Cultural Competence

As a future teacher I envision my classroom embodying the components of culturally

relevant pedagogy, which include cultural competence, academic rigor, and critical

consciousness. First, my future classroom will embody cultural competence in multiple ways. I

hope to get to know each of my students both individually and culturally, as well as teach them

about the cultural differences they each share and lead them to appreciate them. Just like in the

exploring cultural competence assignment, I want to give my students a survey to complete on

the first day of school so that I can begin to see where they come from, what they enjoy, as well

as their learning preferences. In order for my students to learn and understand how each of them

are unique in many ways, appreciate and learn about their differences, and see how they all fit

together, I want them to each create their own puzzle piece. I will give each student a blank

puzzle piece that they will decorate with things that represent their culture, what they enjoy, their

future dreams, or anything they want the class to know about them. After they are all complete, I

will have them put the class puzzle together and hopefully frame it so it is a constant reminder of

how our classmates are all different, but together we are a family and who we are is beautiful. I

also love the idea of having a student spotlight each week where students get to interview the

student of the week and they get a page written about them, that later becomes a class book. This

idea came from a teacher who was implementing culturally relevant lessons in her class that was

shown in a video we watched throughout this course. This is also a great opportunity to involve

parents to teach about cultural traditions or tie in other languages that students may speak at

home. To increase student vocabulary of words and tie in other languages my students may

speak, I want to label items in the room with a picture and both English and the other language

my students speak to aid my ELL students and help them make connections between words. My
students will most likely be coming from all different backgrounds and some may be going

through things that will shock me; however, in my classroom they will be loved for who they are,

and will feel safe as I create a classroom environment that learns and appreciates all cultures.

Academic Rigor

In my future classroom, academic rigor is going to be a priority for all of my students.

The sad reality in education is that often higher students get pushed higher with challenging and

rigorous work while students, often times minority students, get labeled into the low group,

where their motivation declines and their learning remains stagnant. This image is far from what

I hope to embody in my future classroom. I will hold each and every one of my students to high

academic expectations and provide them with work that will challenge them, push them, engage

them, and ultimately help them become better learners. I will use flexible grouping in my

classroom so that all students get the opportunity to collaborate and work together, instead of

students being leveled by ability. It is shown that students do better when they are mixed all

together because the students who do not understand it as well can learn from those who do, and

while those who do understand it explain it, they are strengthening their understanding of the

concept as well. I am a huge advocate for growth mindset and showing students that their ability

and what they can achieve is not fixed. I want them to see that their learning is not stagnant.

Every time they work, every time they make a mistake or fail, their brain is making new

connections and helping them learn the material. All it takes is a shift in attitude and getting back

up again and keep trying until you get there. I truly believe failure is just one step closer to

success. I want to involve my students in work that will excite them, create a wonderful

classroom library full of books they will not want to put down, and show them that no matter the

task, they can do it. I will give praise based on my students process rather than them as a person
to further indicate that their learning and ability is able to change. I also want to include open-

ended tasks and student choice in assignments so that students have a say in their learning and

get the opportunity to be creative. Through challenging my students with academic rigor, they

will be more prepared to take on any problem that comes their way, if not on the first try,

eventually!

Critical Consciousness

My future classroom will embody critical consciousness development through

introducing and challenging my students with lessons on topics that discuss inequalities that face

our world today. My students need to develop a critical mindset so that they can critique these

culture norms and values that produce inequalities that still persist today. I hope to

bring awareness to these inequalities through choosing resources and lessons that will broaden

my students mindsets in hopes of sparking a change. One inequality I hope to foster

understanding of in my classroom is bullying. I think it is such a prevalent issues in schools

today and my wish is that my students are able to fully understand what it is, why it still exists,

and what they personally can do to put an end to it. Just like in my social action plan, I want my

own future students to create positive footprints that show messages that go against bullying on

them. I think this activity boosts students self worth and identity and helps unite them together,

strengthening the overall class community. Another cultural norm that produces inequalities that

I want to teach about is gender stereotypes. So often, girls and boys are put into categorized

groups of what they can and cannot do or like, but I want to help my children explore and see

that despite the gender they are, they can like and do anything they set their mind to. In addition

to me finding resources and lessons to share with my students to help develop their critical

consciousness, I also want to allow my students to look for inequalities that persist in the world
today and brainstorm what they can do about it. Sometimes putting the thinking on the students

is more powerful and more rewarding to ignite change, especially since they are the future of the

world and the change that so desperately needs to occur in regards to such inequalities.

Findings from Exploring Cultural Competence, Context for Learning, and Fostering

Critical Consciousness

My findings from the Exploring Cultural Competence, Context for Learning, and

Fostering Critical Consciousness have all contributed to my development of becoming a

culturally relevant teacher. In the Exploring Cultural Competence assignment I was able to

discover things about my students that really surprised me and helped me realize that all students

are unique and all come into the classroom from different backgrounds and with different life

experiences. Through having my students complete a survey about themselves individually and

culturally, I was able to learn about what our students may be experiencing outside of school and

to reflect on what I can do as a teacher to help them feel capable, confident, and comfortable in

their learning environment so they are ready to excel in school. It is important for me as a teacher

to get to know my students so that I can better accommodate to them, as well as having them

share their culture with others so that the class becomes more culturally aware and accepting.

Through completing the Context for Learning assignment, I learned that the students in the class

can all have varying learning needs and accommodations and it is critical to adjust learning in

order to meet the needs of every student. I was also able to develop as a culturally relevant

teacher through understanding the resources the school has, what teaching methods and

groupings of students will be most beneficial to their learning, and how features of the school

must be taken into consideration when planning for students. Finally, in the Fostering Critical

Consciousness assignment I was able to fully understand how many cultural norms yield to
inequalities in our society and how resources and lessons can be used to broaden mindsets and

spark a change. I was able to go through the process of finding resources that will help my

students develop a critical consciousness, which will be beneficial to me as a future teacher.

Some of the outstanding resources I found were a poem, The Labours of Hercules, a book

entitled My Name is Maria Isabel, a book called Oliver Button is a Sissy, as well as a video

named Leaving a Positive Footprint. Not only was I able to discover these resources, but also I

was able to identify how they will be beneficial to my students learning and understanding of

inequalities tied to cultural norms, which will be a practice I hope to continue in my own future

teaching.

Advocate for Students

As a future teacher, I am also dedicated to work as an advocate for my students in the

classroom, school, and community context. I want my students to know first and foremost that I

am their biggest fan and no matter what, I will be there for them. No matter how many times

they may disappoint me with their words or actions, I promise to stick up for them and fight for

their rights, learning, and success in my classroom. In regards to issues and inequalities that may

arise in the school, I will speak on behalf of my students to the principal as well as hopefully be

able to speak at school board meetings to make a difference at the community level. I am

dedicated to staying up to date on matters regarding education and will be there to advocate for

all of my students to have the same rights to learning in the classroom. I want to also reach out to

the superintendent of the county I am teaching in so that I can be a voice for my students

regarding decisions made about educational programs. At the end of the day, my biggest hope is

that my students are able to get an equitable, quality education, and that I can somehow be the

difference for them and their journey to success in schooling.