Creating A Culturally Responsive Learning Environment Essay Examples

The classroom is decorated with only the following materials: a clock, a map of the United States, pictures of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, the alphabet and a banner of all numerals from 1 – 10. It sounds like the room is rather bare and dull.
A classroom where a student spends most of his day should be attractive and comfortable. It should be a place where the students can feel at home and welcome. How can learning go on if the room is uninspiring?
If the minority students are not doing well in this teacher’s classroom it might be because they feel out of place, not welcome and maybe like a fifth wheel if the classroom environment does not reflect their heritage too. The classroom environment should show a little bit of every subject at given times. Bulletin boards should be a showcase of students’ academic excellence and also their artwork.
It is the job of the teacher to make each and every student feel welcome and special. Each student has a special gift to contribute to the class. The teacher should provide an environment where each student not only has the opportunity to shine but feel that he wants to make that contribution and be noticed and celebrated. I recall when I was in Grade 4, there was a Portuguese student who did not get very good grades. The teacher had kind of written him off until one day we went to a conservation area for outdoor education. It quickly became evident that the Portuguese boy knew a great deal about nature. He knew about the habitats of most birds and spiders, wild turkeys and moths. He became the leader of our group and our perception of him changed. We all looked up to him for being so smart. He was a great deal happier after that and the teacher called upon him more often. He began to blossom.
If the minority student comes from another country, perhaps the map of the world could have a pin to show where the student comes from. Each student in the class could make a poster of where their family originally came from, as everyone in North America is an immigrant from somewhere else unless they are of Native American descent.
If the classroom is colourfully decorated and reflects the efforts of the students then it will be a place where students will love to come each day, where they will be happy to learn and try something new; where they’ll be inspired and creative. That’s what learning is supposed to be about.