"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 environmental cues as threatening because of a cultural mismatch or subtle microaggressions, the brain goes on alert and triggers stress-producing defensive strategies”(144). Our brains are wired to scan our environment continuously with the purpose of evaluating its threat level to us. Hammond recommends strategies towards decorating the classroom in a culturally responsive way to promote community and discussion; one could seek out art prints of international artists or diagrams from inventors of color, as well as decorating with authentic textiles and borrowed artwork from members of the community, specifically parents of the students.
Another way to create a culturally responsive community is to establish routines and rituals which highlight other cultures while bringing the classroom together. My two youngest siblings attended a public Waldorf elementary school, which focuses on learning through play and community. Their entire curriculum is structured around teaching their students about other cultures and building a responsive atmosphere; one example would be their history curriculum. Each semester throughout elementary school, the students would learn about the history and folk tales of a different cultures. They also would begin each week with learning a song from that culture and would sing it while changing classes or beginning their day. The school took many opportunities to invite parents and artists from different cultures in the school community to teach the students and faculty about important celebrations, traditions, or culture-specific art. The structure of this school provided a wonderful example of creating a culturally responsive atmosphere within the classroom, one that was welcoming towards all of its community members. (400 words)
“When our nociceptive mechanisms confirm that our surroundings are physically, socially, and intellectually safe, we go into a state of relaxed alertness and are primed for learning” (144). The first thing our brains do when we get into a new environment, they look to see if there is any danger around that could harm us. We are not able to comprehend anything until we know we are safe in the environment. As teachers, we also need to think about how we want our classrooms to look. We do not want the room to be too crowded because there would be too much going on in the classroom for the students to be able to focus on one thing at a time. Hammond lists multiple ways to find authentic cultural elements that add real value to the classroom. “Use color or artistic styles representing students’ culture as a visual backdrop on bulletin boards year round. Incorporate them into art activities” (145). I believe this is the most important thing a teacher can do in their classroom. This helps students feel comfortable in the environment to learn, and it also brings safety to the students because it is something that they know well; it gives them the sense of warmth from their culture.
ReplyDeleteAs a young and soon to be teacher, I must admit classroom environment was unfortunately an oversight when thinking about my future career. Shopping on Lakeshore learning, I have browsed through hundreds of aesthetically pleasing, yet extremely non-inclusive classroom decorations. As Hammond has previously discussed, there are numerous bodily pre-cursors, that will inhibit the student from properly learning if they are not comfortable, whether this relates to the instructors attitude, fellow classmates, or the environment. As culturally responsive instructors, it is vital that we do the proper research, and dive deeper into aligning our classrooms set up with an inclusive, and diverse range of art and tools, that will allow for students cultures and backgrounds to be heard and displayed. As you pinpointed, this is not simply purchasing surface level posters, with extremely generic and popular quotes. This involves doing the proper research and finding specific works from inventors of color, or international artists, to bring light to their contributions to education and to "Create the right ethos to set the social and emotional tone" (Hammond 143). While ensuring that your classroom is physically inclusive, it must also be emotionally inclusive. In the text, Hammond mentions an example of a young Latino student silently weeping in the classroom, and no one in the room rose up and provided aid. This is sickening. Elementary students in some cases spend more time in the physical classroom, than they do awake and alert in their own homes. If students are being emotionally neglected in their classroom environment, how can they be expected to feel comfortable and actively participate on a daily basis? As instructors, it is our duty to ensure that our classroom environment provides the tools to empower our students, and allow them to feel that they are apart of a safe community.
ReplyDeleteWord Count: 301
Carly Crone
ReplyDeleteSarah I love how in depth you go as to why the prepackaged cultural posters and “heroes” posters are not enough. We must actually create and take steps to move towards creating a culturally responsive classroom and community. Although some posters are aesthetically pleasing, it could cause an emotional trigger in the students mind. As Hammond mentioned, our RAS is scanning everything at all times and takes in hundreds of sensory ques constantly. If our brain picks up any microaggressions or triggers, it is going to make the student be thrown into an amygdala hijack. I never imagined that a poster could cause such chaos for our students. We really must understand our students and what could cause them stress. (I also love how this chapter yet again connects to the importance of understanding how our student’s brains work). I love how Hammond recommends bringing family imput into the decor of the classroom. As that will make students feel prideful that something that is special to them is in the classroom. Like I said before, I had no idea that the decorations and posters I use in my room could make such a different environment for my students, and it is something that I will implement when I create my classroom.
Word Count: 211
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteYou have provided a variety of important information in your blog post! I agree with your statement that we as teachers need to create an environment that is not only welcoming but also encouraging towards the students. A classroom is more than just decorations hung up on bulletin boards. Students get distracted easily so it is important to not have too much going on for them to not be able to focus on the lesson being taught. Before decorating a classroom, teachers should do some research on their students and provide the room with appropriate décor that allows for the children’s backgrounds to be heard. Not only should the classroom be decorated to be welcoming and encouraging but created to make the students feel safe. We don’t know what is going on in a student’s household, but we do know how we can make them feel in the classroom. Hammond stated in this chapter, “The classroom has to be designed around talk and task structures that allow students to define the people they see themselves becoming” (Hammond, 2017, 148). I thought this quote was very important because the classroom is more than just decorations. They should have the chance to express who they are and how special each and every one of them are. (Word Count, 217)