Teaching in a culturally responsive manner means teachers need to move beyond their own experiences and allow the culture of the community to shine and flourish. If you have experiences you feel students can relate to, try to share your stories with your students. Knowing more about you will help students be more comfortable sharing and growing with you. Using a positive connection, try to help students be confident in their own skin. Ultimately, we want students to be comfortable voicing their viewpoints, sharing and building on who they are and who they can choose to become. Aim to create experiences that will allow students to showcase their knowledge, individual experiences and background. Convey a feeling of acceptance and value for each individual. When students feel confident and accepted, they are more likely to help draw others into a positive learning environment. 

Student Leadership Groups

Help students take ownership of their learning environment. All students thrive when they have a sense of purpose. One way to promote that is to have students help with managing the class. Sharing responsibilities and choosing class leaders can help your students take ownership of the class and ultimately make management a more fulfilling endeavor.  You can form a schedule to rotate through your roster and give all students a chance to help out. You can also strategically choose students who you feel need a little encouragement. These students are often natural leaders, but just need a little more guidance and opportunity. These could be your more introverted but stable decision makers, or they may be your more energetic students that need to be challenged. 

Connecting to PBIS:

Build a culture of inclusion and support. Help students amplify their voices with confidence and mutual respect.