In this chapter, Taylor describes the importance of and relationship between culture and language. The definitions of culture vary, but I believe James Banks' components of culture is one of the best models educators can use as a starting point: values/behaviors, language/dialects, nonverbal language, cultural cognitiveness, perspectives, and identification. The intertwining of cultural and language is somewhat obvious: they are inseparable!
In this post, I want to focus on the chapter's information about E.D. Hirsch and his cultural literacy theory. His cultural literacy test, as well as the topics covered in his core knowledge sequence, simply blew me away. For some reason, I have no recollection of reading his book or studying his theory; the simple guidance of "giving everyone the same starting line" is something I strived to do in my special education classroom. At times it was nearly impossible, however, because some students could barely complete mathematical computations, while others could barely read at a second grade level.
I did, however, do my best to encourage the students to have a more rounded world view by introducing them to various references and experiences that were often foreign to them. Despite their various learning disabiltiies, they were exposed to Romeo and Juliet with a lesson on fighting and jumping to conclusions ... they learned the science behind levers by building shoebox castles with catapults ... they learned to write introductions to essays by discovering idioms and metaphors. I hope that through these efforts, my kids have some ability to recognize references in their everyday lives.
My question for the class is: what kind of lesson plans would you design in order to incorporate difference orientation in your classroom?
I'm going to respond to my original post. Looking back on my experience in a rural district, I think it would have been beneficial to do more lessons involving urban issues. These kids eventually look for part-time jobs in nearby cities (there are practically no businesses in Delavan) and need the exposure to different cultures. If I were back in the classroom, I would have done many more hands-on activities, such as visiting other communities, taking them to stores and asking for job applications, and even eating in fast food restaurants in Peoria, where they'd experience a totally different atmosphere than the one in Delavan.
ReplyDeleteI like your question! Students always need to relate new learning to prior experiences and prior knowledge. So any way of bringing those into lessons or discussions is good. Examples might be verbal sharing or journal writing. One of my colleagues has a small bulletin board in her room and every student is featured on that bulletin board during the year. Families are encouraged to send baby pictures and artifacts/awards/pictures that tell about the student. I think this is a wonderful way for students to share and celebrate their differences.
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