Final Reflection

Final Reflection

            When I saw the course title, I immediately thought of our immigrant population but after reading the course description and getting the text for the class, I realized I was going to be delving into many other layers of diversity. 

            The chapter on race and ethnicity tied two elements that I had always thought of separately together.  I try to teach tolerance for differences in people in my classroom throughout the year.  When the opportunity and discussion comes up with my students, I encourage them to share ideas and opinions as long as they are respectful of others.  We continually talk about how we should not judge others by the color of their skin but by the content of their character and how they treat others.  I believe that this can make a difference in our children’s attitudes throughout life if they are introduced to these concepts early.

            I think that teaching tolerance laps over into the chapters on culture & language and poverty & Socioeconomic class.  We need to not only teach tolerance but compassion.  My school has many students from other lands and I usually have the ELL students for my grade level.  I always refer to my class as the “rainbow class” referring to the color, cultural, and language differences that students bring with them to school.  I think children can learn so much from each other.  My ELL parents on the other hand, have not always gotten the consideration from me that they deserve…not out of ill will but out of not realizing how important I need to view them to their child’s success.  This is one factor I will always take in consideration and make efforts to make them feel welcome and included.  I have over the years come to worry more and more about my poor students well being and always try to give them a little extra time to finish work at school or a little extra help from me or other students since they don’t always receive that at home for various reasons.  I always treat them with respect.

            The final three chapters, gender, sexual orientation, and religion, I identified with but did not find them to necessarily be things that are usually integrated much if at all in a first grade classroom.  Nonetheless, I did identify ways that they could be included if there became the need.  I will say that was one of the most difficult things that I had to accomplish thinking about but I was happy when I came up with an idea. 

            All of these items are things that need to be addressed in our schools and teachers and administrator need to constantly be thinking of new ideas and getting some outside help at times.  There always will be old practices happening in school that need to be changed as peoples attitudes and awareness are awakened.  Education before decisions are made will help people to make good choices after time for reflection. One thing that I did not see brought up was the issue of adoption and how that affects students as they go to school.  Many of these students are adapted and are from different cultures and may have different skin tones. 

Questions:  How do we help these adopted children fit in and feel included?  How do we help the other children in our class understand?

Chapter 12

Chapter 12    Religion

America has always prided itself on being a land of inclusion.  We were founded on freedom of religion but at that time there were not that many in our country.  I am surprised that they really only discussed the Muslim religion in depth in this chapter.  Yes, it is important with our new immigrant population to know more about it than most American’s do gut what about all the other religions in the world.  There was not mention of our own native Indian population and their worship practices.  But I guess that would take more than this chapter to explore.

I find religion just as fascinating as culture, language, and all the other diverse elements that people from other parts of the world bring to our country.  It is another aspect we need to pay attention to when getting to know our students each year because it is another element in their personality.  Sometimes it is the most important one in shaping them.  I had a student this past year that came from a very religious background and it came up in many conversations during the year.  I always tried to respect her views and thanked her for them while at the same time pointing out that we each had to decide those things at home with our parents and that each of us did not always think the same way.  Children should be free to talk to each other about their religion in the classroom but not to hold a captive audience. 

In my classroom, we usually start to talk about how people around the world celebrate in different ways.  That is how we touch on religion without really teach or preach that religion.  I usually start with Thanksgiving since that is really an American celebration.  Following that we look at different cultures celebrations and compare and contrast them.  The students usually really enjoy this.  We talk about how children usually receive gifts and they eat special food.  We go into all the aspects of the celebrations.  I usually do this up until our Winter Break and then touch on it intermittently during the rest of the year.  This gives children a sense of other cultures without looking at the religious factors.

Question:  Do you think that my way of introducing first graders to religion indirectly is a good way to do so?  How do you insert it into your curriculum or do you bring it in at all?

Chapter 11

Chapter 11   Sexual Orientation

I was appalled that there are still states where teachers can be discriminated against or fired if you are GLBT.  But considering that gay marriage is still a work in progress, I guess that I shouldn’t be so surprised.  I have worked with a gay fellow teacher in the past and am currently working with a lesbian teacher.  I treat them the same as I do all of my fellow teachers, with respect and friendship.  I would treat my children this way as well if at first grade they had matured enough to make that type of decision. 

