Know Your Student's Cultures

  

Cultural Approach to Learning

African American

Power and Authority: Earned by personal efforts and exhibited by personal characteristics (pg. 35)

Direct and explicit language example: "Boy, get your rusty behind in that bathrub." (pg. 34)

Language is non-linear (pg. 55)

Questions in line with those posed to them in home settings and probing their own analyses and evaluations, not known-answer questions (pg. 56)

Oral expression is valued (pg. 57)

Structure needed just as much as any other child (pg. 32)

Literacy=real life purposes      

examples: reading when shopping, repairing, participate in church (pg. 62)

Authentic real life learning; related to daily life; relevant to student (pg. 65)

Fictive kinship (pg. 93)

Prefer people to solve their problems; prefer to learn from a human teacher (pg. 95)

Context is more important than text, not just what is said, but who said it (pg. 97)

Value social aspects: emphasize feelings, and acceptance and emotional closeness (pg. 140)

Group identity: They do not want to bring shame to their group (pg. 143)

Teaching is an interactive process (pg. 152)

Physicality and desire for interaction (pg. 168)

Athabaskan Indian

Everyone makes own interpretation, not just one      

example: Tends to modify texts in retellings (pg. 63)

Brevity is best (pg. 62)

Supports words in related physical context (pg. 98)

Respects children as full people; Respects their thinking (pg. 100)

Seek truth from own good senses, not from outside senses (pg. 102)

Actions do not need to be validated by talking; The doing is enough to prove competence (pg. 148)

Speaking about own accomplishments is extremely arrogant; This hinders during interviews (pg. 150)

Never speak for someone else (pg. 170)

Need appropriate context to be verbal (pg. 171)

Middle Class

Power and Authority: Achieved by acquisition of authoritative role (pg. 35)

Directive example: "Isn't it time for your bath?" which is understood as a command even though veiled (pg. 34)

Known-answer questions (pg. 56)

Wordy language (pg. 62)

Objects solve problems. Prefer learning from computers and books (pg. 95)

More concerned with what is said than context; words don't always match actions (pg. 98)

Words validate actions; Talking demonstrates competence (pg. 98)

Achievement based (pg. 140)

Relationship between speaker and listener is deemphasized; Content is primary (pg. 147)

Linear; specific conclusions (pg. 147)

All Students Benefit From:

Teaching tools needed to succeed in system of power culture. Students need technical skills as well as to be able to think critically and creatively to participate in meaningful and liberating work (pg. 19)

Balance: Help students establish their own voices and coach those voices to produce notes that will be heard clearly in the larger society (pg. 46)

Help students understand students' group and ethnic identity because it can affect their oral production of a different dialect (pg. 52)

Hands on experiences that relate to their world (pg. 54)

Many opportunities to read and practice other curricular areas (pg. 59)

Give real and authentic purposes (pg. 33)