U-46 teacher touts importance of students' cultural background
Understanding the cultural background of students has an important role in Gregorio Posada's approach to teaching first grade at Harriet Gifford Elementary School in Elgin Area School District U-46.
His teaching career has included 12 years at Harriet Gifford and four years at Lords Park Elementary, also in U-46. He also taught first grade for two years at Lords Park and taught elementary grade levels in his native Mexico.
Even before school starts, Posada calls parents and introduces himself. He has taught Mexican folk dance to students as well as taught Muay Thai (martial arts).
Each year, he organizes a huge Mother's Day celebration at Harriet Gifford, where students dance and sing for their mothers.
Q. Why is social-emotional learning important in education today?
A. Socio-emotional learning has always been a paramount aspect in any educational system. However, in this current paradigm of thought, there is a missing element, which is culture. I would say the whole society and school districts around the nation should be talking about sociocultural and emotional development. Culture is an embedded part in the human cultivation. Educating the young child involves not only his/her emotions, but his cultural heritage and his family.
Q. What are some of the most important lessons you try to teach students within this discipline?
A. The term "socio" involves a group of people interacting together. It is impossible to think about the child's social development without thinking and acknowledging his/her cultural background.
We want our students to be able to understand differences and find a common ground. How do we do that? At district level, we have a program called PBIS (Positive Behaviors Interventions and Support). We work hard to persuade, educate, and convince our students that responsibility, respect, and safety are important values they can use, not only in our school setting, but also in their personal lives.
Q. What are some ways those lessons are taught in your classroom?
A. At school level, we teach a program called "Second Steps." This program contains lessons taught on a weekly basis. The goals begin with the skills for learning and the listening rules. The next lessons are aimed for students to start understanding and developing their own emotional intelligence.
Besides the programs, we need to teach as educators. I personally use the cultural part to fortify respect and understanding among the different cultures in my class.
Getting to know about parents and their culture is quite important. Parents and children also have taught me important ways to recognize who they are, their abilities, their social funds of knowledge, pains and fears.
No matter where they come from or who they are, parents love their children and they love their culture to be respected, recognized, and acknowledged.
Q. What is a real-life example of how your students have positively applied these lessons?
A. Two years ago, I had a family from Samoa, African-American families, Caucasian, and Hispanic (from Mexico and Central America). I taught them our "Second Steps" program with the different lessons to teach about their feelings, emotions, and basic rules to interact among Harriet Gifford students and the school staff. Respect, however, is always the strongest value to pursue and very difficult to achieve in the current world.
Our approach led to one of our families from the Samoan Islands teaching our students a local dance, replete with costumes ordered from their country.
I believe any human who feels respected, appreciated, and acknowledged can academically flourish.