Making Classrooms Culturally Sensitive

Making Classrooms Culturally Sensitive 29 Robert C. Morris and Nancy G. Mims Department of Educational Leadership and Professional Studies State University of West Everywhere teachers are attempting to make their classrooms more "culturally sensitive" and to create lesson plans that are rich with information about the diversity in their community. These efforts by teachers to be more sensitive and consciously aware of the different backgrounds of their students and community members are becoming the norm rather than the exception. Interestingly, there are no real guidelines or set programs for today's teachers on how to develop cultural awareness in their classrooms and at the same time teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. Can teachers realistically be expected to meet the different learning and instructional needs of their students while at the same time help them to become better members of our ever-changing society? There are as many different variations and answers to that question as there are people asking it, but a general consensus of insight points toward increased awareness and sensitivity. As educators take a closer look at what encompasses awareness and sensitivity of diversity and cultural ethnicity, they need to understand just what is involved in multiethnic education. For many it's learning about oneself as well as understanding the next-door neighbors who may be different in culture, age, abilities, or even spoken language. Where then is the beginning point for most teachers as they struggle to understand, interact with, and utilize those diverse populations and cultures within their communities? Essentially, one begins by becoming sensitive and appreciative of individual differences, without becoming judgmental (Diaz, 1993). It is felt by many that as American schools and educators become more and more sensitive to the diversity of their community, their students can be guided to appreciate and respect these differences and to coexist peacefully. Various combinations of cultures such as African-Americans, Irishand German-Americans, Hispanics, Chinese-Americans to name a few, are learning how to work and live together while maintaining their own cultural heritage. The students of today who embrace their cultural heritage are trying to keep the values of their parents and grandparents, and still fit in with the students and cultures surrounding them. This dual search often confuses students and causes anxiety as they seek their own identity but attempt to live with other cultures. School systems and individual schools themselves can be extremely powerful agents in this process by providing insights to difficult cultural questions and issues facing students. Of course, a diverse school faculty can help by modeling behaviors that encourage classrooms to be settings where differences can be observed and studied. These same classrooms can help students begin to share, respect, and learn how to work with others. But it all starts by discovering and acknowledging individual and cultural differences and then by focusing on those things common to the group. To get a better picture classrooms that strive to be sensitive and aware four steps/stages for investigating cultural differences in classrooms have been developed and will now be discussed. Four Steps Toward Creating Culturally Sensitive Classrooms Step One: Creating a Multicultural Climate in the Classroom When teachers decide to make their classrooms culturally sensitive, where do they systematically begin? First, for multicultural education to be effective, it must be used throughout the various subject areas or programs of study. This may in effect require modification in attitudes and teaching strategies. But, this is the most important step for a teacher as he/she comes to realize (or buys into) the importance of promoting such learning. Multicultural awareness may be taught in all academic areas of the school's curriculum, however it fits nicely into: language arts, math, social studies, geography and science (Spann, 1992). Once of the most important things for a teacher to be able to do is to recognize a teachable multicultural moment when it is encountered. This may happen when reading and studying about different countries, or when interesting facts in science are discussed, or when mathematical terminology differs and language study helps students to understand cultural changes. But taking advantage of the "moment" a teacher can punciate the relevance and importance of an event or...