Please answer the following questions in essay form, citing only the attached references.
This week, consider how all the assigned readings and viewings are conversing on culture, equity, power, influence, socialization, and identity. How are these related to each other, and what are some ways in which you see yourself interacting with them in your professional practice?
What do we mean when we talk about “culture”? Even though you may have thought about this concept, what new or deepened understandings or insights are you gaining from these readings and videos?
What does being a culturally responsive, proficient, fluent, and equity-oriented educator mean?
What do these readings ask you to grapple with when considering your teaching practice?
What difference in emphasis does “responsive, proficient, or fluent” suggest concerning culture and teaching?
What might be useful or limiting about each of these descriptor adjectives?
What are the challenges or even “dangers” of talking about “culture”?
Why do some educators deny that cultural differences exist or matter, a claim that classrooms can be “culture-free” or “culture-neutral”? What and who is lost when we do this? What and who is protected when we do this?
In addition, what is essential to understand “the deficit paradigm of culture” when thinking about culture and equity in schools and classrooms?
