Teacher Preparatory Programs and Culturally Responsive Teaching

Background

Main Focus Of The Chapter

Each day, students across the nation engage in a daily battle aimed at receiving a high quality education thoroughly designed to quench their thirst for knowledge while simultaneously meeting their distinct needs. They crave a foundation of knowledge that is applicable to their daily lives as they experience and observe a world around them with uncharted wisdom to explore; they yearn for learning modules that can heighten their awareness beyond all that is factual and transform from beings that simply exist towards manifesting their life's purpose. Similarly, educators struggle to provide meaningful learning experiences, as they are coerced to solely rely upon adopted state standards and benchmarks that neglect to integrate meaningful culturally relevant concepts. Overwhelmed by dramatic shifts and transitions in the field of education that link student performance and academic achievement directly to their professional level of efficacy, educators are faced with many limitations and stipulations that bind their instruction in the classroom. Increasing emphasis on accountability measures and standardized assessments related to the Common Core Standards have collectively impacted both educators and students in a negative manner, as both participants are inundated with unrealistic measures of success-none of which truly focus on the innate needs of learners. Thus, it becomes impossible to win the battle both are faced with on a daily basis, and even more difficult for learners to fully grasp content deemed detrimental to their success without relevancy to their personal lives. The end result provides much clarity and insight: We are losing our children to the ills of society and failing to provide them with the adequate tools necessary to develop an intrinsic love for learning and the ability to question the larger world in which they exist. Research suggests that students that reside in high poverty levels are more susceptible to engage in lives of crime, drugs and violence, as it is a part of the community they reside in (Waddell, 2013). Furthermore, unrealistic demands and measures ultimately compromise the quality of instruction that students receive in classrooms throughout the nation on a daily basis, often shattering the spirit of true educators that seek to truly transform the lives of their students.