Weblog 6: Culturally relevant pedagogy

I think that traveling and experiencing other cultures is a very rewarding opportunity that can be used in many aspects of life, including teaching. By learning about other cultures you can see what is important to them and discover ways to teach students of that culture (while still making sure not to stereotype). The stories of Tara and Robin in Ladson-Billings book (pages 84-86) are perfect examples of how their traveling experiences have helped in the classroom. I have done some traveling recently and looking back on those experiences I realized how interesting it is to see other cultures. I would like to learn more about them and about different education systems. Everyone has their own view and definition of achievement and that varies from culture to culture as well. Different countries school systems are different from ours and we can learn a lot from them. Clearly the Japanese schools have an excellent math program that could be beneficial to us. When I was there in Japan, the school children seemed very mature, friendly, and independent. Recently, visiting Ireland and experiencing there culture, I am curious to find out more about their education system. Achievement can be defined in many ways – from school accomplishment to just increasing knowledge – but it is greatly influenced by different cultures.

My senior year of high school we had a week called “Senior Service Week,” which is just what it sounds. I chose to go to a pre-school and do work there which I really enjoyed. I loved working with the kids and I also got to see all of the extra, little projects that teachers have to do preparing and cleaning up at the end of the day. I do not remember paying much attention to culture and race while I was there. Coming back the week after and hearing all of the different stories of what my fellow classmates did were interesting, though. While we all had to do a week of service it was exciting to hear all of the different ways we could do service. Ladson-Billings talks a lot about incorporating service in school. Thinking back on it, it really is a good way to put your self in uncomfortable positions seeing how others live and problems they have to deal with. It is a good way to increase your cultural competence and sociopolitical consciousness. You can really appreciate what others have to go through when you experience it that closely. It is also a way to value what you have in life and appreciate your own culture.
(I am not sure if I did this right, I was kind of confused on the assignment)