Review of Chartock's Strategies and Lessons for Culturally Responsive Teaching

Running head: REVIEWING A PRIMER ON CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING 1

Reviewing a Primer on Culturally Responsive Teaching

Eric B. Wells

University of Central Florida

REVIEWING A PRIMER ON CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING 2

Strategies and Lessons for Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Primer for K-12 Teachers

sets out to provide preparing and practicing teachers with effective ways to teach every student

in a way that works for them through culturally relevant practice. It purports that schools should

be institutions that “act according to the principles of multicultural awareness, acceptance,

appreciation, and action....[and that the work of teachers] open the minds and hearts of students

and inspire them…to make a difference in their schools, their communities, and the world”

(Chartock, 2010, p. x). Chartock sees teachers as change agents working for social justice. This

book is her effort to help teachers effect that change.

The meat of the book is found in over 40 lessons that the author developed over her years

in the classroom. These lessons all work towards developing culturally responsive teaching

practice within a specific area, which include: becoming a culturally responsive teacher, building

the classroom-as-community, increasing knowledge about diversity, reducing prejudice,

addressing diversity and the needs of English Language Learners, and increasing global

perspectives. This book is laid out in an efficient and useful organizational pattern. Following

the introduction, each chapter revolves around one of the above themes on being or becoming a

culturally responsive teacher. Within each chapter, Chartock highlights some of the relevant

research regarding that theme, lays out principles that should guide culturally responsive

teachers, and then provides between five and eight lessons and up to two units that will help

teachers instruct students in those areas in a culturally responsive manner. The organizational

structure is definitely one of the highlights of this book as it makes the material immediately

accessible for any teacher interested in using it.

Chartock’s introduction provides the reader with a brief primer on the background of

culturally responsive teaching and some foundational definitions for the book. She also


discusses some principles and myths surrounding culturally responsive teaching and dispels the

“misconception…that it is mainly the poverty in which many children live that accounts for their

failure in school” (Chartock, 2010, p.3). For a related resource, Chartock points us to a news

article from the Washington Post that also discusses myths about diverse schools (Mathews,

2004). While most of the myths are likely commonly held, and all seem to revolve around the

theme that schools with diverse populations are less than their homogenous (read: affluent,

white) counterparts, in my opinion, the most interesting myth Mathews (2004) notes is that

“minority parents don’t care about the education of their children” (Myth 7). Having worked in

a school that has a high percentage of Hispanic students for the past six years, it is evident to me

that this is a ridiculous myth that could not stand up to anyone’s experience with minority

parents. I found it interesting because, in a recent discussion with Zachary Walker, who is a

doctoral candidate in education and is widely involved with international education (currently

working for the International Bureau of Education, and has worked with education systems,

students, and parents in multiple countries—including the very poorest), one of the core themes

he has noted in his work is that all parents, regardless of demography, want their child to do well

in their education (personal communication, June 11, 2011).

In the chapter on becoming a culturally responsive teacher, Chartock sets the foundation

for the book by offering readers a chance to explore their own beliefs and attitudes about

diversity. The goal here is clear: we cannot be sensitive towards and understanding of others’

cultures if we are not sensitive towards and understanding of our beliefs and attitudes towards

culture and, indeed, our own culture. Chartock also presents a brief history of multicultural

education, as a subset of culturally responsive teaching. She interestingly noted that

multicultural education began as a reflection of increasing diversity of students in classrooms


across America, but has evolved into an effort to meet the needs of these diverse learners. I

found this an interesting parallel to the history of special education: when first being established,

the goals of special education were access-oriented. Pioneer special education advocates wanted

to ensure that all students with disabilities were able to receive an education. This was enshrined

in law (P.L. 94-142), and since then the focus has become one of a quality education that is

based on the diverse needs of students with disabilities. Likewise, Chartock indicates that

multicultural education followed a similar access to quality trajectory. The lessons in this

chapter were geared towards use for pre-service and in-service teachers, but could also be used

with students. Given the goal of this chapter, it seems useful that the first lesson provided is a

cultural autobiography and identity collage. In completing this assignment, teachers gain a better

understanding of their approach to teaching through analysis of their own cultural identity and

reflection on what that identity means for their teaching.

It is worth mentioning a brief note on “Lesson 6: Do You See What I See?” as well. This

lesson allows participants to examine the effect their frames of reference have on the way they

see the world. Perception is of critical importance to education (and culture); how I perceive my

life’s experiences forms the basis of my reality. For it to work for me, your educational

approach has to mesh with my perception(s) of reality. Lessons such as “Do You See What I

See?” allow us to challenge our perceptions and “[learn] to see, albeit dimly, through the haze of

[our] own cultural lenses” (Delpit, 2006, p. xxv).

