Season 7 Episode #18 Unlocking Creativity: Diverse Perspectives in the Classroom

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Creativity doesn't just happen—it blossoms when we honor the rich cultural backgrounds our students bring to the classroom every day. This episode dives into the powerful connection between creativity and culturally responsive teaching, revealing how diverse perspectives don't just promote inclusion—they spark innovation.

When students see their cultural identities reflected in curriculum, something remarkable happens. They engage more deeply, take intellectual risks, and develop critical thinking skills that fuel creative expression. Their hands raise more frequently, their voices grow stronger, and they bring unique approaches to problem-solving that wouldn't exist in a one-size-fits-all environment. As educators, we're not just teaching creativity—we're unleashing it by creating conditions where every cultural perspective is valued.

The episode offers practical strategies for implementing culturally responsive creativity: story circles where students share family traditions and proverbs; visual cultural walls showcasing diverse patterns and artifacts from African textiles to cultural symbols; literature circles featuring books that reflect varied lived experiences; and performance activities that allow students to express cultural knowledge through creative means. Each approach creates brave, safe spaces where sharing is invited but never forced, honoring the intersectional identities students bring to learning. The impact extends beyond academic achievement—when we welcome every story into our classrooms, we transform educational spaces into incubators for the creative thinking our complex world desperately needs. Ready to bring more culturally responsive creativity to your teaching? Check out the newly priced mini-courses and resources at jebehmunds.com that will help you implement these ideas starting tomorrow.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 0 (00:00):
Welcome back to the Cultural Curriculum Chat.
I'm your host, jebe Edmonds,and today we are diving into
something that should be at theheart of every classroom
creativity fueled by diverseperspectives.
We've all heard that creativityis a 21st century skill, but
how do we actually unlock it forevery student, especially those

(00:23):
from culturally diversebackgrounds?
In today's episode, we'llexplore how multicultural
education isn't just aboutinclusion.
It's also about innovation, andlet's talk about it.
We're going to talk about whycreative thrives in culturally
responsive environments, howdiverse stories and traditions
spark imagination environments,how diverse stories and

(00:48):
traditions spark imagination,and three ways you can implement
creative lessons rooted instudents' heritage and identity.
But before we jump in, don'tforget to check out my new mini
course pricing on culturallyinclusive education.
It's the same empoweringcontent.
Now it's more accessible thanever.
Head to jebedmondscom, you willsee the tab.

(01:11):
Title the courses and grabyours today.
Now.
Why creativity needs culture.
Let's just start with theobvious.
Okay, no two students think thesame, but when classrooms
ignore students' culturalknowledge and their own lived
experiences, we silence some ofthe richest sources of

(01:32):
creativity.
Research shows that studentsfrom historically marginalized
groups thrive when their cultureis reflected in the curriculum.
Reflected in the curriculum.
They take more risks, theyengage more deeply, they sit a
little taller with theirconfidence and they develop
critical thinking skills.

(01:52):
And guess what?
That is creativity at work.
When you spark that creativityin a student, don't you
recognize that they raise theirhand more, they're more engaged,
they're so excited to say, ohmy gosh, my Nona does that.
Or oh my goodness, you know, welived out of the country for a

(02:15):
few months and we learned aboutthis particular cultural food.
Or, yeah, you know, my elder inmy family does the same method
or procedure of how they garden.
So many things come about andthey are willing to share when
they feel comfortable and in apsychologically safe environment

(02:38):
.
We can also think about ifeveryone is solving a problem
the same way.
We only get one type ofsolution.
But when we bring inperspectives from different
cultures and backgrounds andlanguages, we get an explosion
of new ideas.
So in your classroom that mightlook like encouraging students

(03:00):
to share folktales or their ownpersonal narratives.
From home they can use music,art and dance.
You know how I love a good beatfrom different cultures as
inspiration for projects, askingstudents to remix traditional
assignments with their ownheritage in mind.
Now you might be wondering well,what if a student is adopted

(03:22):
from a different culturalbackground?
You can have them even pickeither their own home identity
or their own culture from wherethey are of origin, whatever
makes them feel comfortable.
You know, sometimes in adoptioncases it could be pretty
traumatic.
So definitely reach out to thatstudent's parent or legal

(03:46):
guardian before you start theexercise, just to make sure your
eyes are dotted and your T'sare crossed and you're being
culturally responsive.
Some three ways that you canstart unlocking creativity today
is by having a story circle.
Start the week with afive-minute story share.
Let students tell a familymemory or a proverb or a

