Growing up the schools I attended where the complete opposite of diverse. 99% of the school’s population was white upper-middle class. So not until college did I start to really learn about other cultures. From meeting people I have realized cultures are developed from ethnic, regional and class background. In grades K-12, I never knew any ELLs. When I did my first placement at Red Cedar Elementary, which is known as a “flower-pot” school, was the first time I had any interaction with an ELL. I am learning so much through our readings and wish I would have known this before. For teaching ELLs I always thought it was important to teach English before the curriculum, now I know from Gibbons how detrimental that method is. It is important to combine English learning with the curriculum.
As a teacher I never want to exclude a child, so I plan on learning as much as I can about their culture. I remember in a previous TE reading (I’m not sure if it was from this class) I read about a teacher who met with each student’s family before the first day of school. At first I thought this sounded crazy, but I saw how big of an impact it made on her teaching style. By seeing her students’ cultural backgrounds she was able to develop her classroom curriculum around everyone’s needs. Another example of diversity in the classroom is the video clip we viewed in class, when the teacher read the Chinese picture book. I believe all students should have an appreciation of other cultures and this should be always present in the classroom. This was a perfect way to do this, especially since she related it to a story (the Gingerbread Man) that many of the students knew. The type of discussion it sparked made the children recognize their own culture and share with other students.
I think at the beginning of the year students are often hesitant of their teachers. So to make the students feel comfortable I would want to make my classroom very inclusive. To get to know students from a multiple perspective I would first observe them with their other classmate, and during class discussion. I think it is also important to talk with students one on one. In my TE 301 placement my CT would call over students during lessons and just talk to them. This was sometimes about the topic, but usually just about random things. This allowed her to get to know the student on a personal level and allowed the student to feel very comfortable with talking to her. This also allowed her to see their literacy needs, in the speaking and listening components.
1 comment:
Jessica,
Once again, after reading your post I feel like we have a lot in common! The schools that I attended for elementary and high school were the complete opposite of diverse. Most of my schools population was white and part of the upper middle class, and I don’t remember having any ELL’s in my class. It was not until college that I learned a lot about specific cultures. My field placements provided a first hand experience of how diverse a classroom can be. It really showed me how important it is for me to learn how to reach out and teach many different cultures, including ELL’s. I wish I would have been experienced to more diversity when I was younger. I feel like I could have used that knowledge in the classroom. Do you remember any strategies that your previous CT’s have used to learn about the diversity in their classroom?
I too never want to exclude a child in anything so I want to learn as much as I can about their culture. You mention how a teacher could meet with a student’s family before the first day of school. I never thought of this but I think it would be a good way to learn the background of your student. This could help a teacher develop their lessons around the student’s needs. On the other hand, I feel like some families would chose not to show up, or may be embarrassed to meet the teacher because they can not speak English. What are some things you could do to build a relationship with an ELL’s student’s family? Having a good relationship with the parents will only help more in understanding the child. Also, you mentioned how you liked the video clip that we saw in class when the teacher read the Chinese picture book. I feel like through literacy a teacher can incorporate different cultures into the classroom. Books are a great way to present a new culture to the students, followed by a discussion. What are some other activities or lessons in which you as a teacher could learn about a student’s culture?
I think it is very important to make your classroom feel comfortable and welcome to the students. It is going to take a few days for the students to really open up, so I believe that your idea of just observing the students would be good. This would allow you to see how the students interact with their classmates and determine their strengths and weaknesses. I know that we will have all types of students in our future classrooms; some students will be more open than others. So what are ways that you could make sure to learn about the culture of a shy student?
I feel like as we start our field placement this week we will be experienced to a room full of diversity. This experience should provide us with ideas and examples of how to learn about the diversity in our future classrooms.
Carrie
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