Cultural Competence A-Z: K is for Knowledge

Fill 'er up!

Well, the topic for K is a little disappointing for me. The word 'knowledge' doesn't make the right sound at the beginning of the word! It just doesn't sound the way I want it to: K for a word that starts with an 'N' sound. Darn you English language!

Ok, now that the incredibly nerdy side of me has gotten that out of my system, we can talk about knowledge. Because correct beginning sound or not, it's an important part of cultural competence. In fact, most definitions of cultural competence include something about having knowledge of different cultures (awareness, skills, behaviors, attitudes are also often thrown in there). So possessing knowledge about other cultures is absolutely vital.

It's important to keep in mind that having knowledge about every culture is pretty much impossible. You are never going to know everything about everyone around the world. But it's always something that you strive for. In several previous posts (I'm loving B, C, & G) I talked about how to increase cultural knowledge while having fun with your kids. There will be even more suggestions in upcoming posts (letters M & P are favorites of mine). So in this one, I thought I'd focus on the grown-ups for a change and offer some adult book suggestions for how to increase your cultural competence knowledge. If you have teens or young adults at home then they may also be able to read these with you:

• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum
• Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
• Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates
• Man Up: Reimaging Modern Manhood by Carlos Andreas Gomez (a good friend of mine!)
• Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. Banaji
• Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture by Peggy Orenstein
• Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Reality of Girl World by Rosalind Wiseman
• Raising Ryland: Our Story of Parenting a Transgender Child With No Strings Attached by Hillary Whittington

Which one will you get first? Have you read any of these? What did you think? Do you have additional suggestions for adult books? Leave a comment below. Don't forget to check back next week for letter L! Better yet sign up for our newsletter and it'll be delivered right to your inbox!

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