Part I

1. This semester, I have made the most personal growth in the

disposition of Responsibility and Capacity to be Culturally
Responsive. Before taking any of the Teachers College courses, I
knew that it was important to get to know our students, but I
never realized how important it was to also understand their
backgrounds and where they came from. Villegas and Lucas say
that there are six salient qualities of a culturally responsive
teacher: understanding how learners construct knowledge,
learning about students lives, being socioculturally conscious,
holding affirming views about diversity, using appropriate
instructional strategies, and advocating for all students (Villegas
and Lucas, 2007).
2. In my classroom, culturally responsive teaching will be displayed
by the simple act of me showing my students that I am
interested in their interests. Marzano wrote that, virtually
anything you do to show interest in students as individuals has a
positive impact on their learning. For example, being aware of
and commenting on important events in students lives, such as
participation in sports, drama, or other extracurricular activities
(NYU Steinhardt, 2008). Academic achievement will be embodied
in my classroom through the work of my students. I will
challenge them to be successful in their pursuit of a college
education; however, it is my job, as a Social Studies teacher, to
educate them on what it means to be outstanding citizens in
their own communities.
3. I will use professional competencies to drive the relationships
that I have with students, parents, and colleagues. First, it starts
with my interpersonal awareness. In order to build relationships, I
need to be willing to understand the viewpoints of others. If I
continuously stick to my own perspective, then it will be
impossible to build relationships at the school Im teaching at.
Secondly, suspending judgment is necessary to build
relationships, not only in the classroom, but also in any
environment. We all come from different backgrounds and have
our own archetypes and biases; however, if I am going to be a
successful teacher I need to get to know my students, their
parents, and my colleagues without my judgments. Thirdly,
asset-based thinking focuses on the positives of all situations. It
is important to acknowledge what positives people bring in all
situations. For example, if a student is misbehaving in your
classroom do not hesitate to contact their parents to see what
works best to correct the students behavior because the parent

knows their child better than you do. Finally, being a locus of
control is key to successful teaching. There are going to be
instances throughout my career that I cannot control. I need to
focus my attention on the things that I can control. If a student
comes into my classroom with a bad attitude, the only thing I can
do is ensure that that students comes into an environment that
he/she knows they are comfortable and if it makes their attitude
improve then thats great, but if it doesnt I need to understand
that there are other factors in students lives that we do not
witness.
4. The most important way to demonstrate Culturally Responsive
Teaching is by getting to know my students. It is impossible to be
a culturally responsive teacher without knowing your students
backgrounds. Also, I will make lessons relevant to their lives.