Bridging the Gap Between Family and School
             As far back as we know family has been the primary source for learning. With learning, comes the time old tradition of family values and cultural practices that are taught by the family unit. Included in this unit are siblings, parents and other relatives. Learning, no matter what the subject matter is, should be meaningful to the learner and placed in the context of their social environments. This needs to be accomplished to ensure the highest degree of student success, no matter what diverse cultural background he or she may be from.
             At times, the home environment may not be consistent with the school environment and therefore learning begins to create a pull between the student's cultural practices and those practices of the school. Now more than ever, communities are diverse cultures with different interests and political beliefs. Schools need to take this into account when designing expectations and curriculum for the success of all individuals.
             Vivian Gadsden, from 'Family Literacy', is quick to point out that "the social connectedness of the family to others in the community and with those that share common cultural traditions and interests is often identified as important" (pg. 3, 1996). Certainly, this connectedness is seen in many research articles and holds much value and truth for educators. Gloria Ladson-Billings, from 'The Dream Keepers,' refers to this connectedness as "cultural relevance" but includes other aspects of student and school culture. This type of teaching, "uses student culture in order to maintain it and to transcend the negative effects of the dominant culture" (pg. 17, 1994).
             Students who do not see their culture represented or distorted in textbooks tend to be at odds with the school and further disconnected. Ladson-Billings affirm that,
             "Culturally relevant teaching is a ped...