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              In “Nice is not Enough. Defining Caring for Students of Color”, Sonia Nieto attempts to describe what real “care” should look like in a classroom composed of students of color. She mentions Rosalie Rolòn-Do’s perspective which calls for a “response to students’ actual personal  ives and to the institutional barriers they encounter as members of racialized groups. Teachers must understand individual students within their concrete sociopolitical contexts and devise specific pedagogical and curricular strategies to help them navigate those contexts successfully.” I agree whole heartedly with what she is saying but it also fills me with anxiety because I wish I could spend a whole day and school year getting to know my class. Some students are only with me for a semester and making time to get to know them can easily be misconstrued as targeting them.   However, my best friend in this endeavor continues to be my beginni...

As with most pedagogical strategies, the "Why" is often researched and laid out far more frequently than the "How". I for one was guilty at one point for the misconception that designing culturally responsive lessons meant that I had to tie it in to the racial backgrounds found in my classroom. It wasn't until I reflected on one of my lessons with one of my professors, that I learned I had been doing it all along. As explained by Zaretta Hammond, the author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain , what it really entails is mimicry of the learning styles embedded within the different cultures. She gives a quick explanation on what culturally responsive teaching is and some quick strategies that can be incorporated into any curriculum in the following article found on the cultofpedagogy.com . I for one always count on cooperative learning to enhance my students' experience in class. It makes it possible for me to observe their interpersonal skills...