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Pow Mia All Gave Some Some Gave All Flag
Nicole’s mental map of South Central Los Angeles.
I often observed Nicole’s intimate understanding of the community seep into her English lessons. For example, while teaching “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” a novel by Sherman Alexie, Nicole pushed her students to personally connect with the text. “Many [Indigenous folks] don’t leave their reservation, the community,” she said. “For us that would be South LA.”
Nicole’s impact on her students was evident in the quality of classroom discussions and student writing that I observed.
Meanwhile, another teacher I observed, whose map revealed much less familiarity and engagement with the community, was unaware of the controversy around attempts to rebrand South Central as SOLA, short for South Los Angeles – a move deemed by local residents as furthering the area’s gentrification. Therefore her lessons on racism in urban communities failed to make this local connection.
Why it mattersDue to teacher shortages and systemic underfunding of classroom and school-wide resources, urban schools often struggle to provide the quality of culturally relevant education present in Nicole’s classroom.
Culturally relevant education has been linked to many positive academic outcomes, including gains in literacy, math and English language test scores. The same research has also shown that when youth feel engaged in classroom lessons, they score higher on tests and other assignments.
What still isn’t knownGiven that culturally relevant education seeks to empower students to think critically about the assets and challenges present in their communities, its effectiveness is not easily captured on standardized tests. More research is needed to examine its long-term impacts. Without this evidence, schools and districts may not fully invest in implementing it.
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