Allison Perryman: Spanish Teacher, Creator of The Cultural Classroom, and Host of Diversity in Action

In this presentation, Allison emphasizes the importance of confronting personal biases and embracing diversity in the Spanish classroom. She shares a personal story of initially misrepresenting her students' Mexican culture in her classroom, and her subsequent efforts to transform her approach by involving her students in the cultural representation. Perryman stresses the need for a diverse and inclusive curriculum to reflect the increasing diversity in student enrollment, and shares strategies for incorporating authentic cultural elements and promoting inclusivity. Additionally, she highlights the significance of recognizing and addressing biases to create an anti-bias classroom and provides insights on incorporating diverse cultural influences in the curriculum.

En esa sesión, Allison nos compartirá algunos tips y algunas estrategias de ideas y actividades
creativas que podemos hacer en las clases para repasar o para llenar tiempo libre, a fin de añadir esta chispa de diversión que no aburra a nuestros estudiantes.

In this session, Allison is going to demonstrate how to increase student buy-in, make time for culture in your class, highlight the diversity of your students in your curriculum, and make culture practical and actionable in your classroom.

Allison presents the strategies she implements in order to guide her students to becoming more than just “cultural tourists.” She reminds us of the cultural iceberg analogy and then describes how she addresses her students’ senses of sight, hearing, and taste to increase their interculturality. In addition, she reminds us of the importance of affirming each of our students as members of various cultures.