Reflection: Culturally Responsive Teaching

Culturally Responsive teaching is simply effective teaching. Attributes of culturally responsive teaching such as high expectations, caring, and student centered learning are the foundations of effective teaching. CRT demonstrates that all children are teachable if placed in the correct environment and given the appropriate tools to learn. As a teacher in a new school with many unique cultural challenges, implementing CRT practices has been vital to the teaching/learning success within my classroom. Looking back, there have been three CRT topics that have largely shaped my approach to teaching: Teacher Development, School Culture, and the Power of Caring.

Culturally Responsive Teaching in Music Education by Vicki R. Lind and Constance L. McKoy begins by defining CTR and evaluating cultural influences on teacher development. We learn that cultural competence is vital to effective CTR. Lind and McKoy (2016) write “Teachers who demonstrate proficiency in culturally responsive pedagogy and who have developed cultural competencies are sensitive to complex issues surrounding inequality in education. Culturally competent teachers get to know their communities and work to better understand their students, and use their knowledge of others to better design and implement curricula that reflect an understanding of and appreciation for diverse ways of being and knowing.” (p. 33) Becoming sensitive to the cultural issues beyond what is seen on the surface has been a major factor in my transition into a new school. For example, when examining the school’s philosophies on education, what becomes evident are the ideas built around cultural deficiency. Students are viewed in the terms of presentable data and compared to suburban schools to measure success and set benchmarks.

Given the educational and cultural implications of the deficiency model, I’ve made it a goal to remove any language, goals, or assessments that reflect this philosophy. For example, it was previously put in place that measuring student success within the band was based on the number of students who attended festivals and the “rankings” the band received. I’ve since changed this to measure success by those students that participate (not just get accepted) and measure the bands success through a series of student/teacher formative assessments. Removing the comparisons within assessment gives students a more accurate measurement of their success and acts as a greater motivation/reward.

Cultural deficiency is in part built from assumptions that are made on behalf of teachers and administrators. With a demographic that is predominately white (80 percent), teachers disproportionately represent the demographic of students in public school systems. This attributes to the perception that the ‘white’ culture is the predominant culture and all other cultures are to be set to this standard. However, if teachers are being culturally responsive we know that no one culture is greater than another. With CRT, teaching and learning begins with the student. It is the responsibility to start with the student’s background and adapt appropriate techniques rather than taking a one size fits all educational approach. In my own teaching I’ve been cognizant of the decisions I make by asking myself: in which cultural framework was this idea created and how will this affect the culture of my students and within my classroom. This is especially helpful when programing music for concerts or selecting music to listen to and analyze.

Lind and Mckoy (2016) take into account various definitions of culture and determine that culture “encompasses the actions, attitudes of formal organizational structures associated with groups of people.” (p. 8). These pillars of culture are neither static nor equal in affect. It is best to view culture and its influence on child development through Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory. Given this approach the closest influences on child development are the school (friends, peers, and teachers) and the home (family). In this perspective, school culture has a significant effect on the development of a child. When taking this into consideration, the importance of school culture becomes evident and vital to teaching/learnings success.

At (Past School) there are actions and attitudes that contribute to both a healthy and toxic school culture. High expectations, teacher collaboration, and parental involvement contribute to a healthy school culture in which students experience support from those closest to them. High expectations are set in my classroom through the music I program and the performance benchmarks I set for my students. Teacher collaboration is utilized to support students that need assistance with particular academic skills (reading, writing, etc) or have personal goals such as behavioral, organizational, or communication. Similarly, parents are brought in to support those students that are struggling. In addition to this, parents are often involved on assignments, activities, events, and planning, the goal being for parents to buy into their child’s music education and in doing so create a healthy classroom and school culture.

Counter to the actions and attitudes that contribute to a healthy school culture, there are negative influences that create toxicity. Our school culture generally aligns with the home and community culture of the students. However, within the related arts department there is a lack of diversity and understanding of student culture. There is a consistent clash between the head of the arts department and the students. The lack of effective communication and the cultural disconnect creates a hostile environment that effects classroom and school culture. The challenge is for teachers to strategically separate themselves and their students from this toxicity while adhering to professionalism.

I found that the “Concept of Caring” to be the most influential reading. Geneva Gay’s (2000) writes that caring is “manifested in the form of attitude, expectations, and behaviors about students’ human value, intellectual capability, and performance responsibilities” (p. 45). In other terms, caring is multidimensional in both its understanding and implementation. The concept of caring is demonstrated in the classroom through “patience, persistence, facilitation, validation, empowerment for the participants” (Gay, p. 42, 2000). I’ve incorporated these ideas within my classroom through high expectations and student centered instruction. Building two-way communication within the classroom validates student’s ideas and allows for student-teacher trust. In turn, this creates a culture of caring which gives ways to effective teaching/learning.

Culturally responsive teaching reaches beyond the classroom through the concept of caring. By engaging students outside the classroom, a strong bond is built between the student and teacher. Gay’s Concept of Caring is multidimensional because it addresses not only the academic development but also the personal development of the student. When approaching a student from a “human” level, there are deeper connections and paths to learning. Within my own teaching, I’ve noticed an improvement in student behavior and performance when addressing them on a human level. Becoming involved in student’s activities outside of class validates relationships and learning within the classroom.

Caring also extends to gender equality in the classroom. As band is a male dominated field (composers, conductors, and select instrument groups) it is important to fight against this status quo in the classroom. Allowing for equal representation on instruments and the composers/arranging selected within the classroom demonstrates caring for all students. I’ve acknowledged my own biases towards more traditional literature and challenge myself to find music that represents all backgrounds/cultures.

I came into this course with a general understanding for culturally responsive teaching in regards to teaching students of diverse backgrounds and incorporating various cultures to expand the world view of my students. However, I came away with the understanding that culturally responsive teaching, like culture itself, is multidimensional. As I stated in the beginning, culturally responsive teaching is simply effective teaching. The concept of CRT is not aimed at any one culture, child, teacher, or classroom, but is a guide to effectively teaching students of all backgrounds.

Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. Teachers College Press.

Lind, R.L., McKoy C. (2016). Culturally Responsive Teaching in Music Education: From Understanding to Application. Routledge