Creating an Environment Where Language Flourishes
- A Resource for Elementary Classroom Teachers
Building a Community of Learners
In what ways do you validate and affirm your students' languages and cultures?
WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY?
In her 1994 book, The Dreamkeepers, Ladson-Billings defined Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) as possessing these nine principles:
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Communication of high expectations
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Active teaching methods
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Teacher as facilitator
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The inclusion of culturally and linguistically diverse students
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Cultural sensitivity
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Reshaping the curriculum
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Student-controlled classroom discourse
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Small group instruction and academically-related discourse
Dudley-Marling and Lucas (2009)
What is it about schools that manage to transform children who are good at learning...regardless of their economic and cultural differences, into children who are not good at learning, if they are poor or members of certain minority groups? Instead of getting the child ‘ready’ for school, how do we get the school ‘ready’ to serve increasingly diverse children?
Dudley-Marling and Lucas conclude that language plays a crucial role in school success and undeniably children must learn the language of school to succeed. They state that this is the responsibility of educators. They encourage teachers to make space for their students’ linguistic and cultural experiences as tools of learning and emphasize the importance of teaching “what can be done with language, rather than what cannot”.
"All learners, but especially underserved learners, thrive in environments that stimulate language development and literacy acquisition and surround them with language-rich visuals rife with symbols and print." (p.183)
The Three D's:
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De-Blumenbaching (German anthropologist who developed a system of racial classification)-Make deliberate decisions about the images you display in your classroom and seeking out materials that represent your students' cultures.
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De-Commercializing-Develop your classroom environment around students' work, rather than commercial products.
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De-Superficializing-Go beyond the superficial images of cultural diversity and strive for authentic and genuine representations of your students' cultures. (p183-184)
Source: Pollock, Mica. (2008). Everyday Antiracism: Getting Real About Race in School. New York: The New Press
Read Sonia Nieto's Article. How can you redefine your conception of "being nice" based on the article? Nice means...
Everything WIDA does is supported by the Can Do Philosophy. Our work begins with articulating examples of language learners’ assets and continues with how we support education systems, how we design our products, and how we conduct our research.
The WIDA Can-Do Philosophy
" Our children deserve to know what it's like to feel innocent, that is to be free of stereoptype expectations for the time they are with you. Without innocence, guilt is their own reality. They know what is being said about them. They heard the negative narrative, so often many of them behave as if they believe it. The innocent classroom is based on the notion that children will react differently when they are aware of their innocence."
Alexs Pate, founder of Innocent Classroom
Listen to teachers talk about the impact of Innocent Classroom from Minnesota Humanities Center
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
See yourself as the students see you. What type of facial expressions do students see? What does your body language tell them about how comfortable you are around them? What tone of voice do you use to show your students that you respect them as individuals? What biases and perceptions do the students have of you based on how you look, dress, and talk?
Let your students get to know you. Do they know your favorite color? Do they know your pet peeves? Do they know what you like to do for fun? In any relationship, both people come to know each other—a teacher-student relationship is no exception.
Excerpt from A Classroom Where Everyone Feels Welcome. Six strategies for building the strong relationships with students that are the heart of a culturally inclusive classroom community.
How do you bridge the language of home and the language of school?
Bridging Social and Academic Language-Transcript from an interview with Dr. Robin Scarcella-Reading Rockets Podcast.
Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don't like.'" A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.
High Expectations: What to Look For
Read the article by Richard Frank and answer the following question: “How are you communicating to each and every student that you believe they are capable of greatness and expect nothing less than their best?”
Pause to Ponder: How do we come to "know" our students well enough to construct an environment that encourages the students' fullest engagement?