The next article that we talked about seemed to juxtapose the first article. In Paul Gorski and Katy Swalwell’s article, Equity Literacy for All, the authors discuss how thinly substance multicultural programs do more harm than good schools. To counteract this problem the authors suggest working to have equity rather than culture at the center of their school, (Gorski & Swalwell, 2015).
Finally, we discussed the article, Inviting All Students to Learn by Hiliary Dack and Carol Ann Tomlinson. This article provided four ways (recognize and appreciate cultural variance, learn about and look for culturally influenced learning patterns, look beyond cultural patterns to see individuals, and plan inviting curriculum and instruction) to help teachers become aware of the diverse cultures that make up their classrooms so that all students can be successful. (Dack & Tomlinson, 2015).
Personally, I found myself connecting with the Gorski and Swalwell article the most. I have been frustrated with other articles that suggest a food or celebrations night as a sole strategy to integrating culture in the classroom. While I do believe there is a time and a place for expressing the differences in our cultures and showcasing them, so to speak. It is also not okay to celebrate these differences in one day and then continue to have a school culture that does not actively advocate against systemic racism, homophobia, and xenophobia.
This week in the BAGC I had the privilege to sit down and have a conversation with Julia. Julia is an ESL student who has been in the country for less than two years. Julia told me about how her teacher is setting aside time this week to have each students teach herself and the class something they value. For Julia, this meant teaching her class about Zumba. She told me how excited she was to share this with her classmates and teacher. Julia’s teacher is doing something right in her classroom, she is looking beyond cultural patterns to see the individual student and giving them the chance to have a voice. (Dack & Tomlinson, 2015).
Labeled (from left to right): Mom, Me, Brother, Dad.