Chartock also devotes time to advocating for classrooms that function as communities.

Cooperative learning and conflict resolution are offered as two potential catalysts for developing

“the school as a form of community that school[s] the child for a role as a full-fledged member

of a democratic society” (Driscoll, 1995, as cited in Chartock, 2010, p. 57). A primary principle


to develop classrooms able to meet that goal involves—aside from some necessary cautions

regarding a small subset of overly needy parents—getting parents involved in a meaningful way

in the educational experience of their children. One resource that could be helpful in inhering

meaningful cooperative learning activities into daily instructional practice is Vermette’s (1998)

Making Cooperative Learning Work: Student Teams in K-12 Classrooms. This would be an

ideal complementary resource to Chartock’s text because both focus on pragmatic, real-world

application of learning theory (where Chartock focuses on cultural-responsiveness, Vermette

focuses on social-constructivism). Vermette’s work is an outstanding resource that is sure to

help any teacher develop cooperative learning groups that work for students of all cultures.

The book continues to discuss strategies used to increase knowledge about diversity,

which revolves around different microcultures. These microcultures could be based on “race,

religion, ethnicity, class, gender (and sexual orientation), language, and exceptionality”

(Chartock, 2010, p. xiii). Chartock’s definition of diversity confirmed for me the broad scope

that “diversity” can include. While it is often thought of in terms of racial differences, diversity

includes much more. Even with what I would have considered a broad view of diversity, I

probably would not have included exceptionality. While it is perfectly logical, and I will add

that particular label to my diversity definition going forward, my emotional response to the issue

of disability results in my defending the similarities between people with and without disabilities

rather than emphasizing their diversity. That does not mean the differences do not exist, and I

am grateful that Chartock made that point.

I was also very grateful for the “Pyramid of Hate” that was included in Chapter Five,

which dealt with ways to reduce prejudice (and, in doing so, reduce the problems—like those on

the pyramid—that result). A copy of that figure (5.3) will be hanging in my classroom next year


to help students visualize that what they perceive as harmless (insensitive remarks, name-calling,

etc.; the lower levels of the pyramid), stem from the same hatred that has led to horrible

atrocities—towards individuals and groups—throughout history; the difference is one of scale,

not scope. It would also be an excellent starting point for the inter-disciplinary unit that

Chartock shares on “A Comparative Study of Genocide” (2010, p. 136). This is a great example

of a unit that ties in the ability for student interest to drive instruction with cultural relevance and

state standards (in two subjects no less!). It does this in the context of the cooperative learning

groups that Chartock noted as important at the outset of the book.

The final two chapters of the book clearly demonstrate the trend towards a global

civilization. While chapter six deals with international students in the United States (that being

students whose first language is not English), chapter seven looks at ways to expand the

knowledge-base of American students beyond our borders. Chapter six goes back to the

importance of perception. Chartock notes a guiding principle that a teacher’s perception of his or

her English-Language Learners relates directly to their academic performance. She also points

out that “few schools have programs designed to address the language needs of ELLs” (2010, p.

145). I do not have numbers that would refute this assertion, but it seems as though there are a

lot of services provided on behalf of ELLs. Perhaps the fact that I teach in Florida, however—

where all teachers have professional development requirements to complete in this area—skews

my view of this issue.

One of the initiatives my school is implementing next year is collaborative, inter-

disciplinary units planned during the Professional Learning Community meeting times. As a

leader within the school, I would use the unit plans in this book as examples of ways this could

be done in a culturally responsive manner. Because a lot of professional time and effort will go


into planning these units, and because they will impact students in multiple classes throughout

their school day, it is even more imperative that the planning is done in a manner that ensures

reverence for students’ cultural needs. Unfortunately, as there are only so many required

readings that can be given for a school year, this book would probably not make it into a book

study style professional development activity. However, given the accessibility of the material, I

would still likely provide each inter-disciplinary PLC with a copy of this book and ask them to

review the unit plans, “steal” what they can, and find ways to incorporate the book’s principles

into their final unit plans.


References

Chartock, R. K. (2009). Strategies and Lessons for Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Primer

for K-12 Teachers. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Delpit, L. (2006). Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York: The

New Press.

Driscoll, M.E. (1995). Thinking like a fish, the implications of the image of school community

for connections between parents and schools. In P.W. Cookson, Jr. & B. Schneider

(Eds.), Transforming Schools (pp. 209-236). New York: Garland Publishing.

Mathews, J. (2004, August 3). Seven myths about diverse schools. The Washington Post.

Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com

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Review of Chartock's Strategies and Lessons for Culturally Responsive Teaching