Why Embracing Culture Matters!

Photo By Ernesto Eslava in Pixabay.

---

As I have progressed through this course, I have learned that I am rather well-versed in cultural pedagogy. Personally, I have been exposed to many cultures and am very attached to my own, but never realized how important it has been within my life, thought process, and life experiences. Upon learning and realizing this, it was decided to create my post about cultural pedagogy. Though it’s applicable to any and all cultures, this post will focus more on Latino culture, as it’s the only first-hand perspective I have experienced.

Tolentino, B. (2020). What is Culturally Relevant Pedagogy? YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved September 15, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrbJrXMgrhU.

---

Sociological Approach to Learning

Culture shapes how the world is perceived by a group of learners. We must go out of our way to value every student we encounter. “Students don’t enter our classrooms as empty slates, but as complex cultural beings--with values, perspectives, and ways of seeing the world that the teacher must leverage” (Tolentino, 2020). Every classroom, for the most part, includes a variety of cultures and backgrounds. By learning and embracing each student’s cultural background, we can enhance the learning experience for every learner, including the instructor. By trying to learn about the learner’s background, we can more accurately design learning experiences for each person. Keller and Deimann introduce a principle of learner engagement that closely relates to culture in learning which states that “motivation to learn is promoted when the knowledge to be learned is perceived to be meaningfully related to one's goals” (2018). “Sociocultural learning theory postulates that you not only have to build on a student’s prior knowledge to teach students but that you (must) have to leverage their ‘funds of knowledge’ (2) or the home culture of students. Culture grounds us as humans, it brings order to chaos--it teaches us how to act in the world and thus brings safety and predictability. When our culture is attacked, our sense of safety is lost” (Tolentino, 2020).

Bridging the Gap

A second principle introduced by Keller and Deimann (2018) is that “motivation to learn is promoted when a learner's curiosity is aroused due to a perceived gap in current knowledge.” This means your learners can and will be engaged when they are curious about a topic. How can a student’s curiosity be sparked? “Six characteristics of culturally responsive teaching include: setting high expectations for all students; engaging cultural, experience, and personal knowledge of students; bridging gaps between home and school cultures; practicing a holistic educational approach; leveraging student strengths; and questions and challenging normative school practices” (Gay, 2010). Community cultural wealth changes the idea of students lacking skills and encourages them to focus instead on what students and their families have to offer (Lozada et al., 2022). Our classrooms or learners come with a wealth of cultural capital. “Cultural capital can be defined as the skills, abilities, beliefs, and objects that are of value to a particular culture—most often the dominant culture” (Lozada et al., 2022). The following is a short description of the main tenets of community cultural wealth, per Yosso (2005):

• Aspirational Capital — The ability to persevere even when real or perceived barriers may exist.
  

• Navigational Capital — The ability to work within institutions that may include a systemic bias toward an individual.
  

• Social Capital — Directly connects with Bourdieu’s (1986) notion of the social connections a person has.
  

• Resistant Capital — The knowledge and skills gained through an understanding of inequalities within institutions.
  

• Familial Capital — Those cultural (pieces of knowledge) nurtured among familia (kin [also translated as family]) that carry a sense of community history, memory, and cultural intuition.
  

• Linguistic Capital — The linguistic repertoires of an individual, as well as the multimodal ways he or she can communicate including through visual art, literature, and music.
  

“Culturally sustaining pedagogy includes lovingly affirming and sustaining students’ languages, literacies, cultures, and histories” (Alim & Paris, 2017, p. 1). As mentioned by Lozada and fellow collaborators, specifically in Latinx culture, “Latinx communities offer unique assets including their value of participatory music and their strong connection to culture-specific performing groups such as mariachi, ballet folklórico, or los matachines. These cultural touchstones offer not only valuable assets for schools but also demonstrate how the Latinx community can build power, or capital, through their music knowledge” (Lozada et al., 2022).

“Culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogy approaches attempt to validate and center the rich and distinctive cultures, languages, and identities that many students possess and bring to the classrooms by incorporating their lives and experiences into their learning” (Castro et al, 2023). Some good pop culture examples that show how food, family, and emotions are all intertwined in Latinx culture are Disney’s Encanto and Esquivel’s (1992) Like Water for Chocolate. In Disney’s case, they were not fully prepared for the success of Encanto and, evidently, the demand from the Latinx audience they just served. This film is the main animated film to accurately depict the Latinx, matriarchal family, multigenerational household, and many, many customs, values, and traditions that are very much alive and active in Latinx culture. “Los valores del género que no pertenecen a una sociedad ni cultura específica, sino que han sido producidos en general por el género humano porque muchas culturas así lo han establecido” which translates to: “gender values do not belong to a specific society or culture but have been produced in general by the human race because many cultures have established it" (Sota, 2021).

