Case
Culture in the classroom

I have an idea of bringing culture into my classroom with different foods and celebrations from around the globe each week. Would this be a good idea, or do you think it would clog up the already hefty curriculum we need to follow? Explain and share ideas.

Solution #1
Top Solution
Bringing culture into the classroom by means of food is a great idea. I agree that yes, maybe a little less frequently than once a week. In addition, there are other ways of bringing multicultural curriculum into the classroom. You could integrate lessons about other cultures that delve into deep culture. By transforming your curriculum, you will be able to give the students some very meaningful lessons in different cultures and bring varying viewpoints and perspectives into your classroom.

I agree there also other way to introduce other cultures throughout the school year and the food celebration can be done at the end of the school year or closer to a break.

I think there could be other effective ways to share cultures in the classroom.

Solution #2
Bringing culture into the classroom with food and celebration is always a fantastic idea. However, I would recommend not doing this every week. Try once a month. These things can be difficult to organize, and making them once a month instead of once a week will make the students look forward to them rather than become bored of them. Make a list where students can sign up to bring certain things like plates or cooking ingredients if you are going to cook. If a student is a part of the particular culture you are celebrating, encourage them to suggest recipes or music for the celebration. We used to make crêpes in my French class using a griddle. This was always fun, but we did not do it often. I think your idea is good, but make sure to focus on learning before celebrating. Have the students do a mini assignment about the culture you are highlighting.

I agree that this is a great idea, but that it would be hard to implement into the curriculum every week. Once a month could be a more effective way to add the new culture lessons.

Solution #3
I definitely think that bringing culture into the classroom is a good idea! Using this can help the students learn more about other cultures. This lesson is more of a hands-on type of instruction which will leave an impression on the students. As far as including a lesson like this every week, this might not be a great idea. It can be expensive, and can take up a lot of class time. I think that I would take one or two weeks (as long as it is ok) and pick a different country (or continent) to go over each day with the students. If this is not ok to do, you could pick one day out of the month to have the lesson. This could give you a chance to save up money, and it would not take up a ton of time.
Solution #4
Bringing food into the classroom is a great way to get the students involved...I mean who doesn't love food. I would just say to make sure you check with the administration because some schools are against bringing food into the classroom. Also I would make sure the students in the classroom do not have allergies to any of the foods that could possibly be brought in.
Solution #5
I would implement this with the content. Based on what the students are learning, see if you can draw from that. Or every Friday could be 'culture day' and you can just focus on one specific country.
Solution #6
Feeding students can be a bit tricky due to allergies, preference, and simply not knowing the cook. I would suggest possibly having students to bring something in from their very own culture such as clothing, stories, pictures, family members etc. to introduce other students different cultures. You can also do virtual tours, Skype, etc. to expose students to different cultures around the world. If you are absolutely sold on feeding the students, I would make it a one time thing at the end of the year in which students can taste the different foods.
Solution #7
This would be a great idea. This is especially true if your class has a diverse cultural makeup. Being culturally sensitive allows you to engage your students and your community. This also gives them ownership of the classroom and curriculum which will increase student motivation. Connecting your cultural celebrations to your curriculum will be an even better way to engage your students in your class.
Solution #8
Tying culture into your class is always a good idea. Try to relate it to the curriculum. Maybe instead of food, try class decorations if you feel that food would be too disruptive. This can get pretty expensive, but you can get a lot through thrifting and over the years your collection will grow.
Solution #9
It's a nice idea and it has merit, but there is so much more to culture that just food. A more effective way to bring culture to your classroom is to add culture to your classroom and your lessons. Fins out if there are students in your classroom whose culture is different and see if they would be willing to share their culture with the class. Changes in culture run much more deeply than just food. There are things to consider like religions, holidays, languages, governments, education, family just to name a few. These are all things to consider when talking or teaching about cultures in the classroom.
Solution #10
I think this is a great idea.. if it is getting in the way of lessons, you may be able to tie it in to lessons. Culturally responsive teaching is a great approach, and it will benefit your students to be introduced to the diversity that exists within the world.
Solution #11
I think that would be very fun especially if you did groups where students have the same culture can each bring in a food item. Once a month would be great!
Solution #12
I think that this is a great idea to promote knowledge of cultural diversity. However, I would be sure to make the serving and eating of food as non-intrusive to the learning environment as possible. Especially if this is a weekly event, it should be done on the same day every week with students specifically instructed on which order to go up and get food in the beginning, and a specified time for plates and silverware to be disposed of (either have everyone wait until the end of class, or quickly finish the food and have everyone throw trash away at the same time). I would avoid allowing students to get up in the middle of instruction to dispose of materials, as it will be distracting to other students.

I also agree that it is a great idea!