606 Reflection Point

Meghan Williams

George Mason University

 This particular course has taught me a lot about the layers of culture and how my

perceptions of culture can affect my students learning. Throughout the course of the ASTL

program we have looked at the various layers of culture such as socio-economic status, language,

values, ethnic or racial backgrounds, and beliefs. Culture is so complex that I find myself still

learning more about it and trying to define it. Hollins (2008) states, Culture is difficult to define

because it is the essence of who we are and how we exist in the world (p.18). My definition of

culture is constantly changing as I learn more about what it means to myself and my students and

how it affects my students from year to year. What I know for certain about culture is that I need

to continue to reflect on what it means to me and what assumptions I might be making. This

course has taught me a great deal about the ASTL learning outcome: teachers account for the

needs of culturally, linguistically, and cognitively diverse learners.

This course opened my eyes to the assumptions that can be made about culture. Teachers

need to examine their perceptions of students by getting to know their students home lives, their

cultures, and their families (Nieto, 1999). Prior to this course, I did not realize the assumptions

that I was making about my students and their cultures. "We are not suggesting that teachers

learn generic information about specific cultures or social groups. Such thinking leads to

stereotypes that do not apply to individual students" (Villegas and Lucas, 2007, p. 30). This idea

reminded me of when I first started teaching in a title one school with a high population of

Hispanic and ELs. I felt thought that it would be easier to learn about the Hispanic culture in a

general sense instead of learning from my students individually. It was after home visits, and

different experiences with families that I learned how different students from the same culture

can be. It is important to learn about each individual students families as well as their past

experiences and interests. I have learned about the benefits of being culturally sensitive through
both experience and graduate studies. Instead of making assumptions about students' cultures, I

now know to embrace their diversity. It is important for teachers to invest time into learning

about the cultural dimensions of their students.

In addition to learn about their students cultures, teachers need to model their acceptance

of cultures that are different from their own and use what they know about their students' cultures

to make learning engaging and fun. One goal that I have for my future in teaching is to make

more connections with my students' families so that I am able to learn more about their home life

and backgrounds. Hollins (2008) states that teachers understanding of culture impacts how they

view learning and pedagogy. It effects how teachers make learning meaningful for their students.

The more teachers know about culture the more they are able adjust their teaching to respect the

cultures of their students.

In addition to using what my students know, I was also introduced to the idea of funds of

knowledge. According to Gonzalez et al. (1995), teachers focus on what students lack in terms

of knowledge that is sanctioned by the schools (p. 445), instead of what students bring to

school. I think this emphasizes the importance of getting to know your students on a personal

level. Teachers need to know more than just the stereotypes that they have heard and they need to

get to know something about students family backgrounds, make up, and how they value

education (Villegas & Lucas, 2007). I often worry that my have not been exposed to language or

knowledge because they are not performing on grade level in school. The Funds of Knowledge

approach says that there is more to it than that. The students may not know all that we want them

to or have all of the skills that they need, but that does not mean that they havent been exposed

to a wealth of other types of knowledge and skills at home.

 The Cultural Inquiry Project that was assigned in this course taught me to look at my

students from a cultural lens and see how I could adjust what I was doing in my classroom to

make them more successful. I learned that by taking the time to get to know my students and

families, as well as investigate my own puzzlements, I was able to help my students. The

assignment asked me reflect on my students learning and ask questions that I normally would

not ask. Instead of settling and blaming my students lack of progress on their language barrier, I

looked into what was happening at home and in school that could be causing the problem. I

investigated the negotiations that my students were making between their home and school

culture as well as how their home lives were affecting them. Through investigating these things I

was able to develop an action plan to better support them at school.

Throughout this course I was responsible for managing and monitoring student learning,

as well as thinking systematically about my own practice and learning from experience. I was

asked to look at my teaching and account for the needs of culturally, linguistically, and

cognitively diverse learners.

 References

Gonzalez, N., Moll, L. C., Tenery, M. F., Rivera, A., Rendon, P., Gonzales, R., & Amanti, C.

(1995). Funds of knowledge for teaching in latino households. Urban Education, 29, 435-

470.

Hollins, E. (2008). A framework for understanding cultural diversity in the classroom. Culture in

school learning: Revealing the deep meaning. (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.

Nieto, S. (1999). Who does the accommodating? Institutional transformation to promote

learning. The light in their eyes: Creating multicultural learning communities. New York,

NY: Teachers College Press.

Villegas, A., & Lucas, T. (2007). The culturally responsive teacher. Educational Leadership,

64(6), 28-33.