When I was growing up, we were told that we teach gender to our children by giving them boy toys or girl toys.  I made an effort not to do that.  My son played with dolls and I did not think it was any big deal.  As they grew up, they brought their friends to our house and one day we found out that one of them was gay. It was no big deal to me as he was still the same kid he had been before I heard that.  He knew that at our house, their was not judging him for that as well as not judging my daughter for purple, pink, or whatever color hair she wanted to wear.  It did not and does not change the person on the inside.  I have always followed the policy that you can be and do (within the laws of your country) anything you want as long as it does no harm to others. 

I am appalled by the treatment of students and the fear they have of telling friends and family that they are different in this way.  I would treat a child in my classroom the same and if others were bullying him or her, they would not get away with it for long. I would call parents to a meeting to discuss the behavior.

Question:  What have you experienced in your school?  What would you do if you saw a student being bullied because of their sexual orientation?

Chapter 10

Chapter 10 -  Gender

            This was a very interesting chapter.  A perception even at the youngest ages that a scientist or mathematicians are men is so true sadly.  Girls need to be exposed to the joy of science and math and become aware that they are able to excel in it as well as boys.  Girls also identify with gender specific roles by seeing what the important women in their life accomplish.  They are not encouraged to challenge themselves as they pass into high school and college.  The fact that girls’ brains are wired differently is intriguing.  It is interesting that girls say their success comes from effort while boys will attribute it to personal ability. 

            Boys start school with a gender stereotype.  The chapter tells us that in the teachers eyes they will be viewed as being more disruptive but better in science and math than girls.  Interestingly enough though they will not be good readers and that will take its toll on them when they enter high school.  Boys literary interests will be discouraged in favor of more main line literature that steers away from violence and adventure.

             Poverty and ethnicity also have a bearing on success.  Women fair the worst in both of these areas.  Parents can influence their children but sometimes it is for the positive and other times for the negative.

            Overall, this chapter tells us that one of the major influences, and sometimes turning points, in these children’s lives can be a teacher.  Teachers are a stable source of daily interaction and can make a difference if they treat each child in an equitable way.  That does not mean treating each child equally.  In my classroom, students may see me giving an extra snack to a student, free time, individual help, etc.  They may start to protest that, “it is not fair” that they aren’t receiving the same from me.  I always tell them that I take care of EACH of all my student’s needs as I see the necessity.  As the year progresses, there is less and less of the protests since I do the same for them when they have a special need.  I try to help all my students whether it is emotional or educational needs in the same manner.  Do you have some students that are more likeable than others?  Yes, that is just the way we all are since we are not impartial judges.  I try to see the person though, not the boy or girl, rich or poor, black or white or any other color.  Those things do not matter to me.  Their teacher should offer each child a hand up in the world because you can make all the difference in their self-esteem and ability to move forward.  My favorite tools are smiles, hugs, high fives, and pats on the back.  If someone is discouraged and says they cannot complete the task, I will give them help as I see they need it but I do not give the answer when I know they can arrive at it and get that feeling of satisfaction and self validation which can lead them to future successes.

Question:  What do you do in your classroom to help bolster a child’s self esteem?  How do you help them jump that hurdle that they think is beyond their reach?

Chapter 9

Chapter 9  Exceptionality

            RTI is a good way to track how students are doing in your classroom.  By looking at the tiers supporting students with learning difficulties, we are creating better citizens.  This is so much better than shutting them away and never attending to any of their intellectual or physical needs.  Originally, people thought if someone had a disability that they were “stupid” and not able to function in society.  They were considered like a disease that you didn’t want any other children to “catch”.  Once again, this myth has been dispelled and addressed.  There are some students that have emotional and physical reactions to problems that cause them to act out and these students viewed and cared for in a way appropriate for them and the rest of the school population.

