Withstanding Opposition to Culturally Responsive Teaching
Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) has gained much attention over the past several years. It is an unconventional pedagogy for educating Black and Brown students that incorporates content, and strategies that connect with who they are to help them succeed academically. Furthermore, CRT centers educating the whole child with a strong emphasis of caring for students to impact the affective domain. However, there has been consistent resistance to CRT due to misconceptions, lack of knowledge, minimal research of its impact on student achievement, and systemic barriers (Gay, 2018; Sleeter, 2012). As teachers embrace culturally responsive teaching as a significant pedagogy, it is important that they withstand opposition to its implementation and impact on the education of Black and Brown students.
One of the most common misconceptions about CRT is its value in education. And I am always baffled by this misconception. First, anti-Black educators, politicians, and Caucasian community members, who carry this disposition, must understand that the achievement of Black and Brown students has been, persistently, low in the United States and there have been minimal approaches to effectively improve student outcomes. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was a federal initiative that left more Black and Brown students behind than impacting their achievement. Title 1 funds are not enough and often spent on initiatives that lack effectiveness to impact student achievement (Howard, 2024). Thus, a strategy is needed that directly penetrates students’ learning to increase their achievement and culturally responsive teaching does that. Research has indicated that culturally responsive teaching works when implemented across all content areas (Aronson & Laughter, 2016). So to question its value is purposeless. The achievement of children should be the sole focus in education. Race should not play a role in the success or lack therefore of for Black and Brown children. Furthermore, the lack of achievement of Black and Brown students should not only concern the Black and Brown communities, however, Caucasian educators should be just as concerned. Therefore, to withstand the opposition to CRT’s value educators must cultivate their understanding of CRT. They must learn the principles and benefits, so they are armed with facts to advocate for CRT and address the misconceptions.
Next, many educators are concerned about the challenges when implementing CRT and the fear of making mistakes (Gay, 2018). Teachers struggle with discussing controversial topics and defer to “safe topics” to avoid offending students or making cultural missteps. These concerns create anxiety and cause teachers to avert incorporating CRT into their classrooms. Furthermore, they focus on surface level content and disregard issues that are of most concern to their students. Thus, to resist personal opposition teachers must understand that culturally responsive teaching is a consistent commitment. They must have patience in learning a new pedagogy and cultivate their knowledge and competencies over time. Teachers should intentionally seek out CRT professional development, engage with like-minded educators as well as read books by CRT scholars. The more teachers learn about CRT, the more they can anticipate challenges, and take risks in the classroom.
Moreover, another form of resistance occurs when teachers refuse to implement CRT without knowledge of guaranteed success (Gay, 2018). There have been minimal studies that linked CRT to student learning outcomes, however, Aronson and Laughter’s (2016) seminal research on the impact of CRT on student performance has validated its purpose, and effect in education. CRT has been found to increase motivation, engagement, performance, build positive relationships, bridge the gap between home and school as well as expand students’ cross cultural knowledge (Aronson & Laughter, 2016, Borrero & Sanchez; Samuels, 2018; Yuan & Jiang, 2019). The impact of CRT is multidimensional. Therefore, to withstand personal opposition teachers must learn about CRT. As the saying goes, “you can’t knock it until you try it.” There are significant benefits to its implementation. Teachers can not continue with outdated practices of the past. Teaching is a profession that requires one to “go above and beyond.” That is the only way to be successful and the achievement of Black and Brown students is an imperative and lack of guarantee is an avoidance strategy to disenfranchise students more.
Lastly, systemic barriers such as Eurocentric dominated curricula and standardized testing tensions cause resistance to CRT. Conventional curricula often lack diverse perspectives and materials, making it challenging for teachers to incorporate culturally responsive content. Many teachers struggle to find materials that reflect the diverse backgrounds of their students. In addition, standardized testing and state standards can restrict the autonomy teachers have in their curriculum. Educators might feel pressured to adhere strictly to established content to ensure their students perform well on standardized tests, leaving little room for culturally responsive teaching. Thus, teachers must be intentional about integrating diverse perspectives, contributions and heritages into the curriculum. Teachers must seek out CRT networks, and online platforms to acquire resources and strategies to build their CRT repertoire. Moreover, teachers must get out of their comfort zones and advocate for curriculum reform for easier integration of CRT content.
