Managing Diverse Classrooms: How to Build on Students' Cultural Strengths

by Carrie Rothstein-Fisch, Elise Trumbull

How does the home culture of Latino immigrant students differ from the "mainstream" culture of U.S. schools? Why is it important for teachers to understand the differences? How can educators take advantage of students' cultural traits to improve classroom management, student performance, and school-parent relations? Carrie Rothstein-Fisch and Elise Trumbull answer these and many other questions by drawing on the experience and collective wisdom of teachers in the Bridging Cultures Project, a five-year action research study of elementary classrooms with high percentages of immigrant students. The authors present a simple framework for understanding cultural differences, comparing the "individualistic" culture that prevails in American education with the "collectivistic" culture that characterizes most of the world's population, including many of the Latino immigrant students in U.S. classrooms. At the heart of the book are teacher-developed strategies that capitalize on the cultural values that these students and their families offer, such as an emphasis on helping, sharing, and the success of the group. The strategies cover a wide spectrum of issues and concerns, including
* Communication with families

* Open house and parent-teacher conferences

*Homework

*Attendance

* Learning in the content areas

* Motivation and rewards

* Classroom rules

* Assessment and grading
Managing Diverse Classrooms: How to Build on Students' Cultural Strengths presents both the research foundation and the practical perspectives of seasoned teachers whose classroom-tested approaches have produced positive results. With this valuable guide in hand, readers will have the insights and strategies they need to turn educational challenges into educational opportunities.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book uses classrooms comprised primarily of immigrant Latino students as the basis for its research. However, since it is set up along the general principle of individualistic culture versus collectivistic culture, much of what it had to say can be generalized easily at least to my setting of a Jicarilla Apache student body, and probably to others as well. Seeing the issue in an individualist/collectivist light has clarified a lot of things that formerly puzzled me. It makes sense to me now why the middle schoolers respond to most questions by discussing the topic among themselves, rather than volunteering answers. I finally understand why it ticks off the cafeteria workers that I expect most of my Kindergarteners to open their own milks. While this book provides only a little in the way of practical advice, the frame of mind that it advocates is, I think, useful. Probably most importantly, it is able to take the areas of collectivism most likely to cause classroom problems (for instance, the tendency to collaborate to an extent most teachers would consider cheating) and find a way not just to put them to use, but to produce something that actually works better than conventional methods in a conventional classroom. Perhaps more importantly, reading this book has allowed me look at my classroom in a new way and reassess what my priorities are. For example, the knowledge that a couple of my kids probably aren't showing off when they answer for other people allows me to simply let go of something I had previously considered a big problem.

Edit: I read this book nearly two years ago and somehow only gave it three stars. Of the books I've read on teaching, this one has had the most lasting impact. I mentally consult the concepts I learned from it almost every day. Even if you don't teach primarily minority children, you should still read this book. Collectivism in the classroom has a lot of advantages, and there is a lot to be said for incorporating some of these ideas into all elementary school classrooms. A case in point: we were deciding what background color to use for a bulletin board. After some discussion, someone suggested having a rainbow background, so everyone's favorite color would be included. The kids were so happy with this solution that they insisted on having a rainbow background for every single display we made all year. Something that could have spawned hard feelings became a symbol of solidarity. I also think the ideas on helping vs. cheating are applicable in every classroom. Basically, the idea is that you encourage children to help one another, but you teach them when it is and isn't appropriate to do so--in addition to teaching them how to help without giving away the answer. When you think about it, how is it NOT a good idea to have 20 potential teacher's aides in your classroom?

In short, if you are in education, you should read this book. If most of your students are minority students (particularly if they are Latino or Native American) there is no excuse for not reading this book.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a terrible read, but terribly mis-named. This book is about teaching homogeneous classrooms of Latin American students. They do have several ideas about bridging the individualist/collectivist divide in an elementary classroom, but will seem frustrating to educational professionals who expect a more frank treatment of diverse classrooms and situations where every strategy doesn't provide a picture-perfect outcome.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an interesting approach to teaching in elementary classrooms with Latino student populations, but to be honest I had to swallow a lot of it with a grain of salt and I'm not entirely certain how well it would transfer to any other student population. Still, it's always interesting to hear about different culturally relevant teaching styles.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The message of how impactful it is to maintain community in the classroom environment while acknowledging collectivistic and individualistic cultures is clear in this text. I picked up a few strategies that I'll try out in my own classroom like group test preparation and explicitly defining cheating vs. helping.

[James F · Rating 3 out of 5]

the examples used in this book were all K-5, but this high school teacher was still able to learn from it

[Emily Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, conversational, and easily understood in daily application