Teachers: Practicing Culturally Responsive Education

Main Ideas, Concepts, and Lessons

• Model culturally responsive education (CRE) through human-centered instruction

  • The speaker says their sessions are designed to model what educators should do in their classrooms.
  • Instruction begins by placing the human being before the content, rather than jumping straight into academic definitions.

• Use storytelling and guided questions to initiate difficult conversations

  • CRE starts with storytelling and sharing experiences.
  • Example guiding prompts mentioned:
    • “Did you have conversations about race growing up?”
    • “Did your teachers look like you?”
    • “What was that like?”
    • “When have you seen issues of racism or racial … in your life?”
  • Purpose: break through discomfort first, before formal content (definitions) is introduced.

• Teach and name concepts even when they feel “taboo”

  • The speaker emphasizes that students/community discussions often already occur at home, even if schools avoid them.
  • They argue there is no aligned shared definition in the country for:
    • what racism is (systemic vs. individual behavior/ideas)
    • what race is
  • CRE requires educators to question why school ideas and standards are framed the way they are, and to ask:
    • where these ideas come from
    • what history they’re rooted in

• Connect school “standards,” “canon,” and language goals to power and exclusion

  • The speaker states that many dominant ideas are rooted in white supremacy and white culture.
  • As society becomes “more Brown,” they argue educators can’t claim justice while still leaving out:
    • other perspectives
    • voices of groups historically excluded from education

• Normalize race/racism/white supremacy as legitimate educational topics

  • The speaker describes coming from a background where violence, policing, and racial dynamics were “the norm.”
  • In workplaces/classrooms, it was initially “taboo” to say the words—so part of the work is creating space where educators/students can say and discuss:
    • “race”
    • “racism”
    • “white supremacy”
  • They note that over time they’ve seen greater openness to these conversations in sessions.

• Shift from “sticking to the curriculum” toward using curriculum as a vehicle for inclusion

  • The speaker says they learned they don’t have to stick rigidly to the prescribed curriculum.
  • Example: during “Native American History Month,” they were required to incorporate learning experiences no matter what they were teaching.
  • Initial reaction: feeling pushed to think outside the box when the content didn’t seem directly related (e.g., they were teaching the rock cycle).

• Use local real-time events to make learning relevant and student-driven

  • When pipeline protests were happening, the speaker designed a rock cycle unit connecting:
    • where the North Dakota pipeline access is located geographically
    • what types of rocks might be along that pipeline
  • Students were highly engaged and wanted to continue.
  • They also used student videos from activists (students their students’ age).
  • They then played videos/stories about why neighborhoods/homes matter and why what was happening was wrong.
  • Lesson conveyed: teachers learn too, and students benefit when learning reflects real-time lived realities.

• In STEM (science/math), make learning accessible by starting with learners’ experience

  • The speaker describes how earlier learning experiences made them fear big scientific words (e.g., “photosynthesis”).
  • CRE approach in STEM involves beginning with the student’s mindset and understanding before content delivery:
    • prompting students to recall times they understood something that they didn’t at first
    • focusing on the feeling of working through not understanding
    • encouraging belief that learning is possible and shared (not an individual deficiency)
  • They also highlight teacher vulnerability: teachers sharing they also don’t know something.
  • Claimed effect: research shows students learn more with vulnerable teachers.

• Bring cultural narratives into science rather than treating STEM as separate

  • Example framing:
    • “What’s on the blocks around me?”
    • discussing plants (like roses) and concrete
  • Lesson: start with community/cultural context, then move into academic logistics/content.
  • CRE goal: ensure learners get opportunities to be researchers/investigators with curiosity, even if they aren’t “science scientists.”

• CRE is not a one-time “fix”; it’s the ongoing teaching process

  • The speaker pushes back on “Fix-It” approaches (easy add-ons like a poster or a single tangible curriculum change).
  • CRE is described as:
    • an ongoing process
    • requiring educators to do ongoing “research” into pedagogy and culturally responsive practices
  • Final takeaway: “you are the work”—CRE improvement is lifelong, but educators can manage it by remembering teaching is the process that grows over time.

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Methodology / Instructional Approach (Detailed)

A) Start CRE learning with relationship-first and experience-first strategies

• Place human experience before content.
• Begin with storytelling and sharing (teacher and/or student stories).
• Ask reflective questions such as:
  • Were there conversations about race growing up?
  • Did teachers look like you?
  • What was it like?
  • When have you seen racism in your life?
• Use these conversations to pierce the veil of discomfort before introducing definitions.

B) Teach foundational concepts explicitly, including systemic explanations

• Provide definitions/content for:
  • race
  • racism
  • racism as systemic vs. individual behavior/ideas
• Address the fact that society does not have a unified definition, so educators must clarify and teach.

C) Make taboo language legitimate in the classroom

• Practice saying and discussing:
  • race
  • racism
  • white supremacy
• Reduce fear/avoidance so educators and students can “leap into” the conversation.
• Build openness over time (the speaker notes progress after initial sessions/year).

D) Use curriculum flexibly; embed cultural learning even when it seems unrelated

• Don’t treat the curriculum as the only pathway.
• When honoring required themes (e.g., Native American History Month):
  • incorporate cultural history/knowledge into daily instruction regardless of the unit topic.
• If learners are studying something like the rock cycle:
  • connect the concept to relevant local geography and contemporary community issues.

E) Anchor academic learning to local communities and current events

• Identify ongoing real-time issues affecting students/community.
• Design units that integrate:
  • location/context (e.g., pipeline access geography)
  • scientific/academic content (e.g., types of rocks)
  • student activism perspectives (e.g., videos created by students)
• Give space for students’ voices:
  • what they care about
  • why their neighborhoods/homes matter
  • why actions/events are harmful or unjust

F) In STEM, reduce fear of content by starting with student experience and mindset

• Before teaching the academic content, prompt:
  • a time they understood something after not understanding at first
  • how it felt to work through confusion
• Normalize learning as iterative (“it’s not just me”).
• Include teacher vulnerability:
  • model uncertainty and willingness to not know.

G) Bring cultural narratives into “typical” STEM lessons

• Start lessons with what students recognize locally/community-based imagery.
• Use relatable examples (e.g., plants growing in concrete).
• Then transition into the formal content (“more content logistics”).

H) Treat CRE as ongoing pedagogy research and lifelong practice

• Avoid relying on one-off “Fix-It” items.
• Approach CRE as:
  • ongoing personal learning
  • continual research into culturally responsive pedagogy
• Remember: teaching improvement comes through practice over time.

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Speakers / Sources Featured

• Speaker (unnamed in subtitles): The primary educator/organizer discussing culturally responsive education, their CRE workshops/sessions, and examples from their classroom.
• Students (referenced as sources in examples):
  • Students filmed/created videos about protests/activism during the North Dakota pipeline access period.
  • Students sharing perspectives on their homes/neighborhoods and why events are wrong.