Picture of my son, and flags of countries represented in the parade during multicultural week at their school.

Multicultural event in their school is part of the school's curriculum. Usually each class in the elementary school will focus on one country. This year that decided to celebrate the different cultures that make up Rhode Island. Each child was asked to write about the country of their ancestors and the reason for coming to Rhode Island, this was shared in class. Some students have their parents or grandparents come home to talk about their home land. Parents were asked to send in food for the children to tried, which everyone enjoyed.

On Friday they had a parade of nations. It was very fascinating to see how many countries were represented in their school. At the end of the parade the students lined up outside the school yard and together with their teachers sang the song "We are the World".

Indeed we are the world, as a teacher making a difference in one child can lead to many others. I am very grateful to Dr, August, I have learn so much in her class. This is information that would make me a better teacher and a better person.

I loved my service placement. My classroom teacher is very good with her students. She is an example of a good teacher, although it is a special needs class, it is very organized and the students transition from one activity to another with no problem or chaos. She is always looking for educational but fun activities for them to do. Our last project was writing about our was for the Bay, the students work will be displayed. Most of them wished for a cleaner Bay for the fish to live in. They promise to recycle and pick up their trash so that it would not end up in the Bay.

Exploring Diversity in the Classroom

I found this video on YouTube. It was made for an education class.

<

Prompt VI Lisa Delpit

As I have mentioned before my classroom is not only diverse but it is also a special need class. My teacher has to deal with both academic and behavioral problems. Her main aim is to bring out the best in her students. Since I started visiting I have never heard Mrs. D. raised her voice. You can tell when she is upset and the student knows her cue. If the classroom is too noisy or there is too much movement, she will ask everyone to stop what they are doing and take a deep breath. She will then redirect or give them the instructions again. This system works as the students would usually followed her instructions. She usually corrects them with a question, “Are we suppose to be doing this” or “why do you think this is wrong.”
Teachers are part of the dominate culture and sometimes lack the insight into their students values and cultures. Sociocultural deficit sometimes leads to a child’s behavior being misinterpreted.

A teacher’s value systems are showed in the way she organizes her classroom and also on how she interacts with her students. A good teacher takes into account issues of culture in her classroom. This goes along with Lisa Delpit in her book The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People’s Children, she talks about the five aspects of power which are:

1. Issues of power are enacted in the classrooms
2. There are codes or rules for participating in power, that is, there is a “culture of power.”
3. The rules of the culture of power are a reflection of the rules of the culture of those who have power.
4. If you are not already in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier.
5. Those with the power are frequently least aware of or least willing to acknowledge it’s existence. Those with less power are often most aware of its existence.

Sometimes teachers fail to understand their role as the power broker in the classroom. They are in a power to make known to their students the rules or codes necessary to interact successfully within a given environment. Delpit said the “people are experts on their own lives.” Children know how to behave in their homes and the committee, but they may not be appropriate for the classroom as they do not share the same norm. This is sometimes frustrating to the students. In some African cultures it is disrespectful to look an older person in their eyes, when they are talking, but it is the opposite in this culture, not looking at someone when they are talking will make the is considered disrespectful. Something simple like this can be solved with education.

As a teacher I should be able to explain my students that there are appropriate behaviors and language for different settings. In order for them to succeed in life they must know which language to use in the classroom, with their friend and when they are in the community.

Delpit further suggests that “to understand student’s perspectives, we must become ethnographers, researching the backgrounds to have a better understanding of their individual culture.”

Prompt V Goldenberg
Growing up as a child, I was always mad with my mom because she was too involved in my school. My teachers were also concerned about my school work and they had a special interest in my education. Now as a mother myself, I now appreciate all what she did for me, as I have seen the need for parent involvement in their child’s school.

Parent involvement in my classroom is very vital to the success of my students. Since all of then are behind academically, parents have to do their part to help their children achieve their goals. I have heard Mrs. D. saying that she sends notes home that are not returned, and some students do not get their homework done. I have heard her personally making phone calls to parents to schedule appointments, and saying that it is every difficult to get in touch with them.

Some of my student’s parents are from different cultures and English maybe a second language to them. This is sometimes a problem when it comes to communication. This goes along with Goldenberg argument that most children who are English learners or whose parents are immigrant will only hear the English language being spoken in the classroom. It would be difficult for them to compete with student whose primary language is English and most parents would not be able to help out with homework.

