Cody AnthonyED 389

Prof. Peters & Dr. Sencibaugh2/07/11

Culture to Classroom: Practical Uses for The Dreamkeepers’ Culturally Relevant Teaching

Gloria Ladson-Billings begins her book The Dreamkeepers with an epigraph from

African American poet Langston Hughes’ “A Dream Deferred”, a poem well known by

many readers for speaking out against the social injustices and traumas faced by African

Americans in our society. “What happens to a dream deferred?” (1). Does the dream

grow smaller? Does it fester and grow sick, corrupted from the society that rejects it?

Does the dream grow heavy from being carried so long? Or does it simply explode on

impact, and cease to exist? As readers, we are meant to ask ourselves these questions as

Ladson-Billings details the struggles African Americans have faced since the fight for

freedom and equality during the Civil Rights Movement. Equal access to quality

education continues to be the strongest dream held on to by African Americans, however

elusive that dream may be. This book, designed as an instructional tool for teachers to

keep the African American dream alive (hence the name), identifies the major problem

with African American education as a failure by teachers to acknowledge and recognize

African American culture. This failure to identify culture has had an adverse effect on

students; Ladson-Billings informs us that “many have come to equate exemplary

performance in school with a loss of their African American identity; that is, doing well

in school is seen as ‘acting white’” (11). Ladson-Billings promotes teachers to adopt a

culturally relevant pedagogy that combats an assimilist notion imposed upon African

American students that excellence belongs solely to white culture.

As an education student, I was thoroughly interested in many of the practical

applications of Ladson-Billings’ culturally relevant pedagogy. She pinpointed very

accurately the negative aspects of assimilationist teaching that is so pervasive with many

teachers in the American education system, forcing me to seriously rethink how I

considered African Americans and their place within society. I believe this is the first

small step that all “non-black” teachers must take before we can become effective

teachers of African American students. To illustrate the effectiveness of Ladson-Billings’

culturally relevant teaching method, we will now look at several aspects of culturally

relevant teaching that I find distinctly insightful towards African American teaching, but

also hold broader significance for the pedagogy I’m continuing to develop as a student

for my future classroom. These aspects of culturally relevant teaching that I find most

useful are the teachers’ perceptions of teaching as art and themselves as artists, teachers

being connected with all their students, and teachers having a fluid and equitable

relationship with their students.

Perhaps the most important detail I drew from this book is that culturally relevant

teachers view teaching as an art form, and themselves as artists. I’m an English major, so

naturally I align myself with the arts. Before I read this chapter, however, I never once

considered the possibility that teaching could become a form of art. Previously I had

always thought of teaching as a sort of check list, marking off each item for the day as the

class room goes through them. Because of this belief, teaching held little interest or

excitement for me initially. I was willing to dismiss the thought of teaching as a career in

pursuit of my love for the arts. This chapter newly inspired my interest in teaching with

the realization that teaching and art are not polar opposites, but rather complement each

other in exciting ways. Art can be joined with teaching, fusing the two elements together

and unleashing the created energy into various aspects of the pedagogy being developed.

Teachers who practice these methods certainly are artists in every aesthetic sense of the

word.

Viewing teaching as art is not only exciting for the teacher, but for the students as

well. Mrs. Valentine, a teacher in Ladson-Billings’ study, provides a wonderful example

of the benefits we find in an artistic teaching approach. She engages her students in a

lively theatrical performance once she sees that her traditional approach to teaching

adjectives isn’t working.

“Black witch, old witch, mean witch--give me a break! You guys are killin’ me! I need some great, fantastic, outstanding, stupendous, magnificent adjectives. I’ll even take some compound adjectives. Can anybody save me?” After a few snickers one boy ventures, “How about a green-faced, hook-nose, evil witch?” “Yes!” shouts Peggy Valentine. “Now you’re cooking with gas. Give me more, more!” (43).

In teaching her subject matter creatively, Mrs. Valentine’s students have become more

interested and involved with what they’re learning, because they’ve become active

participants in the learning process. This creative aspect of teaching is particularly

important with African American students, who have likely been taught from an

assimilationist perspective that only advocates traditional teaching methods. African

American students are shown that the subject matter they are learning can be approached

and learned in many different ways, and just because their views may be different doesn’t

mean they are wrong.

Teachers must share a connection with each one of their students before they can

hope to effectively teach anything that students will remember beyond their class room.

This aspect of culturally relevant teaching is applicable to all students, not only to

African Americans. As I look back on my years of education, the only teachers I

remember at all are the ones who took the time to get to know me, and treated me like I

was one of their own children. If teachers fail to accomplish this aspect of culturally

relevant teaching, then I see most of the work they are doing as counter-productive to the

teaching profession. Why would students want to gain knowledge from someone who

doesn’t care about their lives? This concept was already firmly grounded in my own

views of education, but this chapter reaffirmed my beliefs within the context of African

American teaching. Rossi, another teacher in Ladson-Billings’ study, gives a great

example of teacher-student connections when she sends a personal card to each one of

her students on their birthday (67). This is a wonderful idea that I hope to incorporate in

my future teaching career, as it shows her students how much she cares for each one of

them.

Teachers must maintain a fluid and equitable relationship with students in their

classroom if they want their teaching to be culturally relevant. Most of the actual learning

that we use in our daily lives occurs in informal settings. We learn about our immediate

environment from talking with friends, we learn about new products on the market from

television commercials, and we learn new activities from hands on attempts. Why should

education be done any differently? Some teachers may think that informal teaching

means a lack of professionalism. Thankfully, this is not the case. Teachers can maintain a

professional atmosphere, while incorporating informal learning techniques that more

closely matches the learning we do on a daily basis. For example, Ladson-Billings shows

us in Devereaux’s classroom that cultural dinner parties are often incorporated into her

classroom activities (65). These parties provide an informal setting where teacher and

students all sit down together as equals. As they eat, students are welcome to engage the

teacher and each other. Settings like this are fun for both teachers and students, and can

also serve to empower African Americans with an in-depth knowledge of their own

cultural heritage.

After viewing those aspects of Ladson-Billings culturally relevant teaching which

I find most useful for my own developing pedagogy, we can clearly see that this

culturally relevant approach is an effective teaching method. Teachers’ perception of

teaching as art and themselves as artists, teachers sharing a connection with their

students, and teachers maintaining a fluid and equitable relationship with students are

important aspects of culturally relevant teaching that not only work to keep alive the

African American dream of equal access to quality education, but also show great

promise for the wider field of education.

Works Cited

Ladson-Billings, Gloria. The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1994