For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education (Race, Education, and Democracy)

by Christopher Emdin

During this process, students should be introduced to what cosmopolitanism means in the classroom. A working definition I have used in explaining the cosmopolitan classroom is that it is a space where each student is a full citizen, responsible for how well the class meets the collective academic, social, and emotional goals. Students are to be assured that the roles they take on in the effective functioning of the classroom are just as significant as, if not more important than, doing well on classroom tests. They are graded on and receive academic credit for their performance in these roles. If a student does not do the task associated with a role, it is not going to be completed by anyone else, and it will not only affect that student’s grades, but the ability of the rest of the class to learn in the optimal environment.