Knowing something about the student’s home life or their cultural background can also help in the classroom. As a teacher I should be able to relate some of my teachings to their cultural backgrounds to help them better understand the subject that is being taught. I would encourage parents to seek help through a local community that helps children out with their homework. There are churches and community centers that offer free tutoring. I would make sure to know the neighborhood of my students so I can refer parents to these centers. Helping out in the classroom, chaperoning on field trips, attending Parents Teachers Association meetings are other ways that parents can get involved. Having two parents volunteer together or working on a school project, like dances or fund raising,can help bring them together and they can learn from each other if they are from different culture.

Goldenberg also talked about “transfer” this is when information that is already learn is transfer to someone in another language. This is an education tool that can be use on parents with the help of the community. Some of the parents are educated in their language, but they are intimidated to communicate with the classroom teacher as they are not fluent in the English language. Transfer can be used to help them understand the information better in their own language and this can also make way for a better communication.

A Special Needs Child

Watching this video was very touching to me.

Prompt IV Kliewer
As an immigrant with over ten years of experience working with adults with disability, I believed I will bring a vast experience to my classroom. In Sierra Leone the country of my birth, people with disability are not considered fit to live in society. They are usually hidden away from the public and most considered it a disgrace to their family. Having worked in this field I have learned that we have to look past their disability and see then as a whole person, who has something to give to society.

I agreed with Kliewer that schools should not be as cultural sorting machines location that “justifies a competitive ethic that marginalizes certain students or groups of students…” As a teacher in this classroom I would strive to bring out the best in my students, work with them as an individual, as each one is unique person. Separating students with disabilities is a disadvantage to the students, as it does not bring out the full potential of the students. These students are not giving a chance to socialize with other than their own kind.

Going to school I never got the opportunity to meet someone who has a mental disability, working in this field opened my eyes to all the possibilities that are out there, if they are given a chance to live. I have seen how this has affected the lives of children with disabilities in my country. Some of them are afraid to be seen in public, they are always in hiding. This is for true with Kliewer argument that “transactional relationship of human reciprocity: Community acceptance requires opportunity for individual participation in the group, but opportunity cannot exist outside of community acceptance”.

I love to see the expression on their faces when they can complete a task by themselves. I have learned to repeat myself over and over without being frustrated, knowing that the end result is worth all the repeating in the world. Working with special needs children calls for patience, creativity and are lot of improvising, and these are all qualities that I have mastered over the years.

My ethnic background is another tool that I can bring to this classroom. Four of the student’s parents are from African, since I was born and raised in Sierra Leone, which is a small country in West Africa, I would be able to relate with them when it comes to cultural issues. Talking to parents will be much easier as most African parents would open up to another African. I could be able to bridge the gap when it comes to dealing with culture and a child with a disability.

Prompt III - Ira Shor
My class is very challenging because of their delayed in reading and writing and my student does not fit in to the normal norm of society. Children with development delays are often have no self confident and feel that they could not accomplish anything. My teacher is doing everything she can to help her students with their confident and self esteem. She is doing what Ira Shor said about a passive curriculum that encourages a student to be more involved in the classroom.

In order for her students to become critical and skilled workers, my teachers have to come up with creative learning methods for her class. The class is in three academic levels. Although they are all working on the same page, each group will be working on a different strategy to help them accomplish their goals. During a spelling lesson, group will be matching pictures with words, while group two will be working on phonics and finally group three will be doing an actual spelling test. Each student is treated as an individual and that’s how they are assessed individually as each student is on a different level. Mrs. D is able to accomplish these tasks because this class has two aides helping out. This goes along with Shor’s argument that a curriculum designed to empower students must be transformative to help students become effective members of society.

Shor also said that “human beings are capable of overcoming limits if they can openly examine them. The participatory class offers that possibility.” Mrs. D is constantly challenging her students. As part of their writing lesson, each student is required to read a non-fiction book. They are to come up with three new facts and three things they would like to know about the topic of their books. Each student will share something new they have learned with the class. She grades them on their presentation and participation and how much though was put on the project. Students, who have problem expressing themselves in words, are encouraged to draw a picture of the subject with labeled parts.

One thing that amazed me is the weekly group projects she has them work on. Each week is new and it is always something that required the students to use their imagination and be creative. Last week their project was making an accordion book and this week since it is reading week in their school the students worked on marking their own book marks. These are projects that I looked forward to doing with the students, as I am able to interact with them and see their creative sides. During these projects Mrs. D looks for how well they are listening and following directions.

I see some of Shor argument in this classroom, there is a lot of active learning going on in this classroom. The students are encouraged to be creative and to use their imagination; everyone is encouraged to participate in this class.