Gingerbread and Ramadan.

In college I read about cultural responsive teaching. I attended the conference on White Privilege twice. I felt like I was prepared to mold young minds for a global world.

I took that big step that reflected my college shaped ideals, and I taught in an urban middle school for four years. Most of the time I was the only white kid in the room. But I got lackadaisical about some of my progressive teaching goals, and I didn't do a lot to push how my students. In many ways, I just survived. I planned field trips, interactive lessons, coached soccer and loved loved loved my tough little kids.

This isn't a criticism of my school at all, but more of a reflection of the historic culture of our school and neighborhood. Christmas crafts and decorations and holiday concerts were perfectly normal. We had a cultural assembly once or twice a year and big Cinco de Mayo parties. DJs played Mexican polka at school dances.

But that just wouldn't cut it in Northern Virginia. I have lots to say about my global students. Another time. Now I just want to illustrate how culturally responsive my instruction needs to be every day.


We used the easy and well known fairy tale "The Gingerbread Man" to review story mapping and plot elements with our students this week. However, I wasn't sure that all of my students knew the story, so I wanted to plan activities that built background knowledge.

To warm-up, I asked them what foods their families that make for special occasions that are important. One little girl wrote about a special soup for wishing that they make for birthdays. Then we watched this clip from Shrek, because even if they don't know the fairy tale, they all know Shrek. And I made homemade gingerbread for my classes too.

One girl hated it. She took one bite, spit it out and told me so.

But it's also Ramadan. I have a few students who are fasting for a month, and I struggled with how to have cookies with my class. I finally decided that it was okay as long as I brought ziploc bags to send them home with my students who were fasting.

I'm still not sure about what the culturally responsive thing to do was.

I'm also not sure about those kids who took the cookies home. They might have hated it too.