Incorporating culture into the classroom

It is important for teachers to create a culturally responsive classroom because it provides students with an understanding of different backgrounds and also respect for all people. We all share this Earth, and we should all be respectful towards each other. Teachers often have no previous knowledge of other cultures or how to incorporate learning about them into their lesson plan. All students are different, and each student learns in a different way. By having programs and lessons like these, teachers are able to learn about their students differences, learning styles, etc. Getting to know each and every student well is the first step. The children you work with are more than just names on a list. Your goal is to make sure they understand everything you teach them, but to do that you have to learn about them and understand how they learn. There was a quote I read in one of our readings that I found very important:
"[I]n the words of a wonderful Native Alaskan educator: ‘In order to teach you, I must know you.’ I pray for all of us the strength to teach our children what they must learn, and the humility and wisdom to learn
from them so that we might better teach."
—Lisa Delpit (1995, p. 183)
The Native Alaskan educator speaks nothing but the truth. You can't really do a good job at teaching someone something if you don't know anything about them. When I was researching this topic I came across two articles that stood out. Both are guides on how to create a culturally responsive classroom.
http://elearndesign.org/teachspecialed/modules/ocada7083_norm2/23/24_2/xmedia/reading_c8m3L2a2.pdf
http://blog.nationalequityproject.org/2012/08/22/5-ways-to-create-a-culturally-responsive-classroom/
Both articles highlight the importance of getting to know your students well, but one also mentions getting to know yourself well. You sit down and give yourself a "diversity assessment." This helps you better understand what you already know about other cultures, what you think diversity is, what experiences you've had in the past, and what is going on in terms of diversity in your classroom. It is also important to know about your own culture and how that affects you and others. Knowing all this can better help you learn about others. After you've done that you should incorporate cultures into your lessons, encourage students to help out and care for one another, make new students feel very welcome, and use what you have learned about your students to create interactive lessons that involve them more.