Familiarize yourself with your students' cultures and lifestyles, and assess how your teaching methods can aid their learning.
Culturally sustaining practices (CSP) encourage students to incorporate their cultural traditions from home into their school life and preserve them. CSP enables students to thrive in their school and home cultures.
For educators in New York City, it is crucial to recognize that culturally responsive teaching—termed culturally responsive-sustaining education by the Department of Education (DOE)—is mandated for New York City schools. This requirement highlights the importance of teachers embracing diversity, understanding their students, and ensuring students feel welcomed and acknowledged in the school environment. There is no single method for implementing CSP—since that would contradict the essence of upholding students' diverse cultures—but there are guidelines to help teachers understand what a CSP approach entails. Think of CSP as a mindset rather than a fixed set of practices.
However, even with the desire to be responsive to student's needs, it can be challenging to determine the best ways to address different cultural backgrounds, especially since much of the available information originates from academia and can be tough to apply in practice.
Funds of knowledge
Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) prompts educators to ask: What pre-existing knowledge my students have? What are their strong points? What about the strengths of their families and their communities? Exploring the "funds of knowledge" that students bring into the classroom is crucial. These funds of knowledge can be integrated into all aspects of learning and behavior in the classroom. For instance, a 3-year-old that appears to read in reverse may draw on knowledge acquired from reading Arabic that is read from right to left.
A fifth grader who frequently fights on the playground might be protecting her friends and family. Teachers can shift their teaching approach by viewing these situations as assets. They might show a student how English texts are read without criticizing their current method or discipline with compassion and an understanding of the good intentions behind defending friends despite the inappropriate behavior. Funds of knowledge are not limited to cultural and linguistic knowledge; they encompass the broader cultural experiences students bring with them. This approach can also be helpful when discussing persuasive essay topics, allowing students to draw on their cultural experiences for compelling arguments.
Tabitha Kidwell and Luis Javier Pentón-Herrera tell how a US teacher discovered that one of her pupils, from a marginalized Guatemalan indigenous group, had lived much of her life working on a farm. The teacher was inspired to create an activity in which the pupils would go outside to collect rocks for future use, demonstrating the principles of Sustaining Goodearth practices.
Why is CSP education needed?
Current school practices often cater to the norms of monolingual, white, middle-class students, typically excluding those from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. When students don't fit these norms, educators may view them through a deficit lens, attributing academic difficulties or behavior issues to inherent faults within the students. This deficit perspective can extend to anyone within the school community.
For instance, if a teacher assumes that parents from a particular cultural group are uninvolved in their child's education and blames this for the student's poor academic performance, it's a clear example of a deficit lens. Such a viewpoint might lead a teacher to believe a student cannot succeed due to language barriers, disabilities, or personal characteristics, or to attribute certain behaviors to "culture." Even reputable literature can operate within a deficit framework. In my first teaching job in the U.S., the school district mandated we read a book on how poverty impacts children's development and cognitive abilities.
Though the book seemed empathetic towards children in poverty, in hindsight, it was problematic. It focused on what my students supposedly couldn't do, highlighting their deficiencies in a way that made me see myself as a savior. However, my students didn't need saving — they needed love, compassion, and understanding. The book projected a deficit view of an entire social class. Adopting a Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) approach can help question and dismantle the deficit lens in your school, promoting the diversification of available materials.
From a CSP perspective, students and their families are seen as valuable assets to the classroom, a stark contrast to the deficit lens which implies they lack something. This shift in perspective will enable you to better meet the cultural needs of your students by integrating their practices into the classroom setting.
Getting started
You don't need to be an expert on every culture or language to implement culturally sustaining pedagogy in the classroom. What matters is getting to know the cultures and lives of your students and finding ways to adapt your teaching practices to support them better.
There are various methods to understand your students better—you might already be using some. For instance, as a teacher, I frequently sent out surveys to students and their parents to gather insights about their attitudes toward school, their languages, and their aspirations for the school year. The responses I received were invaluable for building rapport with my students and fostering strong relationships with their families.
When it comes to reflecting on your teaching methods, it's essential to use the information you've gathered about your students. This could involve incorporating books that reflect your students’ cultures into your lessons or, at the very least, ensuring such books are accessible in the school library. It could also mean welcoming students to use their home languages in the classroom or inviting members of their communities to share diverse perspectives. While changing your teaching approach might seem daunting, the goal is to make intentional, thoughtful adjustments over time to support your students better and cultivate a more culturally inclusive practice.
Final Thoughts
Embracing Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) is essential for creating an inclusive and supportive educational environment. By acknowledging and integrating the diverse cultural backgrounds and "funds of knowledge" students bring, teachers can foster a more engaging and effective learning experience. Recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to CSP, educators can start by familiarizing themselves with their students' cultures and adjusting their teaching methods accordingly. Whether by incorporating culturally relevant materials, encouraging the use of home languages, or involving community members, these practices can significantly enhance student engagement and success. As we strive to adopt these strategies, it's crucial to avoid the deficit lens and instead view each student's background as a valuable asset. Initiatives like Villages in Partnership exemplify how collaborative efforts can sustain diverse cultures in education. With thoughtful application, CSP can profoundly impact both teaching and learning, creating a classroom environment where every student feels valued and empowered.