EDUCATOR SPOTLIGHT | Culture & Instruction
Why Is Culturally Responsive Teaching So Important?
By Stephanie Clagnaz, Ed.D. | LEDBetter
New York State’s Culturally Responsive-Sustaining (CR-S) Framework is intended to help educators:
create student-centered learning environments.
affirm cultural identities and view them as assets rather than deficits.
foster positive academic outcomes for all students.
elevate historically marginalized voices.
contribute to individual student engagement, learning, growth, and achievement through the cultivation of critical thinking.
Why are these elements so important for our students? Placing students at the center of classroom instruction and activity focuses educator attention on the most important work of all: the students and their needs! Culturally responsive teaching keeps students front and center and guides us to shaping our classrooms to meet the diverse needs of all students. In doing so, we are more likely to increase student achievement through active engagement of each student with whom we interact. As we increase equitable practices to increase academic outcomes for students of all backgrounds and abilities, we create powerful learning communities that are tailored to meet the needs of all students.
When we view students’ cultures, experiences, and backgrounds as assets rather than as deficits, students feel ‘seen’. This sense of belongingness contributes to academic success and helps prepare students for academic rigor and critical thinking. Students feel as though they are a part of something, which increases their engagement in schools. As they interact with one another, acceptance for different perspectives grows as does empathy for diverse worldviews. Classrooms steeped in culturally responsive practices give students practice in working alongside people who are different from themselves, contributing to increasingly powerful interpersonal relationships and skills as well as problem solving and conflict resolution as they learn to appreciate alternative ways of thinking.
Culturally responsive classrooms foster relationships…relationships between educators and their students; relationships among educators; and relationships among students. Celebrating the uniqueness of each student and family brings people together in ways that decrease a sense of privilege for a select few and increase the shared human experience of a pluralistic society in which the values of all people are respected. As educators strive to provide opportunities for students to increase their understanding of the value that each human being brings to the world around them, our classrooms become more vibrant and accepting places in which all students contribute and belong.
Experts at Ledbetter can help your staff to transform your learning environment to being more culturally responsive. We design professional learning sessions that uniquely meet the needs of your school and staff, including teachers, leaders, and support staff.
Contact us at excelerator@led-better.org today to learn more about our school-specific services!
