Culturally Responsive Teaching Informs Relational Teaching with Zaretta Hammond

“When we start talking about relationships, this is where toxic positivity comes in. Let's just have relationships, let's just be together. Most people say they'd like that, but somehow the dominant culture ain't making that happen. The fact is, the parent hears that and says, "You're saying that to me, but I'm not the one creating a cognitively hostile environment, an emotionally hostile environment, or relationally hostile environment by allowing racial bullying or allowing microaggressions.”

This one-hour episode dives deep into the elements of Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) by understanding what CRT is…and is not. Esteemed writer and teacher-researcher Zaretta Hammond (Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain) defines the obstacles that prevent classroom belongingness for students of color, and why there are reasons for hope even during these deeply divided times.

Zaretta Hammond, M.A. is a national consultant and author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. 

She is a former high school and community college expository writing instructor who is passionate about the intersection of literacy, equity and neuroscience. She has published articles in Educational Leadership, The Learning Professional, and Phi Delta Kappan.

Ms. Hammond sits on the Board of Trustees of the Center for Collaborative Classroom and is on the senior advisory board for the literacy organization, Consortium on Reaching Excellence in Education (CORE).