equity

I N C L U S I V E
P E D A G O G Y :
C R E A T I N G
E Q U I T Y I N T H E
C L A S S R O O M

If students like myself are not
reflected in this country’s history,

in our classrooms, and
consequently in our general

mainstream culture, then how does
society expect us to be present

and contribute to our future?
-Isael Torres

Cultural pedagogy: ted talk background
Representation matters. Isael Torres, proud
son of Mexican immigrants with a masters

from the College of Education at the
University of Utah, speaks about just how

relevant recognizing and acknowledging
children’s diversity is to better a student’s
experience and ambition in the classroom.
He talks of his experience as a child of

Mexican immigrants in classes with
predominantly white peers, teachers, and
school administrators. This dichotomy, he
challenges, creates an environment where

student’s education depends on them
conforming to a traditional system of

schooling rather than that system evolving
to meet the growing needs of a diverse

population.

C U L T U R A L P E D A G O G Y :

E D U C A T I O N A L E Q U A L I T Y F O R

O U R Y O U T H

I S A E L T O R R E S

Cultural pedagogy

Culturally relevant teaching uses student culture in order to maintain it
and to transcend the negative effects of the dominant culture. The
negative effects are brought about, for example, by not seeing one’s
history, culture, or background represented in the textbook or curriculum or
by seeing that history, culture or background distorted (Ladson-Billings p.
19).

In her book The Dream-Keepers Gloria Ladson-Billings writes
about how important it is to see people of color in high
positions in authority rather than just the janitorial staff or
cafeteria workers. I would argue that it’s equally important to
teach youth about the history of the nation they grow up, in
particularly civil rights leaders like Dolores Huerta or Cesar
Chavez, alongside MLK, Harriet Tubman, and Malcom X. It’s
important that kids view themselves with the potential to
succeed in similar roles in their future.

The importance of bilingual education

2. Minority children who gradually lose their first language as a result of
being taught the second end up limited in both languages for a time. This
circumstance leads to serious academic difficulties and is believed to
contribute to the high rates of school failure and dropout among the low-
SES Hispanic youngsters, who make up nearly 50-percent of the U.S.
language minority population (Berk 2012).

When children are taught to favor one language over their
native language, they lose a part of their cultural identity. This
is something that has even effected me, Spanish was my native
language, but now I am more comfortable speaking English. This
is maybe not as relevant today with dual immersion classes
becoming more popular. Regardless it’s important to remember
that many Native and foreign languages and cultures are lost
through this process of assimilation.

Effect of Marginalizing Communities

3. Many students—particularly those from groups marginalized because of
things like race, class, gender, sexuality, etc.—do feel excluded from
learning spaces. This experience of exclusion can hamper academic
performance in a process that can spiral out of control, through a
“negative recursive cycle…where psychological threat and poor
performance feed off one another, leading to ever-worsening
performance.” Beyond the purely academic, a sense of alienation or
exclusion can even lead to negative health effects.

-From the Center of New Designs of Learning and
Scholarship at Georgetown University

Among students who started in four-year public institutions, black students
had the lowest six-year completion rate (46.0 percent). The completion
rate of Hispanic students was almost 10 percentage points higher (55.7
percent). Over two-thirds of white students (71.7 percent) and three-
quarters of Asian students (75.8 percent) completed a degree within the
same period. (Shapiro 2020)

-National Student Clearinghouse Research Center

The effects of being a marginalized community in this nation
are numerous and they are widespread. An example of this is
the extensive media coverage of people like Michael Brown or
Trayvon Martin- people of color, black teens, being shot.
Seeing kids that look like them being targeted by white police
is a traumatic and stressful experiences that follows children
in the form of fears, anxieties, and potential stressors
(DeAngelis 2014).Only by facing uncomfortable truths of
discrimination even in school institutions, can be begin to
challenge this system and start adequately preparing and
training our teachers, revising curriculum standards with equity
in mind, and putting to practice recognition.

I chose to research inclusive pedagogy because as a future
teacher, I want to be aware that my experience as a woman
of color does not reflect the same challenges and barriers
that limit other minorities, like black or lgbt+ students, from
reaching their full academic potential.

I focused on cultural pedagogy because it most closely
reflects my own experience in my as a proud child of
immigrants in an environment where biases and social
stereotypes exist to challenge my success as an educator,
however there are many marginalized communities that
require representation.

The aim of culturally relevant teaching is to assist in the
development of minority children to choose academic
success, but also identify with and be proud member of a
culture uniquely their own.

Acknowledging the difference in race, religion, socio-
economic background, culture, sexual orientation, helps us
teach more equitably.

key vocabulary
inclusive pedagogy

A student-centered approach to teaching
that pays attention to the varied

background, learning styles, and abilities
of all the learners in front of you. It is a

method of teaching in which instructors
and students work together to create a
supportive and open environment that
fosters social justice and allows each
individual to be fully present and feel

minority
a relatively small group of

people, especially one commonly
discriminated against in a

community, society, or nation,
differing from others in race,
religion, language, or political

persuasion.

Discrimination
the unjust or prejudicial treatment of

different categories of people or things,
especially on the grounds of race, age, or

sex.

The quality of being fair
and impartial. Distinct from

equality which is typically
defined as treating

everyone the same and
giving access to the same

opportunities, equity refers
to proportional

representation in those
same opportunities.

How can educators
create a supportive/

inclusive learning
environment? What
are it’s benefits?

Essential Questions
What are biases
you recognized
within your own

education?

Identify
consequences of
maintaining the

educational
system as is.

What are some of the
ways discrimination

persists and how can
we mitigate its

spread in the
classroom?

List a plan of
action to support

children’s
education that is
equity centered.

Berk, L. E. (2012). Infants, children, and adolescents. Boston, MA: Pearson

/Allyn & Bacon.

Cultural Pedagogy: Educational Equality for Our Youth | Isael Torres |
TEDxSaltLakeCity [Video file]. (2017, November 14). Retrieved
October 14, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=AbmyxZaBnhI&ab_channel=TEDxTalks

DeAngelis, T. (2014). Building resilience among black boys. Retrieved October
15, 2020, from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/10/cover-resilience

Ladson-Billings, G. (2009). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of

African American children. San Francisco, CA, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Maloney, E. (n.d.). The Teaching Commons. Retrieved October 14, 2020,
from
https://commons.georgetown.edu/teaching/design/inclusive-

pedagogy/

Shapiro, D., Dundar, A., & Huie, F. (2020, August 28). Completing
College – National – 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from

Completing College – National – 2017

equally valued (Maloney n.d).

HǍO