Cultural Sensitivity Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural Sensitivity Reflection - Essay Example A culturally competent teacher knows perfectly well how to relate the skill of cultural awareness with his/her work which includes dealings with the students, parents, staff, and community members almost on daily basis. Acting in a culturally competent manner becomes especially important in a classroom as that is the place where a teacher has to deal with the students in a very direct manner. â€Å"Culturally responsive teaching does not incorporate traditional educational practices with respect to students of color† (Gay, 2000). Parents often have a hard time adjusting to the reality of teaching their children in a culturally sensitive environment. This is why teachers should take care to acknowledge cultural sensitivity when dealing with the parents of their students and they can do so by effectively bridging the communication gap in order to win the trust of the parents. When dealing with parents, a teacher should help them understand how he/she intends to use cultural refe rents to groom the students academically, emotionally, and intellectually in a culturally sensitive environment. A teacher can also relate cultural competency with his/her work when dealing with students in a classroom by deeply acknowledging the cultural heritages of various ethnic groups and regarding them. He/she should also stimulate the entire class to respect each other’s cultural heritages. There also exists a difference in the extent to which each student adapts to the learning process which is why a culturally competent and sensitive teacher should employ a variety of instructional strategies addressing different learning styles. Cultural sensitivity should be practiced whether a teacher teaches a multilingual or a monolingual class (Stubbs, 2011). Moreover, cultural sensitivity requires a teacher to instill the same sense and skill into other staff members as the learning process can never be controlled by a single teacher alone. It is the job of