Prompt 6 The culturally competent teacher communicates in ways that demonstrate sensitivity to sociocultural and linguistic differences, using a variety of verbal and nonverbal communication techniques that encourage positive social interaction and support learning in their classroom.
The answer to this prompt is similar to the answer to prompt 4. There weren’t any linguistic differences in the classroom that were readily observable. It appeared that everyone spoke, read, wrote, and understood English. Of course, being a math class, math is its’ own language. The underlying concepts, however, are explained in English.
One of the biggest problems I observed was that some students had difficulty with multiplication and division. In 6th grade they should be proficient in both these areas. Although this isn’t necessarily a socio-cultural reason to account for this, it could be due to socio-cultural reasons. Perhaps the parents don’t have time to spent helping students with homework, possibly because they work a lot. Or the parents don’t speak English or don’t have the basic math skills themselves. These reasons could be due to the parents being immigrants. We need to be sensitive to students with parents/families who have limited resources, language barriers, or lack of skills.
We can be responsive to this by encouraging students to practice on their own, or seek help from a friend or relative with the necessary skills and time. Or they can and should receive extra help from me or the teacher.
One of the biggest challenges I face in this classroom is the economic differences. As I mentioned in prompt 2, the teacher told the students that if they didn’t have rulers at home, to just calculate the areas of the triangles, but not the perimeters for homework. I have difficulty relating to kids that may not have rulers, or other school supplies, at home to do homework. I know if my daughter needed any supplies, I would just go to Walmart and buy them. Familiarity breeds contempt. I now realize that not everyone is as blessed as we are. I need to be more aware of and sensitive to more economically challenged students. According to Elliott Moeser, district administrator in Milwaukee,” Money does make a difference” in their schools.
In conclusion, as I stated in prompt 4, both communication and teaching must be relevant. This agrees with Lisa Delpit who states that cross cultural communication not only must be relevant, but also must be listened to. Communication is a two way street. When voices are heard, then power gets distributed. We must speak to the students’ age/generation group, their ethnic/racial background, their socioeconomic group and even their gender. In order to be relevant, we must meet people where they are at. This would include using sports, movies, personal stories where appropriate, and other relevant concepts to explain the subject matter of the curriculum so that the student can understand it. In this way, we can demonstrate sensitivity and be responsive to their needs.
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The economic factors mentioned in your third paragraph -- the possibility that some students may not have rulers at home -- can be a big factor in the quality of education these students receive. According to Brown, economic hardships can breed frustration, anger, and resentment that can be carried over into the students' education, feelings not dissimilar to Shor's disempowered students. I would posit that it is, in fact, that these students and their families are disempowered in society because of their socioeconomic status. This is all the more reason for effective communication and empowerment in their classrooms, that the students might break the cycle of disempowerment.
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