20)." The emphasis of culturally relevant teaching is to understand that children have different needs and in order to deal with them in the best way possible is equitably. The inability to recognize these differences causes teachers to limit their ability to meet the student's educational needs and prevents them from being culturally relevant (Ladson-Billings, 2009, pp.37). Contrary to culturally relevant teaching, assimilationist teaching is a style that disregards a student's particular cultural characteristics. This teaching method follows a hierarchical model. According to the assimilationist perspective, the teacher's role is to ensure that students fit into society (Ladson-Billings, 2009, pp. 24). The book is full of amazing teaching strategies, teaching styles, and methods that would help benefit educators working with children of any grade
...Teaching acceptance and diversity of different ethnicity is one of the key components that can be taught in our school systems today. Here in America we have many different ethnic groups and races, we are one big melting pot. During school these differences should be embraced in a positive manner and a proper learning experience. Diversity is often mistaken for the word division, and sometimes people teach that diversity is division. Diversity should be taught in a way that brings people together, not divide people into groups. Like Konig said, “I hadn’t really given much thought to the ethnic and national backgrounds of Sarah’s classmates. I can guarantee that Sarah, being two and a half gave the subject absolutely no thought.” (51) We can take a few lessons from Konigs daughter and learn to not give the subject any thought, and just accept people for who they are.
Gray Wolf Optimization Gray wolf optimization is presented in the following subsections based on the work in [13]. 1) Inspiration: Grey wolves are considered as apex predators, meaning that they are at the top of the food chain. Grey wolves mostly prefer to live in a pack. The group size is 512 on average. They have a very strict social dominant hierarchy.
The article talks about how teachers need to have cultural compatibility. While it might be difficult for some teacher to grasp and understand the different cultures behaviors and beliefs. For those teacher that can are more likely to provide a learning environment that is enriching and responsive to the children’s different cultures. Teacher should have “meaningful interactions with members of other cultures and promote cultural disequilibrium (Colombo, 2005, p. 2).” Activities that have this are more likely to increase cultural competence.
counting them, and shape by moulding different shapes out of it. It also helps children
Richards, H., V., Brown, A., F., Forde, T., B. (2006). Addressing diversity in schools: culturally responsive pedagogy. Retreived March 30th 2014from http://www.nccrest.org/Briefs/Diversity_Brief.pdf
Family’s beliefs and values may be different for some and in other cultures they may not be accepted. As teachers, we have to learn about different cultures and expand our knowledge so families could feel more accepted. In the book, Anti- Bias Education for young children and ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks & Julie Olsen Edwards, talks about how culture and fairness involves two dimensions, children’s development of a positive culture, identity, and their respectful interactions with other cultures. With these two dimensions, it will help the child to continue to express their home culture at school while learning the different cultures at school with their classmates. They learn about what’s right from wrong, how to dress, and talk
When the majority of teachers in America are White, middle class women who only speak English in a country were students are starting to come from a multitude of backgrounds it is no wonder problems are arising. As more people from different cultures and religions immigrate to the United States the average classroom is losing the cultural uniformity it had in the past. Though the faces in classrooms are steadily changing many teachers have not been able to adjust as quickly to the ever growing diversity taking place. One would expect for teachers to still be able to teach students effectively whether they share a similar background or not, but in actuality cultural conflicts between teachers and students are only getting worse. Especially when
In 1995, Delpit published Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. Although the excerpt analyzed in this paper is from a larger work, it was written by Delpit (1995) as a self-contained speech. This excerpt includes many of the concepts Delpit believes to be the basic cultural conflicts in the classroom, which are stereotyping, child-deficit assumptions and student isolation and invisibility. Delpit's goal is to "remove the dynamic of oppression that are inherent in any classroom…that come together when (primarily white) teachers spend time with 'other people's children'" (Delpit, 1995, pg.69). Through Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom, Delpit lays the foundation for multicultural education and details ways teachers can solve the inherent problems that arise as a result of many cultures interacting in the classroom. The purpose of this paper is an analysis of this text through an analytic, interpretive and normative reading.
Colonial educators began many traditions attempting to control Native American education, and these traditions have been passed down and sustained for over five centuries. In chapter two, the authors outline the strengths of Native American education that include “Indigenous theories o...
We need to be aware of the diversity in the classroom. Cultural diversity includes: bi-racial, adoptive, immigrant, gay, and step-families. It is a large majority of the students today even in my generation. Focusing on making a balanced curriculum that exposes the students to all of these different backgrounds is very important. I know that it is likely that a teacher will not be able to cater to every student, but it is important to involve each of them. There is a large percentage of students that have dropped out due to the lack of having a connection with the curriculum. It is frustrating that we are lacking progress in our schools to help these children connect when studies show that each cultural group will soon be equal in numbers. We need to form a better
Diversity in classrooms can open student’s minds to all the world has to offer. At times diversity and understanding of culture, deviant experiences and perspectives can be difficult to fulfill, but with appropriate strategies and resources, it can lead students to gain a high level of respect for those unlike them, preferably from a judgmental and prejudiced view. Diversity has a broad range of spectrums. Students from all across the continent; students from political refugees, indigenous Americans, and immigrants bring their cultural and linguistic skills to American classrooms. Students not only bring their cultural and linguistic skills, but they bring their ethnicity, talents, and skills.
The world is currently undergoing a cultural change, and we live in an increasingly diverse society. This change is not only affect the people in the community but also affect the way education is viewed. Teaching diversity in the classroom and focusing multicultural activities in the programs can help improve positive social behavior in children. There is no question that the education must be prepared to embrace the diversity and to teach an increasingly diverse population of young children.
The concepts included in providing a more diverse, multicultural education are requiring teachers to review their own issues and prejudices while expanding their knowledge of the many cultures that make up the classroom. These efforts help the educator recognize the various individual and cultural differences of each student, as well as gain an understanding on how these differences impact the learning process. The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon individual and cultural difference research and why diverse students struggle to succeed in school. Furthermore, I will share some instructional approaches I could implement in the classroom to accommodate diverse students. Finally, I will discuss the responsibility of educators in addressing the issue of how our o...
Culture is a powerful influence plays a big role in our interactions. Culture may also impact parenting style and a developing child. Having a strong sense of their own cultural history and the traditions associated with it helps children build a positive cultural identity for themselves. This also supports children’s sense of belonging and, by extension, their mental health and wellbeing. This class is crucial in understanding and working well parents, staff, and children. An effective educator understands how students’ cultures affect their perceptions, self-esteem, values, classroom behavior, and learning. As director, I need to use that understanding to help my students and staff feel welcomed, affirmed, respected, and valued. One way that I can do this is by using multicultural literature, especially children’s literature, to honor students’ culture and foster cross-cultural understanding. If cultural differences are not understood by teachers and management, it can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings on both sides. It will be my job to do all I can to overcome both language and cultural differences to ensure a positive learning environment for