Writing About Culture: Empowering Our Marginalized Students

1. Writing About Culture:Empowering Our Marginalized Students Creed Hansen Teaching Demonstration - Jan. 2008 Creed.Hansen@pisd.edu

2. What is culture? • In a small group of 3-4 people, brainstorm a list of possible answers to the question above. • Let’s share! What did your group have to say? • Now: what characteristics of culture did we all have in common?

3. music traditions foods history religion/beliefs tools language writing heritage family location skills colors/flags style/clothing holidays pride My students’ answers: We’ll come back to this. But first…

4. Why write about culture? • it helps students explore their personal backgrounds and beliefs • it promotes individuality • it encourages acceptance and even appreciation of diversity • it empowers otherwise marginalized students to write meaningfully about who they are

5. Why do marginalized students need to be empowered? • Delpit (1995) argues that: • marginalized students—which primarily includes minority, female, and low income students—do not possess the culture of power • they must be taught the culture of power and its rules in order to understand societal inequalities and thus gain power

6. How can teachers help? • Ladson-Billings (1994) encourages teachers to engage in culturally relevant teaching: • have high expectations of marginalized students • make culturally relevant curricular decisions

7. How can teachers help? • Gonzalez et. al. (1993) recommend a shift in how teachers conceptualize culture: • culture is more than simply holidays and traditions; it is dynamic and complex • household cultures can be utilized if teachers indicate that they are valuable

8. How can writing help? • Once teachers make the shift to culturally relevant teaching, they can use writing as a tool for empowerment • teach them how and when to use culturally relevant languages and the language of power (Standard English) • use writing prompts that allow students to think meaningfully and critically about their own cultures

9. What TEKS would be covered? • (1)  Writing/purposes. The student writes in a variety of forms, including…personal, for various audiences and purposes. • (B)  write in a voice and style appropriate to audience and purpose

10. What TEKS would be covered? • (3)  Writing/grammar/usage/conventions/spelling. The student relies increasingly on the conventions and mechanics of written English, including the rules of grammar and usage, to write clearly and effectively.

11. How can we integrate reading? • Cai (2003) recommends: • choosing literature written by marginalized authors about their own marginalized groups • using texts to expose inequalities present in the relationships between dominant and marginalized groups

12. How can we integrate reading? • Fox & Short (2003) suggest two main criteria for choosing culturally authentic literature: • accuracy of cultural details • absence of stereotyping or misrepresentation

13. What TEKS would be covered? • (7) Reading/comprehension. The student comprehends selections using a variety of strategies. The student is expected to: • (B)  draw upon his/her own background to provide connection to texts

14. What TEKS would be covered? • (9)  Reading/culture. The student reads widely, including world literature, to increase knowledge of his/her own culture, the culture of others, and the common elements across cultures. The student is expected to: • (A)  recognize distinctive and shared characteristics of cultures through reading; and • (B)  compare text events with his/her own and other readers' experiences.

15. How do we use reading and writing together to empower marginalized students? • use diverse pieces of literature as models for how and when to use culturally relevant language and Standard English • use these models, too, as mentor texts for how to integrate students’ cultures into their personal writing

16. Back to the list… • Again, these were the characteristics of culture my students came up with: • music • traditions • foods • history • religion/beliefs • tools • language • writing • heritage • family • location • skills • colors/flags • style/clothing • holidays • pride

17. Debriefing the list… • Now try discussing the following questions with your secondary students: • Why is culture significant? • Do you ever find that different parts of your culture conflict? Why or why not? • What are the most important characteristics of your personal culture?

18. The Personal Culture Chart

19. Model it for them! • Show your students that you, too, possess important cultural traits

20. A student sample…

21. Cultural groundwork • You’ve now laid the cultural groundwork for much of your students’ personal writing • You’ve also shown them that you value their cultures and that you have important cultural characteristics of your own

22. Reading, then writing… • Before embarking on a writing exercise, it’s important to provide models for how skilled authors write about culture • Seek out culturally relevant and culturally authentic texts; tailor your choices to your student population

23. The Kite Runnerby Khaled Hosseini • Choose a passage from a relevant, authentic text to read aloud • Ask your students to listen for ways in which the author writes about culture and ways in which the writing style reflects his or her culture • “Ali and Baba grew up together…” (25)

24. The Kite Runnerby Khaled Hosseini • Discuss in depth the passage you’ve just read with your students • You might hold a whole group discussion, or you might break your students up into small, diverse groups • Your guiding question: Where do you hear the author’s or narrator’s culture reflected in his or her writing?

25. Enrichment - Conventions • Anderson (2005) recommends using mentor texts—powerful, relevant literature—to teach the conventions of English to secondary students • Look for common problems your students are having in their writing conventions and utilize your current mentor text to address them

26. Now…write! • Using their Personal Culture Charts, ask students to address one of the following prompts in a paragraph or essay (depending on the ability level) • Where is your culture reflected at home? • How is your culture reflected in your relationships with family or friends? • How is your culture reflected in your beliefs?

27. A student sample…

28. A time for discussion… • Guiding questions: • How might this work in middle school classes? • How have you built cultural empowerment into your classrooms? • How can we build entire units or curricula around cultural empowerment?

29. References Anderson, J. (2005). Mechanically inclined. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. Cai, M. (2003). Multiple definitions of multicultural literature. In D. L. Fox & K. G. Short (Eds.), Stories matter: The complexity of cultural authenticity in children’s literature (pgs. 269-283). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. Delpit, L. (1995). Other people’s children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York: The New Press. Fox, D. L., & Short, K. G. (2003). The complexity of cultural authenticity in children’s literature: Why the debates really matter. In D. L. Fox & K. G. Short (Eds.), Stories matter: The complexity of cultural authenticity in children’s literature (pgs. 3-24). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

30. References Gonzalez, N., Moll, L., Floyd-Tenery, M., Rivera, A., Rendon, P., Gonzalez, R., et. al. (1993). Teacherresearch on funds of knowledge: Learning from households (Educational Practice Report: 6). Santa Cruz, CA: National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 360 825) Hosseini, K. (2003). The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books. Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.