Stories of Culturally Responsive Education
Stories are powerful points of entry for new ideas and ways of being. Get to know more about Culturally Responsive Education through the stories of people who have shaped and been shaped by it.
CRE Stories Documentary Series
The CRE documentary series by award-winning filmmaker Manauvaskar Kublall examines what it would take to establish a positive school culture that respects and honors youth of all races, cultures and abilities and values families and communities as assets and experts to help build the capacity of school staff to engage cultures effectively.
Across nine episodes, we meet parents, teachers, principals and students who share their experiences of racism and bias in public school systems, and why culturally responsive education is an effective strategy to combat those forces. Our shared future must include school cultures and climates where children see themselves reflected and respected in their curriculum—in every class, every grade, every day.
Seen in the Classroom
The Story
What becomes possible when students learn from educators that share part of their cultural experience? Or when they learn curriculum that honors and sustains their distinct history?
Aaron Harris, a New York City public school teacher, is one of just four male teachers of color at a school with a predominantly Black student body. A Washington, D.C. native, Aaron shares his experiences as a teacher of color in the classroom, and how race and ethnicity inform the role educators play in their students’ lives.
Aaron Harris: Being seen in the classroom
Credits
A Media Sutra production
Director: Manauvaskar Kublall
Executive Producers: Richard Gray, Natalie Zwerger, Megan Amelia Hester
Editor: Nenman Walbe, Manauvaskar Kublall
Camera: Jamal Tenth, Manauvaskar Kublall
Sound Recording: Nadia Bourne
Music Production: Gerald Trotman
Being Culturally Responsive as a White Teacher
The Story
When Erin Dunlevy left her hometown in suburban New Jersey to teach in the South Bronx, she was shocked to see a line of 2,500 students wrapped around the school building waiting to pass through the only operational metal detector on campus.
Erin shares her learning about what it means to be an ally who is responsive to community needs and to honor community voices.
This is especially important when we consider that over 80% of teachers nationally are white. In New York City schools, white teachers make up 70% of the teacher workforce in schools that predominantly serve students of color in under-resourced communities.
Erin Dunlevy: Being culturally responsive as a white teacher
Credits
A Media Sutra production
Director: Manauvaskar Kublall
Executive Producers: Richard Gray, Natalie Zwerger, Megan Amelia Hester
Editor: Nenman Walbe, Manauvaskar Kublall
Camera: Jamal Tenth, Nenman Walbe, Manauvaskar Kublall
Sound Recording: Nadia Bourne
Music Production: Gerald Trotman
The Archaeology of the Self
The Story
How do issues of race, class, religion, and sexual orientation live within us? How does our societal conditioning shape the way educators show up in classrooms?
Bronx native Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz challenges educators to examine their views on the communities and students they serve.
Using an archaeological approach, Sealey-Ruiz mentors educators of all backgrounds on how to do the "deep work" of excavating their personal histories and activating their racial consciousness as a precursor to theorizing about pedagogy.
Yolanda Sealy-Ruiz: The archeaology of self
Credits
A Media Sutra production
Director: Manauvaskar Kublall
Executive Producers: Richard Gray, Natalie Zwerger, Megan Amelia Hester
Associate Producer: Piper Anderson
Editor: Nenman Walbe, Manauvaskar Kublall
Camera: Jamal Tenth, Nenman Walbe, Manauvaskar Kublall
Sound Recording: Nadia Bourne
Music Production: Gerald Trotman