(04:08):
cultural tradition and again,like I'm saying, if you have a
student that is from a differentfamily, if there's a cultural
background that they might beinterested in sharing that might
not be theirs, that's alsosomething to explore.
Creating visual cultural wallsCreate a space where students
post images, visual culturalwalls and create a space where

(04:32):
students post images, colors orpatterns that represent their
background.
I always would put up Africanfabrics and we would do African
printing in art to show textilesand have the students touch and
see and feel and learn aboutthe significance of different
patterns in African cultures andremember, even if you can pull

(04:55):
up a map of the various Africanprints and design names Mudcloth
versus Ankara, and students cansee the region in the continent
of where those patterns andfabrics originated from, so that
could be a part of yourcultural wall.
You know we're so versed intalking about European cultures

(05:20):
and fabrics.
You know the Scottish tartan,you know, but we don't talk
about the Liberian country clothand how the similarities they
have and the differences.
That's something you cantotally do.
Diverse perspectives sparkinnovation.
Here's another good example ofencouraging your students to
share their diverse perspectivesin the classroom.

(05:41):
I loved it when my students didplays.
We would do lit circles wherethey could pick the book that
had a reflection of their livedexperience or a lived experience
of somebody in their family.
We are very intersectional.
We are very.
We all have multiple identitiesthat we carry, and having that

(06:06):
by encouraging our students toreally showcase and share who
they are is when they feel mostcomfortable.
This is not something you wantto make a student feel like
share what you are, kind of athing.
We don't want to beinterrogative when we're doing
this work.
We just want to have that brave, safe space for them to share
when they are ready, using music, art, dance.

(06:30):
You know spoken word poems Ilove seeing those live wax
museum displays that students doand even sparking a poetry
night, a poetry slam about yourculture.
Have students take the wheel onthis.
You know some of the times whenwe are so adamant and used to.

(06:51):
You know our default setting ofshowing everybody.
This is the way to go.
Sometimes you're also learningfrom them.
Let them guide you through thisprocess.
Another thing I want you tocontinue to encourage is you
know, if a student doesn't quiteknow a folktale, maybe give
them about a week to say we'regoing to start this project and

(07:11):
I'm going to send a newsletterhome to your family and just say
if there's a favorite folktalethat you would like to share
with your child, please share itwith us.
Give them a large index cardthat they could write it on, or
have them share a favoriterecipe that only they know how
to make from home and make acookbook.

(07:33):
And don't worry, you knowyou're not going to get it right
the first time, and this issomething that I don't want it
to be one and done.
I want you to continue to bringup those diverse perspectives
in your classroom, have thoseopen conversations and also have
a list of norms.
When you're talking aboutsharing, you know, have the

(07:54):
students listen and not responduntil after the person is shared
.
That active listening is soimportant in this day and age
and a lot of the times we missthat during COVID.
So giving into that practiceand modeling what active
listening looks like, soundslike and feels like that will
also help in this exercisethroughout your classroom year.

(08:19):
And again, you can use any ofmy lesson plans Explore my
multicultural lesson plans on mysite to bring this work to life
easily.
Whether it's storytelling,folktales or historical
narratives, I have got youcovered.
And while you're there,subscribe to my newsletter for
free resources, monthly tips andeducator inspiration in your

(08:44):
inbox every week.
One more thing before we goCreativity isn't something we
teach, it's something we unleash, and by honoring our students'
diverse perspectives we createthe conditions for brilliance to
bloom.
I had a former student send mea wonderful thank you card.

(09:05):
I'm not going to give thedetails, but it was so warm and
close to my heart that I reallycried.
She just graduated high schooland she was an adoptee and she
really showed me how valuable myrepresentation was being a
Black woman in her classroom,and she also made me feel that

(09:30):
all of the hard work that I didto infuse multicultural
education was not lost.
So I'm so proud of that youngwoman and I cannot wait to see
her soar in this world.
And if you had enjoyed thisepisode, please feel free to
leave me a review, share it withyour educator friend, and

(09:53):
remember your classroom becomesa more creative space the moment
you welcome every story.
And one last reminder before wego y'all check out the updated
pricing on my mini and fullcourses at jebedmondscom, that
is J-E-B-E-H-E-D-M-U-N-D-S.

(10:14):
Dot com and grab those ready touse lesson plans to start today
.
Until next time, keep leadingwith culture.
Bye, bye.