March 19th, 2021

 This week's assignment consisted of the reading How Schools and Teachers Can Get Better at Cultural Competence and viewing the Ted Talk Education System v. Cultural Competence | Gracia Bareti | TEDxDirigo. When reading the article, the fourth key tip, “Develop Cross-Cultural Skills” stood out to me. To me, the other areas were logically included, and I had discussed in other classes before, but the subject of “Cross-Cultural Skills” resonated with me because it is an area I feel that I will be the hardest for me to achieve as a teacher. Because I have been so used to assimilated classes where students often share the same experiences and preferences, I really need to be mindful of my actions in actively making sure that my classroom will be truly inclusive and judgement-free. Developing these Cross-Cultural Skills, as Farmer acknowledged, “takes time,” and because there are no clear guidelines for creating the “perfect classroom,” I need to continuously be consciously aware and analytical of everything I do, so as to reach culturally competent curricula. 

Listening to Bareti’s story in the Ted Talk was reaffirming of all of the important concepts and guidelines we have been discussing; no students are homogenous but instead bring their own unique experiences and backgrounds to the classroom, we need to be actively observant and actively listen to what our students are saying and asking of us. We need to be understanding of those who are different than us too, being aware that cultural “norms” vary, and with that comes necessary empathy for deeper understanding of our students and their families. I think it is important to listen to the stories other people have to share, because this is when we can learn the most from each other as human beings. This is how we are able to grow to better understand and appreciate each other for our differences and similarities alike. Patel's book Youth Held at the Borders also exemplified this ideology, where she utilized anecdotes to personalize the experiences and hardships of immigrants in the United States regardless of their legal status.

In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire described the need for “problem-posing” education, where the classroom should be utilized as a space to talk about socially, politically, and culturally-relevant issues. Freire also placed an importance on the action of discussion. I feel that within the educational system, these ideologies could really help promote cultural competence from the student level. No problems get solved when they’re swept under the rug, and these conversations need to be had. Bareti explained how there is often an awkwardness surrounding the topic of racism, and a lack of education about different cultures and countries. From an academic level, specifically what we teach needs to change as well, to broaden students lenses about different cultures and countries, and not “celebrating” them but making “a move to a view of culture as experiences, knowledge, beliefs, and values that affect the lives of everyone in the school building” (Farmer). And we cannot continue to talk about racism as a thing of the past in schools, because it still is very much ingrained in our society and continues to provoke issues and disproportionately disadvantage certain populations. These topics need to be an active part of conversation not just for adults but for students as well. 

This week during our Google Meet, the students read the poem "The Rose That Grew from Concrete" by Tupac Shakur. They then were asked to rewrite the poem in their own words, and choose any flower they saw fit to write about, not just subject to the rose Tupac spoke of, to have the stanzas really be reflective their own lives. I was so excited to listen to what everyone had written, not only because I love when we can use creative outlets in the classroom, but also because this assignment was a way for me to better personally understand and get to know the students. They talked about where they were from, their personalities, and some of them mentioned their aspirations for the future, which I really enjoyed hearing.