Cultural Humility

The foundation of joyful and liberatory arts education
 

What is Cultural Humility?

Cultural Humility is a dynamic and lifelong process focusing on self-reflection, acknowledging one’s own biases. It recognizes the shifting nature of intersecting identities and encourages ongoing curiosity rather than an endpoint.

 

Cultural Humility Principles

  • Lifelong learning and critical self-reflection
  • Recognize and change power imbalances
  • Institutional accountability

Cultural Humility is a communal reflection to analyze the root causes of suffering and create a broader, more inclusive view of the world.

3 Things to Know

 

Videos on what Cultural Humility is and why we need it

  • https://www.youtube.com/embed/https://youtu.be/wDIGXUzULug?si=n5fBLAltmFU4_YAU
    Members of Pittsburgh University discuss

    the importance of cultural humility at the university

  • https://www.youtube.com/embed/https://youtu.be/SaSHLbS1V4w?si=X14DzRqiBjuVs6P3
    Cultural Humility: People, Principles and Practices

    The film tells stories of successes and challenges, and the road in between for those working to develop partnerships among community members, practitioners and academics. It encourages us to realize our power, privilege and prejudices, and be willing to accept that acquired education and credentials alone are insufficient to address social inequality.

 
 

Why?

We will never be able to fully understand someone else’s full identity and cultural experiences. By recognizing this it allows us to approach from a place of curiosity and recognition that we have things to learn and are not experts.

 
 

How do you engage with Cultural Humility?

 

Critically reflect on your own cultural lens, positionalities, & power

  • https://www.youtube.com/embed/https://youtu.be/akOe5-UsQ2o?si=TOlM5G_F2fMSiH-D
    The urgency of intersectionality | Kimberlé Crenshaw | TED

    Now more than ever, it’s important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias — and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm.

 

Approach with curiosity, vulnerability, & humility

Succinctly, the overall goal is to learn about the other person’s culture as opposed to reflecting on one’s own background only.  To create meaningful relationships in the communities we serve with empathy, unbiased assumptions, and being aware of privilege. While challenging your own values and beliefs.

 

Personally commit to ongoing learning

A lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and self-critique whereby you not only learn about another’s culture, but also start to examine your own beliefs and cultural identities and how they intersect with the intersections of your students’ identities.

 

Engage in-community

Recognize power dynamics and imbalances, work together to fix those power imbalances and develop partnerships with people and groups. Continue to hold our community accountable – understanding impact over intentions.

 

Create caring, authentic, and reciprocal relationships with students

Work to build meaningful relationships within your classroom community (both between peers & teachers to student).​ Be authentically you with your students. Take time to acknowledge each student, check in on their emotional well-being.​

 

Shift classroom power dynamics to share power with students

Foster teacher- student relationships, hold high expectations, and a belief in all students’ ability to succeed. Educators build from students’ stories and prior knowledge, engaging multiple modes of expression. This gives everyone ownership of the content and confirms that all types of learners belong in the room.

 

 

Become aware of and critique habitual responses rooted biases and assumptions

Especially about what the work/product students create should look like. Incorporate AC’s Notice, Describe, Ask protocol as a tool to move away from assumptions and unconscious biases.

Use Notice Describe Ask Protocol

Notice: Engage in deep noticing of your own biases and assumptions, and first reactions.

Describe: Model describing the choices being made with rich, specific, non-judgmental language.

Ask: Cultivate curiosity about the choices being made by young artists.

Notice Describe Ask – Learn More

 
 

Reflection

 

Reflection

The Me You Can’t See Self Portrait Directions:

  1. Hold your paper horizontally, fold in from both sides at the same time, so that the formally outer edges meet in the middle, and they create a tri-fold shape.
  2. On the outside, draw your self-portrait and include words, symbols, or images that describe what people see when they look at you. (You might consider: gender, race, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, education, socio-economic status, language, family, citizenship, roles you play, etc.)
  3. On the inside, draw or list words, symbols, or images  that describe things about you that cannot be seen. They might be things that you share about yourself with others or things that you keep for yourself.  (You might consider: gender, race, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, education, socio-economic status, language, family, citizenship, roles you play, etc.)

 

 

Now Reflect on Personal Positionality & Intersectional Identity: 
  • What do people see when they look at me?
  • What don’t they see?
  • What identities are visible?  What identities are invisible?
  • Are there things that you wish people saw or understood about you?
  • What are identities, and intersections of identities that you’re bringing into the classroom and how does that impact your students –name it. What’s the relationship between those two?
  • Consider similarities AND differences between you, your students, and the other adults in the room so we can find ongoing common ground, and recognize differences, to communicate better for future sessions.

 

 
 

Apply to Practice

 

Create Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy affirms and respects the key components of the Asset-Based Pedagogies that preceded it, but also takes them to the next level. Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy views classrooms as places where the cultural ways of being in communities of color are sustained, rather than eradicated.

Curriculum can serve…

As a mirror – reflecting and amplifying student’s identities or experiences,

As a doorway – introducing new experiences, identities and experiences that differ from their own,

As an amplifier – implying value, and importance.

 

Representation

By representing a diverse range of art and artists, you amplify their importance in the canon of your artistic form and their value in the minds of your students.
Your curriculum content should showcase art and artists from different cultures, genders, classes, sexualities and with differing abilities.
Inclusive curriculum supports students’ abilities to empathize, connect, and collaborate with a diverse group of peers, builds a sense of belonging, and raises the awareness of all students.

More Resources
 
 

Key Approaches

 
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