"That`s Not Me!": Decorating the Classroom to Be Culturally Inclusive
In Chapter 9 of “Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain”, Hammond discusses the importance of creating a community atmosphere within the classroom that is culturally responsive. The classroom aesthetic is a vital contributor to the environment the students find themselves in. Hammond stresses that, despite its ease, decorating with “prepackaged ‘multicultural’ bulletin board cut-outs or standard ethnic ‘heroes’ posters”(144) sends negative nonverbal messages about who and what is accepted in the classroom. These tend to enforce harmful stereotypes and are recognized by students as a cheap attempt at diversity and inclusion. As teachers, we want our classroom aesthetic to be both welcoming and also encouraging of discussion about what pieces we display. Hammond clarifies that these responses to our environment are not merely emotional but triggered by automatic responses in our brains. She states that when our neuroceptive mechanisms “read the environme...