Writing About Culture:
Empowering Our
Marginalized Students
Creed Hansen
Teaching Demonstration - Jan. 2008
Creed.Hansen@pisd.edu
What is culture?
 In
a small group of 3-4 people,
brainstorm a list of possible answers
to the question above.
 Let’s share! What did your group have
to say?
 Now: what characteristics of culture
did we all have in common?
My students’ answers:








music
traditions
foods
history
religion/beliefs
tools
language
writing








heritage
family
location
skills
colors/flags
style/clothing
holidays
pride
We’ll come back to this. But first…
Why write about culture?
 it
helps students explore their personal
backgrounds and beliefs
 it promotes individuality
 it encourages acceptance and even
appreciation of diversity
 it empowers otherwise marginalized
students to write meaningfully about
who they are
Why do marginalized students
need to be empowered?
 Delpit
(1995) argues that:
 marginalized
students—which primarily
includes minority, female, and low
income students—do not possess the
culture of power
 they must be taught the culture of power
and its rules in order to understand
societal inequalities and thus gain power
How can teachers help?
 Ladson-Billings
(1994) encourages
teachers to engage in culturally
relevant teaching:
 have
high expectations of marginalized
students
 make culturally relevant curricular
decisions
How can teachers help?
 Gonzalez
et. al. (1993) recommend a
shift in how teachers conceptualize
culture:
 culture
is more than simply holidays and
traditions; it is dynamic and complex
 household cultures can be utilized if
teachers indicate that they are valuable
How can writing help?
 Once
teachers make the shift to
culturally relevant teaching, they can
use writing as a tool for empowerment
 teach
them how and when to use
culturally relevant languages and the
language of power (Standard English)
 use writing prompts that allow students
to think meaningfully and critically about
their own cultures
What TEKS would be covered?
 (1)
Writing/purposes. The student
writes in a variety of forms,
including…personal, for various
audiences and purposes.

(B) write in a voice and style
appropriate to audience and purpose
What TEKS would be covered?
 (3)
Writing/grammar/usage/conventi
ons/spelling. The student relies
increasingly on the conventions and
mechanics of written English,
including the rules of grammar and
usage, to write clearly and effectively.
How can we integrate reading?
 Cai
(2003) recommends:
 choosing
literature written by
marginalized authors about their own
marginalized groups
 using texts to expose inequalities present
in the relationships between dominant
and marginalized groups
How can we integrate reading?
 Fox
& Short (2003) suggest two main
criteria for choosing culturally
authentic literature:
 accuracy
of cultural details
 absence of stereotyping or
misrepresentation
What TEKS would be covered?
 (7)
Reading/comprehension. The
student comprehends selections using
a variety of strategies. The student is
expected to:
 (B)
draw upon his/her own background
to provide connection to texts
What TEKS would be covered?

(9) Reading/culture. The student reads
widely, including world literature, to
increase knowledge of his/her own
culture, the culture of others, and the
common elements across cultures. The
student is expected to:
 (A)
recognize distinctive and shared
characteristics of cultures through reading;
and
 (B) compare text events with his/her own
and other readers' experiences.
How do we use reading and writing
together to empower marginalized
students?
 use
diverse pieces of literature as
models for how and when to use
culturally relevant language and
Standard English
 use these models, too, as mentor texts
for how to integrate students’ cultures
into their personal writing
Back to the list…

Again, these were the characteristics of
culture my students came up with:








music
traditions
foods
history
religion/beliefs
tools
language
writing








heritage
family
location
skills
colors/flags
style/clothing
holidays
pride
Debriefing the list…
 Now
try discussing the following
questions with your secondary students:
 Why
is culture significant?
 Do you ever find that different parts of
your culture conflict? Why or why not?
 What are the most important
characteristics of your personal culture?
The Personal Culture Chart
Define and determine specific examples of
your four most important cultural
characteristics.
Cultural Characteristic: Cultural Characteristic:
Examples:
Examples
Cultural Characteristic: Cultural Characteristic:
Examples
Examples
Model it for them!

Show your
students
that you,
too, possess
important
cultural
traits
Cultural Characteristic:
my Danish heritage
Examples:
- Grandma’s cooking & decorations
(ebelskevers, lefsa, artwork)
- two visits to Denmark
(Hansens on the news, my nose)
- children’s stories
(Hans Christian Andersen)
A student sample…
Cultural groundwork
 You’ve
now laid the cultural
groundwork for much of your
students’ personal writing
 You’ve also shown them that you value
their cultures and that you have
important cultural characteristics of
your own
Reading, then writing…
 Before
embarking on a writing
exercise, it’s important to provide
models for how skilled authors write
about culture
 Seek out culturally relevant and
culturally authentic texts; tailor your
choices to your student population
The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini
 Choose
a passage from a relevant,
authentic text to read aloud
 Ask your students to listen for ways in
which the author writes about culture
and ways in which the writing style
reflects his or her culture
 “Ali and Baba grew up together…” (25)
The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini
 Discuss
in depth the passage you’ve just
read with your students
 You might hold a whole group
discussion, or you might break your
students up into small, diverse groups
 Your guiding question: Where do you
hear the author’s or narrator’s culture
reflected in his or her writing?
Enrichment - Conventions
 Anderson
(2005) recommends using
mentor texts—powerful, relevant
literature—to teach the conventions of
English to secondary students
 Look for common problems your
students are having in their writing
conventions and utilize your current
mentor text to address them
Now…write!
 Using
their Personal Culture Charts,
ask students to address one of the
following prompts in a paragraph or
essay (depending on the ability level)
 Where
is your culture reflected at home?
 How is your culture reflected in your
relationships with family or friends?
 How is your culture reflected in your
beliefs?
A student sample…
A time for discussion…
 Guiding
 How
questions:
might this work in middle school
classes?
 How have you built cultural
empowerment into your classrooms?
 How can we build entire units or
curricula around cultural empowerment?
References
Anderson, J. (2005). Mechanically inclined. Portland, ME:
Stenhouse Publishers.
Cai, M. (2003). Multiple definitions of multicultural
literature. In D. L. Fox & K. G. Short (Eds.), Stories
matter: The complexity of cultural authenticity in children’s
literature (pgs. 269-283). Urbana, IL: National Council
of Teachers of English.
Delpit, L. (1995). Other people’s children: Cultural conflict in
the classroom. New York: The New Press.
Fox, D. L., & Short, K. G. (2003). The complexity of
cultural authenticity in children’s literature: Why the
debates really matter. In D. L. Fox & K. G. Short
(Eds.), Stories matter: The complexity of cultural authenticity
in children’s literature (pgs. 3-24). Urbana, IL: National
Council of Teachers of English.
References
Gonzalez, N., Moll, L., Floyd-Tenery, M., Rivera, A.,
Rendon, P., Gonzalez, R., et. al. (1993). Teacher
research on funds of knowledge: Learning from households
(Educational Practice Report: 6). Santa Cruz, CA:
National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity
and Second Language Learning. (ERIC
Document Reproduction Service No. ED 360
825)
Hosseini, K. (2003). The Kite Runner. New York:
Riverhead Books.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful
teachers of African American children. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.