Every Child, Every Story: The Heart of Culturally Relevant Teaching

Somewhere in a classroom today, a student is sitting quietly at their desk, wondering if who they are matters in this space. Maybe it’s a child who speaks a different language at home. Maybe it’s a teen who doesn’t see their family structure reflected in any of the books on the shelves. Maybe it’s a student whose culture, history, or voice seems invisible in the lessons they hear.

The truth is, they notice. They always notice. And the absence speaks just as loudly as the presence.

That’s why culturally relevant teaching isn’t a buzzword or a box to check. It’s a way of showing up as educators—a way of saying: I see you. I honor your story. I believe your identity is an asset, not an obstacle, in this learning space.

Culturally relevant teaching, as envisioned by Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, is about more than representation. It’s about creating learning experiences that affirm students’ identities, build on their cultural strengths, and develop critical consciousness—the ability to question the world, challenge injustice, and shape a better future.

It doesn’t require perfection. It asks for intention.

Let’s talk about how we do that.

Seeing Beyond the Lesson Plan

The best place to start isn’t with the curriculum. It’s with the students.

Who are they? What do they carry with them when they walk through your door? What experiences shape their worldview? What traditions, languages, or values live in their homes?

Too often, we jump straight into teaching content before we’ve taken the time to understand the human beings in front of us. But culturally relevant teaching begins with knowing your students not just as learners, but as people with complex, beautiful identities.

One teacher I worked with began the year with a simple prompt: "Tell me something about yourself that school has never asked about." The responses were heartbreaking and eye-opening. One student wrote, "That my grandma raised me. And she teaches me everything in Lakota. But school says that’s not real learning." That response changed everything for that teacher. When we slow down to ask, listen, and reflect, we begin to see our students in ways that deepen connection and shift how we teach.

Inviting Students to Bring Their Whole Selves

It’s not enough for students to feel tolerated. They need to feel celebrated.

We can’t assume students will automatically see themselves in our classrooms. We have to make it clear, through what we teach and how we teach it, that their identities are not just welcome—they’re vital.

That might look like:

• Letting students choose projects that connect to their own backgrounds or communities

• Creating space for storytelling in multiple languages

• Integrating music, art, and traditions from students' cultures into classroom life

• Asking students what they want to learn more about, and making room for it

In one classroom I visited, students were working on a research unit, but instead of assigning the same topic to everyone, the teacher asked: "What do you want adults to understand about your community?" One student wrote about Afro-Caribbean food traditions, another about immigration law, another about Indigenous land history. Not only did the classroom become more alive with relevance, but students were more invested, more engaged, and more proud of their work.

This is the heart of culturally relevant teaching: honoring student voice, validating lived experience, and affirming that school is a place where their whole self belongs.

Shifting the Power Dynamic

Culturally relevant teaching also asks us to look at how power operates in the classroom. Who does the talking? Who decides what counts as knowledge? Who gets to ask the questions?

In traditional classrooms, the teacher is often the sole authority. But in a culturally relevant classroom, knowledge is shared. Students are not passive recipients—they’re contributors, co-creators, experts in their own right. This doesn’t mean chaos. It means collaboration. It means giving students choices in how they learn, inviting them to challenge ideas (respectfully), and treating their insights as valuable.

Try asking: "What perspectives are missing in this story?" or "What would your community say about this issue?"

When we make room for these conversations, we help students build not only academic skills, but critical consciousness. They begin to see the world as something they can analyze, question, and improve.

Reflecting on Our Own Practice

The hard part of this work? Sometimes it means holding up a mirror.

Culturally relevant teaching isn’t just about what we do for students. It’s also about how we grow as educators. What assumptions do we carry? What voices do we center by default? What gaps exist in our curriculum, and why? None of us were trained perfectly. And that’s okay. The work isn’t about guilt—it’s about growth. It’s about being willing to learn, unlearn, and try again.

One way to start: take one unit you teach and audit it. Whose stories are told? Whose are missing? What perspectives could be added to make the learning more inclusive and complex?

This isn’t about "adding diversity" to check a box. It’s about creating a curriculum that reflects reality—one that helps all students feel represented, and helps all students expand their understanding of the world.

The Emotional Weight—and the Hope

Let’s name something here: this work can be heavy. When you open space for students to bring their whole selves, they might share pain. When you look closely at a curriculum, you might find silence where there should be story. When you reflect on your own practice, you might realize places you missed the mark.

And yet—this work is also full of joy.

It’s in the student who sees their grandmother’s country on the world map for the first time. It’s in the moment a child says, "You mean we can talk about that here?" It’s in the project that connects generations, cultures, and classrooms. Culturally relevant teaching is not a checklist or a trend. It’s a commitment. It’s a belief that every student deserves to be seen, heard, and valued for exactly who they are.

And it starts with us.

Want more support on your culturally relevant teaching journey? EduMatch offers resources, professional learning, and a community of educators committed to equity and student voice.