Being Culturally Responsive

A Word from Your Facilitators

For a number of years, research around Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) or Culturally Responsive Practices (CRP) has helped to guide educators into creating learning environments and curricula that are flexible enough to accommodate the needs of students coming from diverse cultural, economic, social and personal backgrounds. Though this training draws upon much of that research, our particular approach endeavors to guide individuals and especially teams from various work, school and social settings into a deeper awareness of how to practice Cultural Responsiveness in any setting. Through four segments and a very necessary introduction to the Circle of Trust© approach to group engagement, this set of videos will guide you and a small group of others though various learnings, journaling, reflections and conversations over a series of 4 to 5 weeks.

We will explore the importance of deepening our capacity to listen, how relational learning and growth can be facilitated even in the sometimes stressful framework of job accountability, consciously practicing growth in the six characteristics of Culturally Responsive Practice, and diversifying and widening the circle of individuals with whom we cultivate trust and rely upon for support, collegiality and friendship. All of this is covered in the context of your small group, guided by the Circle of Trust© process shaped by the Touchstones for Creating Safe Space© developed by the Center for Courage & Renewal. 

You may want to provide your group with journals or notebook paper and pens as you will be invited at key points to pause each video segment for a time of personal reflection, journaling, and then a time of circle sharing. 

As we explain in the video segments, you can benefit from this training on your own, but the real growth, in our opinion, will come as you experience these invitations to learn and grow with a small group of others who may have both similar and very different backgrounds and perspectives from your own.

Thanks for joining us on this jumping off point for becoming more Culturally Responsive. The essence of a "practice" is that it is, through time, focus, goal-setting and community, a deepening transformation of who we are and how we engage with ourselves and others. We are glad to provide you with this invitation to explore how Culturally Responsive Practices can help to make your work, social and learning environments more inclusive and mutually beneficial.

All the best,

Dr. Scott Simpson & Sharla Steever

P.S. If you will be facilitating a small group through this series, we have developed a detailed Facilitators' Guide which you can download here.