by Rob Merlino

Created on: February 18, 2007   Last Updated: May 02, 2007

Cultural Diversity is increasing in today's schools and classrooms. "By (the year) 2020, almost half of the U.S. school population will consist of members of non-Caucasian cultural groups." (Kauchak, p. 85) This "vibrant mixture of cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and experiential plurality (will have) profound implications for developing instructional programs at all levels of education that respond positively and constructively to cultural diversity." (Gay, p. 30) One of the greatest challenges for teachers in this era is how to modify the curriculum to meet student needs in relation to culture.

As a teacher in a culturally diverse classroom I would enhance my cultural sensitivity, shape the curriculum so that it is culturally responsive to my students, and use cooperative, learner centered instruction. These practices, along with many others, are important for "making explicit connections between multicultural education and subject-and skill-based curriculum." (Gay, p. 31)

Enhancing cultural sensitivity is the first step to accommodating students from diverse cultures in the classroom. "Cultural sensitivity requires that teachers interpret their students' behaviors within the cultural context of the student." (The Knowledge Loom) Knowing the nuances and customs of a particular culture in addition to the artifacts of the culture is key to developing cultural sensitivity. Hispanic adolescent girls view their mother's sister as a role model in their life, so getting to know "aunty" as well as the parents would be tantamount to understanding such a student.(Ferrari) Asian cultures typically value a collectivist orientation which values family or group needs over individual ones so the Asian student who may appear shy to the uninformed teacher may be expressing a cultural mind set by not wanting to call attention to himself or otherwise diminish the abilities of classmates. (Feldman, p. 376) This specific knowledge would help in modifying curriculum for these two student examples. Knowing the cultural background of my students and developing my cultural sensitivity will be a crucial part of teaching in the classroom.

Teaching content is the ultimate result we as teachers must achieve; framing the content within the curriculum so that it is culturally responsive to the students in the classroom will ultimately make it more relevant. As a High School English Teacher, I would introduce literature including "equitable representations of diversity" (Gay, p. 33) within

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>