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Pioneer of Classroom Cultural Inclusion
Culturally relevant teaching must meet three criteria: an ability to develop students academically, a willingness to nurture and support cultural competence, and the development of a sociopolitical or critical consciousness.
Gloria Ladson-Billings
Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy,1995
She completed her Ph.D. at Stanford University in the 1980s at a time when few women of color were pursuing doctorates. In learning more about her, I found an article titled, “Pioneering Cultural Inclusion in the Classroom”:
In the 1950s, when Gloria Ladson-Billings was a fifth-grade student at a segregated Philadelphia public school, her teacher broke with the school curriculum to regale her students with tales of accomplished Black Americans who weren’t mentioned in textbooks.
“One of us would stand sentinel at the classroom door, and she’d say, “If the principal comes, turn to page 127 in the U.S. history book [and pretend to be learning that],’” says Ladson-Billings, PhD ’84, and professor emerita at the University of Wisconsin at Madison School of Education.
From that experience as a ten-year-old, she grew to question not only how race and ethnicity were traditionally taught to young students but also who was doing the teaching. In the 1990s she became renowned for her groundbreaking research into what makes teachers of black students successful and for introducing the concept of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP), a way of engaging all learners who are outside the mainstream.
Our childhood experiences in education frequently serve to inform who we become as educators. My experiences as a struggling reader in early primary school unquestionably influenced my views of early literacy and ability tracking. In my child-memory of first grade, the three reading groups were the Eagles, the Blue Birds, and the Vultures. While those were not the actual names, my experience of being tracked into the lowest reading group made me feel as if I were a carrion-seeking avian.
By the time I became a high school English teacher, I understood how teaching in the real world of schools affects children of color, but then I experienced the impact continually from the other side of the desk. When teaching migrant farmworkers’ children amidst the cherry orchards of Linden High School in the San Joaquin Valley, I asked myself,
How can a young teacher once again draw her students into the class when they have just returned from two or more months’ absence?
In teaching at Mt. Eden High School in Hayward, CA, I would ask myself how best to support my students whose life experiences included fleeing war-torn countries. The intersections of multiple languages, cultures, and immigration status, among the many factors, were mind-numbing.
Fortunately, we have pioneers in education who have been addressing the very issues of cultural inclusion for many decades now, and one of those individuals who has had a significant impact on my professional life is Gloria Ladson-Billings. Her accomplishments are vast, and typing her name in Google or Google Scholar will result in an array of biographies and research articles. The good news is, I am not just suggesting you read about her.
We are privileged to announce that Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings will keynote the luncheon at our 13th Annual SOE Social Justice in Education Conference to be held at CSUCI on Saturday, March 2, 2024. This complimentary, half-day event attracts teachers, leaders, parents, students, and professors from across the region. The Call for Proposals for break-out sessions will be coming soon, and we invite your team and/or you to submit a session. Watch your email, this newsletter, and our social media accounts for updates.
Decades have passed since my early experiences as a reader. Just as Dr. Ladson-Billings’s experiences affected who she became as an educator, each of us has our own stories. I invite you to reflect on those as you consider culturally relevant education this fall term.
Yours for inclusion,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth C. Orozco Reilly
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