CUSS+-+Beverley

= __Cultural Literacy__ =

**Definition**
Succinctly put, **“ Know thyself and others. ”** (see full reference below; pg. 21.Schmidt, Patricia Ruggiano & Ma, Wen. 2006) The goal is effective communication in a culturally diverse context and ultimately, in the global village. This includes the many aspects of cultural identity - origin, ethnicity, race, language, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability. To teach cultural literacy, teachers deconstruct their own identities and use strategies to invite diverse voices into the classroom. Another term, perhaps synonymous, is Cultural Competence. To move in the direction of competence we travel along a continuum, usually attributed to James A. Banks (2004). ** 1. **** CULTURAL DESTRUCTIVENESS **// Intentionally maintains inequity // ** 2. **** CULTURAL INCAPACITY **// Not intentional but maintains the status quo // ** 3. **** CULTURAL BLINDNESS **// Expresses a philosophy of being non-biased // ** 4. **** EMERGING CULTURAL COMPETENCE **// Recognizes diversity & inequity and attempts some // // improvements // ** 5. **** BASIC CULTURAL COMPETENCE **// Accepts & respects differences, recognizes need for systemic // // change // ** 6. **** ADVANCED CULTURAL COMPETENCE **// Holds culture in high esteem. Ongoing individual & institutional // // change to address equity based on informed decision making // Source: Lee, Kathryn A., Cosby, Brandon and Baca, Christine D. Cultural Responsiveness, Indiana Civil Rights Commission Education Steering Committee. April 2004. pg. 5 at [] Cultural Literacy overlaps with critical literacy as it identifies stereotypes, unveils assumptions, and challenges private interest. It pervades almost everything we do as educators as we strive to be inclusive. For a description of a "Culturally Literate Student" see Resources below. And for the official definition, please refer to:
 * Cultural Competence Continuum **
 * OSLA's Together for Learning, pg. 20 []

** Library Activities **
1. **__ What’s in a Name? __** Read stories about names such as,. TheName Jar by Yangsook Choi. Random House. 2003 Then, pair up students to share anything significant about their names – who gave them the name, does it have a special meaning, etc. Have students share with group what their partner said. Extension: Check out this site for a list of questions to guide discussion about the Name Jar [] Authors, Sarah Hopson, Site developed with the assistance of the [|Squire Family Foundation] and [|Mount Holyoke College] by [|Jake Wartenberg]. Content is available under [|Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported].

** 2. ****__ Which one is the Princess? __**  · Show pictures of girls with a variety of physical features; Ask, “Which one is the princess?.” “How do you know?” · Read Nutmeg Princess by Richardo Keens-Douglas. Toronto, ON: Annick Press, 1992. · Show the original pictures again. Ask them if their answers might be different now. Lead discussion on stereotyping and prejudice according to student level. · Older students, extension: show version of White Doll Black Doll video. White Doll Black Doll Experiments [] [] [] How is the thinking in the video like the way we think about princesses? Why / How does this prejudicial way of thinking happen?

3. **__ Select, Promote and Display Diverse Resources __** Some of this is too obvious to mention, but in our very diverse school these things help: · Develop and advertise the multilingual collection · Remind (TDSB) teachers at the beginning of each month about the multicultural character trait stories on the Story Values website. · Share cool sites such as this International Children’s Digital Library. []. It gives free access to ebooks in MANY languages (sorry, no audio).

4. **__ Family Outreach __** As we envision a learning commons where users create the space, it’s surprising where parents might take us… · ** Family Library Hours ** “Do you have any Anansi books? My grandfather used to tell Anansi stories to all of us children, sitting outside, under the moon…” “Can I borrow that Hennah book? … Let’s have a hennah party.” “Why you say Black history? We’re not black. We’re brown.” OOPS, but then is African Heritage the same thing? Are we finally ready to move on from this February focus? · ** Book Shopping ** with parents. “We should buy the Barbie and Princess books. The children like it. It’s okay they are blonde. It’s for Easy Read.” Of course, I buy them, but, “Stop by family library and see the other kinds of easy read books I’m also looking for.” · ** Family Computer Workshops **. During a workshop on Word Art, several parents made Id Mubarak signs which we duplicated and posted around the school.

5. **__ Looking to the future __** : Experiential Gaming to promote cultural awareness. Multiplayer role play games are currently used in a professional context in the military and for international health care workers. Likely, education will follow suit.

**A Few worthy texts**

 * Compton-Lilly, C. (2004). //Confronting Racism Poverty and Power: Classroom strategies to change the world.// Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.
 * Schmidt, Patricia Ruggiano & Ma, Wen. (2006) //50 Literacy Strategies for Culturally Responsive Teaching K-8.// California//:// Corwin Press.
 * Smith, Charles C. editor.(Spring 2010) //Anti-Racism in Education: Missing in Action.// Our Schools Ourselves, Vol. 19, Number 3, Issue #99. Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
 * Edited by Hearn, Emily and Milne, Marywinn. // Our New Home Immigrant Children Speak. // Story Press: Toronto. 2007.

**Internet Resources**
A short clear power point describing the Cultural Competence Continuum This article, //Cultural Literacy//, gives a Profile of a Culturally Literate Student. The rubric with 10 criteria provides a very academic description of the scope of Cultural Literacy. 1. Awareness of culture 2. Awareness of history and its impact 3. Perspective taking – history 4. Stereotyping and bias, 5. Tolerance, 6. Language proficiency, 7. Interactions with individuals from different cultures, 8. Use of resources from different cultures, 9. Awareness of the way that technology influences worldviews 10. Culture of technological environments
 * [|www.metiri.com/WebInvestigation/Stuff/rubric.doc] Article defines Cultural Literacy, lists criteria, and most usefully, provides a rubric (U.S. perspective but still applicable).
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 * |www.metiri.com/WebInvestigation/Stuff/rubric.doc


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Checkout this multicultural pavilion of EdChange, (U.S, based) for very accessible cultural competence activities. Explore the site’s links for things like famous social justice speeches (e.g. Nelson Mandela).