A Rejoinder to the Ethnic Democracy Essay

This paper aims to prepare four separated short summary and response papers for four different articles on Culturally Responsive Teaching. 2. Analysis and Discussion The following are the short summary and response to each of the given articles: 2. 1. Preparing For Culturally Responsive Teaching by Gay (2002) The article discusses how to improve the success of ethically diverse students via culturally responsive teaching. The article tells also about the success of same kind of students by preparing teachers in preservice programs with the needed knowledge attitudes and skills. The article also examines the five essential elements of cultural responsive teaching which include developing knowledge based about cultural diversity that includes ethnic and cultural diversity content curriculum, demonstration of caring, building learning communities, communicating with ethically diverse students and responding to diversity in the delivery of instruction. The article has further defined culturally responsive teaching to be using what are already possessed by ethnically diverse students (ETS) as conduits for them to learn more effectively. These possessions may include the experiences, characteristics and perspectives. The author has assumed that the lived experiences of students may sit well as frames of references. This would therefore make the learning more meaningful, would create more appeal in terms of higher interest and students could learn more easily and thoroughly. The author has also previous researches to prove the result of higher academic achievements of ETS if there previous experiences are used in teaching them. This concept of learning is consistent with principle in learning – that starting from what is known would more easily to learning what is unknown. Rather than starting from the unknown by using the experiences of other cultures, the use of the previous experiences has its basis in common sense. There is basis to agree with the author in discussing how to improve the success of ethically diverse students via culturally responsive teaching by her exposing the needed elements of the program. As in any other program there are criteria to evaluate it success. By exposing the needed five essential elements of cultural responsive teaching, there would be good bases for evaluation the eventual success or failure of the program in terms of compliance of the criteria. In terms of internal consistency among the five elements, there is no valid reason to disagree with author on the obvious simplicity and applicability of presentation. To illustrate one element this paper uses developing knowledge based about cultural diversity and ethnic and cultural diversity content curriculum. Knowledge on cultural diversity is a requirement since it would amount to knowing the premises in the syllogism by viewing the same under the principles of logic. The idea of teaching under multicultural program is the promotion of integration. How would it be possible to know what needs to be integration without knowing the differences of diversity of cultures among students under the program? Doing the same acquisition of knowledge from diversity as part of the premises is also with the definition of the author on what is culturally responsive teaching which is using what are already possessed by ethnically diverse students as ways s for them to learn more successfully. Surely it would be easier to extract from students with their experiences, characteristics and perspectives which would be used as frames for reference. The author may have assumed rightly that doing so would give more meaning to student and could be more motivated to undergo the program. There is also basis to agree with author’s conclusion that culture has great influence on attitudes, values and behaviors that participants will bring in the process. It is the use of frame of reference that would also afford solution to problems in the future in the same way that will help them understand that what will eventually happen is a function what has happened already. 2. 2 Spirituality, Cultural identity, and Epistemology in Culturally Responsive Teaching in Higher Education, Multicultural Perspective, 8(3), pp 19-25 by Tisdell (2006) The article gives it focus in the connection of spirituality and cultural identity in relation to culturally responsive teachers under the higher education. It looks at the philosophical theory of knowledge which takes the position that research and teaching partakes of the natures of both intellectual and spiritual realms. Transforming the students is the aim under the multicultural teaching and to accomplish the same it should allow learners to explore and reclaim their own cultural identities. To reach this end, spirituality is appropriate in unlocking the cultural imagination and creativity of the students under the program. The profession or process of teaching for multicultural awareness described by author is to be for social justice and one that involves a complex process. It is also described as controversial, rewarding and intellectually stimulating. For a big number of teachers under the program including the author, teaching the student is a â€Å"work of passion† which forms part of life’s reason in creating greater social equity that would remind the teachers about being true to themselves who are also wrestling with their very own cultural identity in the same way that other authors taking part of the teaching under the program consists in making students grapple also with their cultural identity. It is therefore the act of reclaiming which involves a choice that makes the process of teaching considered both intellectually and spiritually. The author found that there is indeed connection of spirituality and cultural identity if the learners are assisted to engage on different levels of human experience. These levels of experience of course include the personal level, the cultural level, structural level, political level and the artistic levels done by cultural imagination. By so doing the chance that the education process will bring in the need transformative change is greater not only for learners but even for educators. Diversity in cultures could explain how groups of people differ in their behaviour and their values and hence many conflicts could actually be arising from diversity of cultures. To attempt therefore to bring commonality in diversity is a serious job that would require too much creativity and patience. Fortunately, human beings are thinking beings whose lives had with them spiritual dimensions which allow them to go beyond that legal or what is readily to be in conflict. No wonder teachers are actually also grappling with the cultural identify along the process of their teaching. What must be needed to reconcile things is deep sense of spirituality or an attitude of looking beyond what seems to irreconcilable. By injecting spiritual dimensions in the teaching of diversity of culture, there is strong basis to agree with the author that it could be transformative for the participants not only to the students but also the teacher. The teachers must be persons with deep sense of love for seeing beauty in diversity. Detach spirituality from man and his capacity to reconcile difficult issues is detached. Applying and taking advantage therefore of the power of spirituality to reconcile conflicting issues is a power within the capacity of man to reach and benefit from. The issue of diversity of culture has been accepted by many people and the effects of living together has produced many conceived possibilities which are worth learning and educators may amply make use of their capacity of spirituality to reach great heights. . 2. 3. Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers, Rethinking The Curriculum, Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 1, January/February, 20-32 by Villegas and Lucas (2002), The article emphasizes the need to for teachers in articulating a vision of the reality of teaching and learning in a diverse society if the field of teacher education is to become successful. With that vision, the teachers would have to be guided in injecting multicultural issues while for the duration of the preservice curriculum. The vision of culturally responsive teachers will be socio-culturally conscious and will be affirming students’ different perspective from various backgrounds. Under the same vision, the teacher will take responsible and enabled to bring change for purpose of making schools more equitable and they also understand how knowledge are constructed with the view of further promoting knowledge construction. In addition the vision must allow the teachers to know about the lives of their students and that these teachers could continue designing instruction that edifies and improves from what the students already known or have built upon. The authors took the position that the preparation of teachers in a multicultural, the people who are given the tasks of helping these teachers must first set the direction by articulating a vision of diverse society where there is teaching and learning that are happening in the process. This vision is believed to make it conceptually coherent if these teachers are to be prepared for diversity. The author had in effect articulated a proposed vision which is characterized by six salient features as explained earlier. This vision will serve as framework to infuse and call attention to diversity while the teachers are involved in the educational curriculum prepared for the purpose. The elements of the vision will feed into the minds of the pre service teachers while undergoing the learning experiences. Together in fieldwork as well as in coursework the teachers will collectively cultivate the sublime characteristic of culturally responsive teachers. The authors of this article do not want their proposal be prescriptive. They proposed a need for dialogue to develop a group vision of teaching and learning in a multicultural society. They proposed a need to look at and evaluate and revise if necessary the present curriculum in a consonance with the collective vision that may be agreed upon. They also admit to the requirement to invest time in making coordination for the envisioned responsive teaching qualities to what can be found in the courses that they teach and field experiences that they offer. They admit the need to have professional development that will help them to model the responsive teaching qualities as would be found in the revised curriculum. They are in a sense saying the vision articulation which they propose to be collectively done will just constitute the start of the process in the long journey of educating under the multicultural program where students belong to diverse cultural backgrounds. . The first step if successful will therefore lead into integrating the vision in the education curriculum of the teachers and improving the capabilities to implement the said revised curriculum. This will also lead to more collaboration among teachers and administrators of the multicultural program. The authors are in effect making suggestions that would simplify the rather difficult task into manageable ones formidable task. However the suggested cannot be considered to be very easy as viewed by the authors since the framework that they are proposing will still require negotiation with present social and political structures and contexts. 2. 4. Learning Who We (and They) Are: Popular Culture as Pedagogy by Guy (2007) The article aims to discuss the popular culture becoming a major educational project, or the means through which people learn. The author also recommended that population culture is capable of being used in learning race, class or gender issues. He asserted that population culture can power shape people and be used to challenge structured inequalities and social injustices. He also argued that those educating the adults via pop culture can be an effective way of educational strategies by asserting critical position toward population culture. Population culture or pop culture is defined as â€Å"culture of the masses† as distinguished from higher culture. The author started his article by reflecting on the meaning of education as forwarded by Benjamin Mays, a well known teacher and college president in Atlanta. He particularly used May’s statement about man’s having to live his dreams, his ideals and what he aspires to be. In other words, according to Mays, living not by bread alone or taking inspiration from one’s spiritual life is very much important. It is therefore in the attainment of self knowledge and understanding one’s life purpose where one discovers the vital goal of education. Yet, the high-technology world has answered critical or important questions of using population culture as a means via the mass media. The author has seen how population culture was used in advertising and the fact that it is used is uncontrollable already in the lives of many people, has recommended therefore the use of the same in learning culture or issues of race, class or gender. He cited authors arguing that media has shaped people’s ideas about race through cultural production of meaning. He cited abundant pieces evidence of how social cultures are made again using media. He therefore cited other author’s work producing evidence of cultural meanings delivered through cinema, music, video, TV, radio and Video. It could be therefore easy to agree with the points raised by the author considering that the issue of population culture is easily accessible to many. There is such a thing what is desired by great number of people or what is popular has an effect of influencing attitudes. The author therefore emphasized the important role player of population culture in teaching students. He however warned of multiple interpretations of meanings that producers, consumers, educators of adult and adult learners take. To accomplish the goals of teaching, he recommended the employing activities and strategies as used in this article. As an example, when confronted with multiple interpretations of meanings conveyed by pop culture in race, gender and class, he advocates an attitude of developing a critical analysis and awareness of the ways that attitudes or behaviours may be constrained, controlled or on the other hand, liberated, created and expanded In whatever ways the population culture may be taken a strategy to teach issues on gender, class and race, the author emphasized about the importance of the goal which should establish imaginative and nourishing relationships with other people while encouraging them to live harmoniously and cooperatively. It is by this context that the author drives May’s statement that human has to live in accordance with ideas and unattainable goals. On the principle that the world has become a great nations of democracies which gives the power to the influence of many, it will not be hard to agree as well with the author that the use of pop culture to effect changes in attitudes and values of people through education is an ideal that is easy to accept as what the authors argues about in this paper. References: Gay (2002), Preparing For Culturally Responsive Teaching, Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April, pp. 106-116 Guy (2007), Learning Who We (and They) Are: Popular Culture as Pedagogy, New Direc1ions For Adult and Continuing Education, no. 115 Tisdell (2006), Spirituality, Cultural identity, and Epistemology in Culturally Responsive Teaching in Higher Education, Multicultural Perspective, 8(3), pp 19-25 Villegas and Lucas (2002), Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers Rethinking The Curriculum, Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 1, January/February, 20-32