Culturally Inclusive Learning Environments help to support equity in schools

 Culturally inclusive learning environments help to support equity in schools

From what I have read and experienced, my understanding is that if educators can find ways to be inclusive of new ELL students’ cultural backgrounds, this can help to ensure equity for all. It is very important for teachers and school personnel to get to know their new ELL students and develop a rapport with them. To do so means that one needs to understand where they come from, and more about their cultural practices. To this end, my personal belief is that educators need to spend time educating all students about all cultures, and not just the culture of the newly arrived ELL students. If we want our students to be global citizens, it is incumbent upon us to encourage them to be aware of other cultures and cultural practices. In this way, teachers should be teaching students about holidays such as Ramadan, Eid, Vasaikhi, Chinese New Year, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, Easter, Passover, etc.  According to the How to Grow Cultural Competence in Classrooms, “ The best educators are those who not only learn from their students, but also learn about them in terms of culture and language.”  To this end, teachers should of course learn from their students, but also understand where they are coming from. I am thinking about possibly encouraging our staff to have a food festival where students can bring items from their culture and discuss their importance, and share them with all so that everyone can taste the food from different cultures. School libraries need to have books that represent students from different cultures. According to How to Grow Cultural Competence in Classrooms Guide, “ It is a good idea to populate the classroom library with culturally diverse reading material for students to discover and learn from.”Equality is more about making sure that students all learn the same thing, without accommodations for those who need it. By incorporating a Social Justice lens in teaching, we can make sure that all students’ cultures are represented in teaching as well. For example, in a lot of the BC Curriculum, there is emphasis on teaching Science and Math through a First Nations point of view, but we can vary this and try to reflect all cultures present in our schools. By doing this, we can ensure all students are represented and there has been increasing evidence shown that this approach can also increase student academic performance as well.

Works Cited: How To Grow Cultural Competence in the Classroom: A Guide for Teachers, (2018)https://www.edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/cultural-competence-in-classroom-guide-for-teachers/