Culturally Responsive Blog

Part One: Culturally Responsive Practice

(Picture of me working with third grade students in Costa Rican public school.)

To be a culturally responsive teacher, one must be inclusive of all cultural backgrounds in teaching content. To be culturally respectful is to have respect for those cultural backgrounds and help create an atmosphere in the classroom of cultural respect. My trip to Costa Rica has taught me the importance of both of these things. As a future educator, I want to instill in my students the importance of diversity and acceptance of different cultures. This will create a welcoming environment for any new students to come into the classroom.

“The first step to any form of action is awareness” (“TED Talks to help you check your assumptions”, 2014). This quote comes from the TED talk video we watched in the first week of this course. Once we can learn to accept others and their diversity, we can become truly culturally aware and treat everyone equally. If I were to receive a new student from Costa Rica into my classroom in the fall, I would make sure that student felt welcomed and appreciated. Now that I know more about the culture of Costa Ricans, I would know what to do to help my student feel included and welcomed.

The first way I would be culturally responsive in my teaching would be to have a lesson on recycling and saving the environment. The culture of Costa Rica is all about preserving the environment and protecting it. One of the days that I was in the class rooms in Costa Rica, the teacher was teaching the students the importance of using reusable bags instead of plastic bags to save the environment. All throughout the school they also reused old tires and make them into plant décor to decorate the school. The importance of being environment friendly is prevalent all-around Costa Rica and their schools. If I were to incorporate a lesson on the importance of recycling, my students would learn more about Costa Rica and its culture, and how to preserve their own environment at home. The new student would also feel appreciated because this is also what he/she is taught at home.

(Picture of how tires are used to create decor in Costa Rican schools.)

The second way I could help welcome my new student into the classroom with his/her cultural background is by having a cultural me bag day. This would allow students to go home and pick two to three items that represent them and their culture. Students would be given time to go to the front of the class and present their pieces of their culture for the class to see. All students would be encouraged to share and take time to appreciate others culture.

This can be a time for students to show their interior culture. From our readings, we learned that culture is considered a set of beliefs, values, and assumptions about life that guide behavior (Peace Corps). There is culture that is observable by everyone which is consider exterior culture, and then there is also interior culture. Interior culture shows the aspects of culture that are not observable from outside groups. The people of Costa Rica are very religious. In the public and private schools, some form of Christianity is always taught to the students. Coming to the United States it would be a hard transition for a Costa Rican student to adapt to this new environment where religion is not taught. But with the opportunity of a culture me bag, this student could take the time to show other students his religion and how it represents his/her culture.

(Picture of a classroom in Costa Rica with a bible verse on the wall.)

Part Two: Reflection on Growth and Development

Coming the United States and then being completely immersed into another culture in Costa Rica taught me a lot of things. As a person, I have grown into someone who is more culturally aware and someone who relies less on assumptions. As a future educator, it has taught me the importance of becoming culturally aware for my future students.

Before coming to Costa Rica, I assumed it was a place full of beaches and scenery. I also assumed there would be a lot of people with a low economic status knowing that the country is a third world country. Now that I have seen Costa Rica, my assumptions were wrong. Even though Costa Rica is a third world country, the people there are very non-materialistic so most do not have a lot and are happy that way. It was very refreshing to see a culture of non-materialism. Our culture in the U.S. is very concentrated on materialism. And even though there are beaches in Costa Rica, I learned the scenery and the beauty of Costa Rica is because of the whole population and their effort to protect and preserve the environment.

As a future teacher, this opportunity has pushed me to become culturally aware. Our assumptions that come from our own knowledge may be inadequate to help us understand our students and their cultural backgrounds (Templeton, 2013). It was one of my previous teaching beliefs to create a learning environment where all students are welcomed and encouraged. But my experience in Costa Rica has added to that belief with cultural awareness. Just like Melody discussed in the TED talk, once we are aware, we can accept diversity (“TED Talks to help you check your assumptions”, 2014). This experience has also challenged me into wanting to learn Spanish and become fluent. I want to make a personal challenge with myself to become fluent in order to help my future students one day. I want any new ELL students who come into my classroom to know they are not allow and I will help them on their journey to learning English.

My identity as a person has developed and grown due to this experience. I learned so my things along my trip that opened my eyes. The Costa Ricans I met encourage me to be a better person. I want to become someone who is non-materialistic, kind, open, and environment friendly just like they are. I want to take these characteristics with me home to the United States and share it with others. The people I met during my trip changed me greatly and I will be forever thankful for the opportunity to meet them.