            I did not realize that gifted students were eligible for services in some states.  We as teachers need to mindful of the needs of these students as well.  In my years teaching I have had some students most years that seemed to work at a very high level and I always have found ways to differentiate their instruction.  The thing that is happening in most classrooms across our country is to not only differentiation for our students with learning disabilities or difficulties but also for all of our students across the entire classroom.  Since this process is in place in my room, most students keep occupied working on different items or assignments in their folders.  Sometimes these assignments will take them to the computers, our reading area, or another workshop station set up in the classroom.  They are allowed to work in different levels according to their ability.  There is some work that we do as a whole class and that is usually when a new concept is introduced or when the initial assignment is given.  We also have whole grade level workshop time where different skill areas in math or reading are worked on with a specific student population to enrich or enable them to acquire a skill.

Question:  What do you do in your classroom to meet the needs of all students?  Is it a similar set up to mine or does your school operate differently?

Chapter 8

Chapter 8  Poverty and Socioeconomic Class

These two subjects are so interconnected and sad at the same time.  Ruby Payne did and excellent job of making some of the stories that many of us never see, relatable.  She explained in a manner that I had not thought of before I read her book.  To think that so many of our children come to school everyday just to have a safe, comfortable place where they can get a meal is a sad statement on our “richest nation in the world” status.  And after they have those needs met, we expect them to learn and behave in class.  We have had some homeless families come to our school after someone had found them a place to stay.  If we have currently homeless families, I am unaware of it but then, they wouldn’t advertise that they were in that condition.

            Every year I have a few students who fall asleep in the classroom.  Do I wake them up?  No, I usually can figure out the reason behind it.  Some of the stories they will share and others will not.  I have hear how they had to sleep in the only bed with mom and she was staying up watching TV most of the night so it wasn’t important to her to let them go to sleep.  There were many other stories that you hear as well.  I have made the late night run to the grocery story, Walmart, etc. and seen countless kids out at that time who should have been in bed.  These children live difficult lives so if they fall asleep at school, I usually let them.  My thinking is that if they need sleep that badly, then let them because they will learn more when they wake up and can pay attention.

            I don’t look to see what socio economic group my students might live in but it is readily apparent by how many times they wear the same shirt over the course of the week.  At my school if they need a change of clothes or to have them washed while at school, we have the facilities for that.  We also collect clothes, which are given to needy children throughout the school year.  If my kids need a snack and do not have anything with them, I always keep extra.  A hungry brain is not a working brain.  We also have a local church that packs food bags for some of the students to take home each weekend so that they get something to eat over the weekend.  Students who come to us hungry, cold, tired, and dirty deserve as much care in their education if not more.  I try to treat each child fairly.  Sometimes that can be difficult because they may strike out because of one or more of these conditions being an ongoing thing that takes its toll on their young lives.  I also try to be firm but understanding at these times.

Question:  What do you do if a student is “striking out” at you and you are pretty sure it is because one of their basic needs is not being met?  How do you keep them focused on learning in these situations?

Chapter 7

Chapter 7  Culture and Language

It is amazing to think of how many ways we communicate that is not verbal.  One think we have to keep in mind when working with our ELL population is that there are gestures in America that we consider positive that are considered totally disrespectful in other cultures.  It is very important for us to find out more about a students culture and things like this so that we make sure we treat them and their family in a deferential way.  I do not think that we always take into consideration how much language is influenced by culture and vice versa. 

We really need to get to know the families of all our students but particularly ones who come here from a different culture whether it is from another country or another culture within our culture.  Family views and ideas differ greatly from what we consider the norm and we need to adjust our teaching to honor this. 

We have a lot of Asian students in my school, predominately from India.  I have really enjoyed getting to know their families and some of their culture.  We actually end our school year with a “world culture tour” where each grade level takes on a continent and then all the students dig into books and other cultural elements from that area.  At the end of the year we take the classes around to see what students have created from other cultures.  All the students get really excited to see all of the different items.  They learn so much and with that comes understanding and tolerance.

Question:  Do you know of anything is that we consider and okay in American Culture but not in another culture?  Please share so I can be aware.