Tenets of Culturally Relevant Teaching

In her study of eight teachers (six African Americans and two European Americans) who were successful educators of African-American children, Ladson-Billings (1994) identifies six tenets of culturally relevant teaching:

• "Students whose educational, economic, social, political, and cultural futures are most tenuous are helped to become intellectual leaders in classrooms" (p. 117).
• "Students are apprenticed in a learning community rather than taught in an isolated and unrelated way" (p. 117).
• "Students' real-life experiences are legitimized as they become part of the 'official' curriculum" (p. 117).
• "Teachers and students participate in a broad conception of literacy that incorporates both literature and oratory" (p. 117).
• "Teachers and students engage in a collective struggle against the status quo" (p. 118). Teachers do not accept the prevailing belief that their students will not do well. They have high expectations for their students and convey their belief to the students.
• "Teachers are cognizant of themselves as political beings" (p. 118).

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