Please note, this is the fourth installment in Dr. Tonia Durden's blog series Times Up!: Be Equitable. If you are new to this series, we recommend that you first read A Shield of Armor, Be Aware: Confronting My -isms, Be Intentional: Culturally Relevant Teaching — My Culture and Be Intentional: Culturally Relevant Teaching — My Beliefs.
Dear reader,
On any given carefree Saturday morning, who are you? My answer would be:
- I am a wife.
- I am a mother.
- I am a loyal friend.
- I am an avid mystery novel reader.
- I am a dancer.
When you wake up on Monday morning and prepare for "work," who are you? My answer would be:
- I am a wife.
- I am a mother.
- I am a loyal friend.
- I am an avid mystery novel reader.
- I am a dancer.
- I am a culturally relevant teacher.
As educators, we are often encouraged to implement teaching that is developmentally appropriate, culturally relevant, anti-bias, and so forth. However, are we ever asked to be? It is easier to say I teach in a culturally relevant way than to affirmatively say I AM a culturally relevant teacher. By saying you are something adds a different level of responsibility and expectation. When you take ownership of being something, like a friend, an infant teacher, a leader, this identity becomes the lens (both consciously and subconsciously) you use every day and in every interaction.
Therefore, I ask you reader, who are you? Are you a teacher who implements culturally relevant teaching or are you a culturally relevant teacher?
Are you . . .
- Equitable?
- Critically Reflective?
- Striving towards excellence in teaching and learning?
- Unapologetically culturally relevant and responsive?
Do you . . .
- Start with children's culture and language(s)?
- See all children as capable?
- Intentionally address systemic racism and educational inequities?
- Have high expectations for all children?
- Learn from children and families?
If you are, or aspire to be, a culturally relevant teacher, I invite you on another journey with me as I introduce a new series titled Dear CRT.
The following are topic areas that will be addressed in the new series, Dear CRT:
Dear CRT:
- Classroom Environment
- Responsive Interactions
- Child Guidance & Supports
- Approaches to Learning
- Curriculum
- Assessment
- Family & Community Connections
- Advocacy
In the cliché Shakespearean spirit, To be or not to be, is truly the question.
About the Author
Tonia Durden, PhD, is a clinical associate professor of early childhood and elementary education and is a program coordinator at the Georgia State University College of Education and Human Development. She is also a co-author of the book Don't Look Away: Embracing Anti-Bias Classrooms.
Explore This Series
A Shield of Armor
Be Aware: Confronting My -isms
Be Intentional: Culturally Relevant Teaching — My Culture
Be Intentional: Culturally Relevant Teaching — My Beliefs
