Culturally Responsive Teaching and Literacy

In “Honoring Dialect and Increasing Student Performance in Standard English” Epstein and Herring-Harris discuss some of the effects of a dialect on education and ways to use a dialect as a tool. The authors bring up several very good points that I had never really internalized. One was the affect that a non-standard dialect can have on standardized test performance. It is hard for Appalachian students to determine the right or wrongness of a particular grammatical structure when what they hear in everyday life is so different from what they hear in the classroom. Also students that study their “native” dialect are much better equipped to code switch when necessary. The study can also have a positive effect on their performance in the standard language. By understanding the basic grammatical and linguistic structures that underlie a dialect, they can better understand the foundations of the standard version of their language.

 

Several of the strategies mentioned in this article supported culturally responsive teaching. One was the comparative study between the native dialect and Standard English. This helped students to make a meaningful connection between the language that is used at home and the language that is used in the classroom.  Another was fact that they were even studying the Appalachian dialect. Most students have probably heard that their way of speaking is wrong. Studying it in an academic manner would help students to realize that their way of speaking isn’t wrong, just different. It would help them to see that their culture and way of life are important and worthy of being taught.

 

During my schooling I have experienced several different instances of culturally responsive teaching. One example occurred in my college Spanish Literature class. We read a short story about a silver mining town in the Andes. The story dealt with the tragedy of a mine disaster. After reading the story we discussed some of the similarities and differences between the mining village depicted in the story and the history of mining towns in WV. The story sticks out in my mind because of that connection.

 

There are many different resources that can help teachers be more culturally responsive. One is the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCREST). I have linked an article from them about culturally responsive teaching and literacy.

Callins, T. (2006). Culturally responsive literacy instruction. Retrieved from http://www.nccrest.org/Briefs/Literacy_final.pdf

Epstein P., H. (2011, September 15). Honoring dialect and increasing student performance in standard english. Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3655