Intro to Teaching Course Reflection: Cultural Competence

Our system of education in the United States is a reflection of the world we live in. As the world changes, due to the impacts of globalization, war and racial struggle, our education system needs to evolve to address these changes. To this end, one of the most critically important skills a teacher must have today is cultural competency. I am learning that it is more important to create a safe environment where students are given equal opportunities to learn and are free to express themselves than it is to take an authoritative stance where knowledge of facts dominates instruction.

Becoming a culturally relevant teacher means being distinguished in the following program standard for educators: 8.2 Growing and Developing Professionally. This criterion states a “teacher seeks out feedback on teaching from both supervisors and colleagues.” I will be relying upon my community to help me navigate the waters of cultural competency, because my fellow teachers have faced the same struggles and can help me to be an effective educator in ways that I could not do on my own. Seeking the help of my students and their families is equally important. Every student is different and I won’t know how to help them unless I know them! Attending community events and making myself available outside of school hours to speak with parents are necessary if I hope to succeed. Flexibility and communication are the hallmarks that will hopefully make me a great teacher.

Being a White male it’s easy to fall into the trap and say that I have no hope of attaining cultural competence as I can’t possibly relate to the struggles of people of color. I am part of the dominant culture, my students will see me as such, and it is important to acknowledge this fact. On the website for the Work Group for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas they talk about dynamics of difference:





I must examine myself for any inherent bias I may have as a White male, but also seek common ground to build the level of trust required to become an effective educator. I do have my own culture and history to draw upon to help me listen and understand what my students need. I belonged to a poor, working class family and attended a highly diverse elementary school three decades ago that was located in a lower income area of the city. I witnessed firsthand the “heroes and holidays” approach to celebrating diversity and the segregation of students into separate classrooms based on language ability. While well-intentioned for its time, more is needed today. Communicating these experiences with my students and their families will help me to build the trust necessary to see them succeed by showing that I acknowledge and value the struggles they are facing. As an educator, I cannot be biased or even “color blind” to the fact that our students are different from each other and these differences should be acknowledged and celebrated.