"I Don't Want to Impose That on Them": Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in a History Classroom

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: Examining Critical Social Studies in Teaching, Teacher Education, and Curriculum

Abstract

This case study centers Mr. Davidson, a culturally sustaining Black male history teacher. His students’ reluctance to engage with issues of race/racism generated three tensions that Mr. Davidson experienced as he sought to promote critical consciousness about systemic racism in his class. Those tensions include 1) selecting culturally sustaining historical content to supplement a Eurocentric curriculum, 2) recasting issues of race through a culturally sustaining lens during unanticipated moments of race talk in the classroom, and 3) responding to students’ resistance and reticence to research topics related to their respective racial/ethnic identities. These tensions demonstrate some of the effects of deracialized official school curricula on students and illustrate challenges that other culturally sustaining educators may encounter.

Author

• Eliana Castro, The University of Vermont