Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Blog 3 Afe
Blog 3 Afe
Blog 3
1) A brief summary of the weekly readings: (articles)
Inviting All Students to Learn
This article talks about four suggestions for how educators can become better attuned to cultural
variance and how to help all their students build positive, productive lives. The suggestions are
1) Recognize and appreciate cultural variance, 2) Learn about and look for culturally influenced
learning patterns, 3) Look beyond cultural patterns to see individuals, and 4) Plan inviting
curriculum and instruction. The article states, Any students learning will be shaped not only by
that students culture, but also by his or her readiness needs, home context, personal talents and
interests, cognitive development, and a host of other factors. The article also provides scenarios
to back up the given facts. For example, some parents may help their child with homework while
other parents cant or dont help out with homework. Its important to know that not all students
fit the expected profile of students from a given culture. Teachers need to make room for
students varied approaches to learning, including those shaped by culture. The take home
message is that teachers cannot teach well unless they know their students.
The Culturally Responsive Teacher
This article begins by telling a story of a young girl who arrived in New York from the
Dominican Republic with her parents and two siblings. She had to assume caretaking
responsibilities for her younger brother and sister. She also worked with her mother, on
weekends, to make extra money for the family. Additionally, she often served as the English
language translator for her parents. The girls teachers perceived her as something different
because they had no idea of her home life. The article continues to talk about how learners
construct knowledge. Its important for teachers to build bridges between what students already
know about a topic and what they need to learn about it. Involving students and their parents is
key to building bridges to learning. The article also highlights that learning involves questioning,
interpreting, and analyzing ideas in the context of meaningful issues. Teachers should know
about their students lives in order to teach subject matter in meaningful ways. More importantly,
teachers need to serve as advocates for their students.
APA Citations
Dack, H., & Tomlinson, C. A. (2015). Inviting All Students to Learn.EDUCATIONAL
LEADERSHIP, 72(6), 10-15.
Villegas, A. M., & Lucas, T. (2007). The culturally responsive teacher.Educational
Leadership, 64(6), 28.