Ashley Kunkle

Week 2- Reflective Essay

Culture and Inclusion
Building the Bridge
I like to see myself as a bridge builder, that is me building bridges between people,
between races, between cultures, between politics, trying to find common ground.
T.D. Jakes
Over the years of teaching, my viewpoints have changed when it comes to culture
and education. Being of the culture of power as defined by Delpit, I was oblivious to
many of my inherent privileges of my raising in a white, middle-class city. Before
learning more about other cultures, I was the teacher who thought her students just
werent trying enough and that the parents needed to care more about their students
education. Never once did I consider the culture barriers of my students learning; I
merely thought they didnt try hard enough. Now, after living overseas for two years and
then becoming a teacher in California with a high Hispanic population, my eyes have
been opened to the importance of culture in education. As the quote stated above, I have
become a bridge builder. Before, I stood on one side of the bridge and waited for my
students to cross to my side. Now with the context and experience of other cultures, I try
to bridge that gap, as stated by Jakes, by bringing the culture of my students into the
lessons because for a true education, culture must be a part.
Culture and education can no longer be separated. In recent years, this increase in
minority students has led to an increase of diversity in education. As educators, it is our
job to provide an environment for learning, in which the student is comfortable and can

actually learn! Part of this is including their language into the curriculum. During my first
year of teaching in California, I went through the SEI training with my district. During
this training I learned about many techniques and strategies to implement in my
classroom to promote English language growth all while valuing the first language of my
students, typically Spanish. The SEI program training taught me that my students may
use up to 20% of their first language to learn the new material. This means my students
are allowed to infuse their culture (language) with their education. As Gay states A
persons humanity cannot be isolated or divorced from his or her culture or ethnicity.
With this in mind, why would I ask students to abandon their first language when they
come in to my classroom? I held this philosophy also during my first years of teaching in
Bahrain. My school wanted students to only speak English in English taught classes. I
found this detrimental to their learning because some of the students needed the
discussion in Arabic before they could solidify their thoughts in English. Also, while I
was in Bahrain, I taught debate. If the students could debate about topics that interested
them or were a part of their culture, they were more willing to complete the research and
they had more passion for the debate.
One of the eye opening readings from this week was Delpit and her discussion
about the Silenced Dialogue. As I stated previously, before, I waited for my students to
cross the bridge. I never really thought of my African-American students being a
completely different culture than myself. I just thought they were Americans who were
down on their luck and that they chose to stay in that lifestyle. They chose to speak the
improper English and they chose to not pick themselves up and change their
circumstances. I guess this is easier said for a girl of privilege than a girl of non-privilege.

Through all of Delpits dialogues I have come to the realization that this is their culture.
They cannot help it. It is a part of their culture; it is how they were raised and what they
were surrounded by. The realization was further unfolded to me even more through
Bowmans article from the previous week. I kept thinking of the nature vs. nurture
philosophy. Nature: each child has the ability to learn and they have potential. Nurture:
the community shapes his or her language abilities emotional, social ties bind children
first to their caregivers and then to others in their group providing the impetus to think,
feel, and behave like them (Bowman, 2). Children are sponges. They will act as they are
taught. If a child is taught to act a certain way because of the culture they are raised in,
we as teachers need to recognize and celebrate these differences and take them for their
value. As Delpit says, just because a student does it differently than the norm, doesnt
mean it is wrong: I wonder how many teachers know that their black students are
prolific and fluent writers of rap songs. I wonder how many teachers realize the verbal
creativity and fluency of black kids (Delpit, 39).
In my classroom today, it is my duty, as a teacher, to learn about where my
students come from. What is their culture? What drives them to succeed? How can I
make my class relevant to their personal lives? Making the class relevant to their personal
lives makes a huge difference. The education system, as it is, is a very white, middle
class system. Many of my students do not belong to this culture; therefore, I need to
make the white education applicable to their own culture for them to value it. I need to
find ways to infuse their families, stories and traditions into the classroom to help them
see why it is important. I need to show them how this education will help further their
growth in the future; how it will help them in high school and beyond, whether that be in

college or in trade school. I need to build the bridge for my students to cross between my
culture and their culture. And, instead of waiting for them on the opposite side, I need to
find ways to meet them in the middle.

Works Cited
Bowman, Barbara T. Cultural Diversity and Academic Achievement. North Central
Region Educational Library, 2004. Web. 1 August 2015.
Gay, Geneva. A Synthesis of Scholarship in Multicultural Education. North Central
Regional Education Laboratory, 1994. Web. 7 August 2015.
Delpit, Lisa. Other Peoples Children. New York, The New Press, 2006. Print.