---

“Teachers practicing culturally relevant teaching challenge students with rigorous academic activities and uphold and affirm their cultural beliefs, practices, and backgrounds while encouraging them to notice and engage in the critique of inequality” (Castro et al, 2023). As we are focusing on Latinx cultures, keep in mind, that within the Latinx community, there are many differences that rely heavily on their region/location. They may mostly speak Spanish, sure, but there are many differences in the form of speaking (accents) and the meaning of words. For example, cake can be translated as pastel for most Spanish-Speaking countries, but it can also be bizcocho for Caribbean countries. Bizcocho has alternate meanings for Central and South America. That’s just one example. Latinx does not mean that one fits all. Knowing these differences between countries and regions will also benefit the group of learners.

Volition and Satisfying Outcomes in Learning

Unfortunately, there is not a specific solution for cross-cultural learning that fits all the gaps. Cultural learning can be tailored to your region, city, county, etc. It’s going to change, depending on where you are located. “Culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies champion an asset-based, student-affirming stance for classroom teachers and schools. Here teachers are called upon to not only affirm but also sustain the lived cultural experiences of students and integrate their cultural funds of knowledge when crafting a relevant curriculum” (Castro et al, 2023). Keller describes that students pursue multiple goals aimed at learning and a positive experience. This applies to the principle that “motivation to learn is promoted and maintained when learners employ volitional (self-regulatory) strategies to protect their intentions” and an additional principle that “motivation to learn is promoted when learners anticipate and experience satisfying outcomes to a learning task” (Keller & Deimann (2018). Both principles will help students prioritize their goals and avoid distractions. “A set of common teaching practices emerge which might inform teachers, teacher educators, and curriculum developers who adopt equity-oriented pedagogies. These practices include honoring the cultural and community assets of students; making curriculum relevant for all students…” (Castro et al., 2023).

---

---

Conclusion

As previously stated, culture shapes how the world is perceived by a group of learners. It brings a sense of safety and security. When attacked, we feel exposed and unsafe. Learners' backgrounds can encourage a discussion where we can dive deep into culture and spark curiosity. This will motivate students to continue learning about their similarities and differences and sharing their culture with others. Learners can do this via food, music, dance, traditions, customs, etc. Examples can be celebrating Three Kings Day, Diwali, Día de la Raza, or Hannukah. These are all a part of different cultures in the world. Ultimately, we are tailoring our creation of meaning for the students at hand, based on but no matter their cultural background, and helping others learn about their similarities and differences.

---

References:

Alim, H. S., & Paris, D. (2017). What is culturally sustaining pedagogy and why does it matter? In H. S. Alim & D. Paris (Eds.), Culturally sustaining pedagogy: Teaching and learning justice in a changing world (pp. 1–21). Teachers College Press.

Castro, A., Yeji, K., & Adu-Gyamfi, M. (2023). RACIAL AND CULTURAL PEDAGOGIES IN EDUCATION. Curriculum & Teaching Dialogue, 34–44.

Castro Smith, C., Hand, J., Kruse, N., Miranda, L.-M., Merino, Y., & Spencer, C. (2021). Encanto. United States; Walt Disney Studios.

Castro Smith, C., Hand, J., Kruse, N., Miranda, L.-M., Merino, Y., & Spencer, C.. (2021). Encanto. YouTube. Retrieved September 16, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp5nPGWWMh4.

Discepola, A. (2019). Creating a Culturally Responsive Classroom. YouTube. Retrieved September 16, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VixB5WBiLqE.

Eslava, E. (October 4, 2017). Students, Education, School image. Pixabay. Pixabay. Retrieved September 13, 2023, from https://pixabay.com/photos/students-education-school-young-2817247/.

Esquivel, L. (1992). Like water for chocolate. Doubleday.

Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.

Keller, J. & Deimann, M. (2018). In Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology, 4th Edition (pp. 78-83). New York: Pearson.

Lozada, V., Ríos-Jiménez, E., Hansen-Thomas, H., Richins, L. G., & South, S. (2021). Una noche de Música: Sustaining our students’ culture. Journal of General Music Education, 35(2), 13–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/10483713211032311

Sota, E. (2021). La presencia de los valores en la Pedagogía y en las Ciencias Sociales . Cuadernos de Educación | Alternate Title: The Presence of Values in Pedagogy and Social Sciences., 168.

Tolentino, B. (2020). What is Culturally Relevant Pedagogy? YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved September 15, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrbJrXMgrhU.

Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91. https://doi. org/10.1080/1361332052000341006