Troy Wayne Davis 1

How far have I come?

If the twenty-year-old version of me, who first began to consider teaching, should

miraculously meet up with present day me, I am sure the reunion would be shocking beyond the

obvious science fiction of the scenario. I have changed. I have evolved. Many of these changes

have been a steady progression toward being a better neighbor to my fellow travelers on lifes

highway. Others, are direct changes as the crucible of education melts away the slag and detritus

of wrong perceptions, learned inaccuracies, or willful ignorance. I am grateful this semester has

not been an exception, and I can look upon the learning of the last few months and definitively

point out areas of change; not just in my knowledge as I learn new content, materials, and

strategies, but changes in my world-view, social perceptions, and introspect. I have made great

strides in my journey to increase my cultural awareness; to acknowledge the diversity of race,

culture, language, origin, and orientation in contrast to claiming color blindness. I have also

moved beyond lip service to being a champion for literacy, and have labored to learn strategies

that include literacy in every aspect of my teaching in content areas. And perhaps most

importantly, I have evolved into a culturally responsive educator with a focus on honing literacy

skills on a personal level with every student.

Literacy and diversity in the classroom.

With the rise of the Internet, educational environments have become more diverse, and

more complex, with student populations exploding in size and cultural differences. This dual

influx of technology and student diversity can be quite challenging to teachers that are not

prepared. Today, teachers must master skills in multiple literacies and culturally responsive

teaching as well as classroom management, content teaching, and authentic assessment. These

demands on 21st century educators will find many unprepared, and witness new teachers leaving

the profession after a short time, and veteran teachers burning out long before expected (Lew,
 Troy Wayne Davis 2

2016). Our nation is a melting pot of pluralistic populations, however, the inclusiveness and

cultural responsibility to embrace our differences is a fairly recent endeavor in many areas. Our

differences, in culture, tradition, and language are becoming opportunities for developing

culturally diverse and responsive instructional content that enhances the learning experience for all

students as it centers on individual identities while fostering celebration of those differences. This

cultural awareness affords students an environment conducive to learning from each other and

finding strength in shared differences and commonalities. The awareness, inclusiveness, and

centering of content on embracing diversity is known as culturally responsive teaching.

Culturally responsive teaching goes farther than the occasional use of popular slang or

colloquialism, or recognizing the latest diverse pop music icon. CRT is the full embracing of

students culture as an equally valid and important foundation for education; a consistent

intertwining of substance that is important to the lives of your students and the content area being

taught per state standards. One such way to accomplish CRT, is to ensure culturally responsive

classroom literacy. This literacy takes many forms: books, websites, magazines, blogs, texts,

television, movies, songs, threads, social media, and tweets are all examples of modern literacy.

Culturally responsive literacy takes those literacies a step further by recognizing and addressing

each literacy according to the unique student. This approach to literacy involves commitment,

time, and a concentrated effort to truly listen to each student. Essentially, cultural responsiveness is

demonstrated when teachers are responsive to their students using instructional activities that build

on their unique strengths and abilities. These activities and methods will not be the same for all

students; instead, they are modified by student knowledge, paying attention to classroom contexts,

and continuing professional training.

A professional educator.
 Troy Wayne Davis 3

I believe that culturally responsive literacy should be developed by an educator like any

other professional competency. It requires discipline, commitment, education, and plain hard

work. It requires stepping out of comfort zones and taking risks, but doing so in a professional

manner that inspires confidence and sets an example; not only for our students, but for their

parents as well. Yes, being culturally responsive requires taking the time and the interest in

developing a familiarity with student circumstances and family; knowing whether family are team

members working with you in the best interest of their child, or if they are obstacles that must be

strategically and safely navigated. The goal of classroom management when focusing on a

culturally responsive literary environment is to build a respectful learning community where each

student can feel safe and encouraged to learn, explore, share, and express their views, feelings and

culture in positive ways. For this paradigm shift in classroom environment and activity to be

effective, it must be a central philosophy in every aspect of what they do, from designing

classrooms, to developing relationships with student families, fellow educators, and school

officials.

To develop culturally responsive literacy skills at the professional level requires utilizing a

growth mindset locus of control. This control is gained by employing the Stoic philosophy of

identifying what is, and what is not, in your control. With that knowledge comes the ability to

choose how the things you cannot control will affect you, but also a clear understanding of how

you can best effect the things that are in your control for the benefit of your students. Working for

the betterment of our students, knowing their educational needs, is at the center of cultural

responsiveness. This interpersonal awareness is not just being a nice person, or being friendly, but

the active use of empathy to understand another's mindset, emotions, bias, and needs. This level of

awareness comes from the choice of embracing the other individual before yourself. To truly

employ the empathy necessary for effective interpersonal awareness, you must first suspend
 Troy Wayne Davis 4

judgment on others, and come to know and embrace their value. As teachers, when we embrace

value and diversity in our students, then we can offer genuine cultural responsiveness that will

resonate with our students in ways that will ignite their own desire to promote their own literacy.

Conclusions.

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh once said, Accept yourself as you are. And that is the most

difficult thing in the world, because it goes against your training, education, your culture.

(Rajneesh, 2017). This short statement is at the heart of why we must be culturally responsive

educators in the modern classroom. Cultural responsiveness recognizes and celebrates the

diversity of our students while offering the opportunity for those diverse cultures to be shared in a

way that strengthens us all. We can show our students, regardless of race, gender, religion,

orientation, or background that they are truly accepted and how to accept themselves in return. I

am grateful for the opportunity this semester to develop my professionalism as a teacher by honing

culturally responsive skills and becoming more aware of the opportunities for connections I can

foster with my students by focusing on culturally responsive literacy strategies.

 Troy Wayne Davis 5

References
Lew, M. M., & Nelson, R. F. (2016). New Teachers' Challenges. Multicultural Education, 23(3/4),

7-13.
Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree. Azquotes.com. Web page. 15 April 2017.

http://www.azquotes.com/quote/592921.
Vacca, Richard T., Jo Anne L. Vacca and Maryann Mraz. Content Area Reading: Literacy and

Learning Across the Curriculum. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc., 2016.