Culturally Responsive Education for Student-Centered and

Community-Centered Engagement

Dr. Jeanette Haynes Writer

Department Head,

Curriculum & Instruction

New Mexico State University

Peoplehood Matrix

(Holm, Pearson, Chavis, 2003)

ᎧᏁᏨ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᏗ ᎠᏎᎸ ᎢᏗᏛᏁᏗᎤᏰᎸᏛᎢDeclaration of Designed Purpose

• ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᎡᎨᏲᏅᏕᎦᏛᏒᎢ ATTRIBUTESCherokee way of life. What we were taught growing up.

Attributes are cultural values, qualities, or characteristics. These attributes describe our understanding of leadership necessary to achieve our designed purpose. Attributes identified in

Cherokee language and thought are:

ᏧᏓᏓᏂᎸᏣᏘ

tsudadanilvtsati

Respectful/Acknowledgement: Hold one

another sacred or be “stingy” with another

person and yourself.

ᏂᏛᏓᏲᏍᎬᎾ

nidvdayosgvna

Determined/Persistent: Never give up.

ᎡᎳᏗᏯᏓᏛᏁᏗ

eladi yadadvnedi

Humble: Never boast, never think you

are better or higher than anyone else.

ᏗᎵᏍᏕᎸᏗ

dilisdelvdi

Cooperative: Help one another.

ᎠᏚᏓᎸᏗ

adudalvdi

Responsible: Commit yourself to your

task or assignment.

ᏗᏕᏲᎲᏍᎩ

dideyohvsgi

Teach: Share your knowledge and wisdom

with others to improve that individual,

family or group.

• ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᎡᎨᏲᏅ ᏕᎦᏛᏒᎢ ATTRIBUTESᎧᎵᏬᎯ

kaliwohi

Integrity: Full (to the greatest extent possible).

Act in the same manner regardless of the

situation. Do what is right and complete,

even when no one is watching.

ᎭᏓᏘᏄᎦ

hadatinuga

Leader: Lead by example. Show the way by

acting the way we want others to treat us.

Our actions influence the behavior of others.

ᏗᏓᏛᎪᏙᏗ

didadvgododi

Communicative: Be sure to let

other(s) know.

ᎠᏅᏂᏗᏳ

anvnidiyu

Patient: Be patient, no matter what you

are going through.

ᎤᏝᏂᎩᏓ

Utlanigida

Strong: Be strong in whatever you do.

Take comfort in the strength of the

Creator and your ancestors.

ᎤᏓᏙᎯᏳᎯ

udadohiyuhi

Confident: Have confidence in yourself.

Do not doubt your abilities, but temper

all with humility.

taken from 2010 Report to the Cherokee People, p. 26

Manifest Destiny

“Progress” is not always good for all—some pay the price for others’ progress

Delpit’s Culture of Power (1993)

1. Issues of power are enacted in classrooms;

2. There are codes or rules for participating in power; that is, there is a “culture of power”;

3. The rules of the culture of power are a reflection of the rules of the culture of those who have power;

4. If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier; and

5. Those with power are frequently least aware of—or least willing to acknowledge—its existence. Those with less power are often most aware of its existence.

Manifest TEST Destiny

“Progress” is not always good for all—some pay the price for others’ progress

Culturally Responsive Teaching

Geneva Gay, 2002, p. 106

[U]sing the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively.

Mt. Taylor: http://brianleddyphoto.photoshelter.com/image/I0000UhpP1NFIwTw

http://members.cox.net/eonweb/nmco/index.htm

Oral Traditionas “text” for teachers

A People’s history, identity, ways of being and future directions are anchored

in the stories of that community.

Our theories and knowledge—our curriculum & pedagogy—are within the

stories.

Community Cultural Wealth

Tara Yosso, 2005, p. 77

[A]n array of knowledge, skills, abilities and contacts possessed and utilized by Communities of Color to survive and resist macro and micro-forms of oppression.

We must enlist community definitions and concepts into our teaching,

because the concepts and definitions utilized by westernized educational

institutions do not always reflect how communities conceptualize ways of

knowing, being, or doing things.

Funds of Knowledge

Moll, Amanti, Neff & Gonzalez,1992, p. 133

[H]istorically accumulated and culturally developed bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household or individual functioning and well-being.

It is imperative that we work with respect, with responsiveness, and in relationship to bring humanity back into education,

so students can achieve and contribute the gifts that they have.

As teachers we have to think of students’ futures as being linked to our own futures, their well being has an impact on our own well-being.

They are our children.

Our culturally responsive practice must be a practice of knowing the

communities from where our students come from. Not knowing in terms of only location, but knowing

the values, beliefs and knowledges of the communities.

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