Journal Questions 1-4
Choose one:
4. Several of your students are from a public housing project in the district and clearly have fewer advantages than the other students in your class. You are concerned that the "project" students never seem to work or play with the others in the class. What would you do?
5. One day you notice that the males are doing most of the talking in your 8th grade classes. Just out of curiosity, you start to note each day how many girls and boys make contributions, and ask questions. You are really surprised to see that your first impression was correct. What would you do to encourage more participation by your female students?
1. The ideas in this chapter that will be most useful to me are those of children learning at different levels that are part of different cultures and the fact that students in different cultures achieve school success differently. Children of different cultures learn differently and at different rates. It is important to know this to be able to facilitate the most successful learning possible in a diverse classroom. School achievement is seen differently in different cultures. What is expected in one may not be tolerated in another. We must know these differences to an extent to be able to provide the best knowledge and facilitate the best learning possible.
ReplyDelete2. The content of this chapter has changed my view of teaching to a more positive outlook. It has made me realize that I can learn just as much or more from my students about them, their cultures, and even myself. This chapter makes me want to have a diverse classroom and learn as much as possible as I can from my students and to help them learn as much as they can about themselves and the world around them.
3. I would design my classroom to provide content about different cultures, races, and ethnicities of the world and information about them. I would include posters and pictures so the students could get a visual along with the teaching about certain cultures and diversity. It would be a group themed classroom that facilitated learning with other students, and especially with other students that are not from your culture.
4. A question I have is: How do you integrate culture and race and ethnicity teaching in a physical education setting other than splitting up teams for games or activities where the "same" kids aren't always together?
5. In order to integrate the "project" students with the rest of the class I would first use a lot of group projects. This would hopefully break the ice and get the students used to being with each other and working together. I would also use lecture times to integrate cultural teaching about all issues the different cultures face including poverty, learning difficulty, and family life. My goal would be to open the eyes to all the students to see each other equally, so eventually the "project" students were seen for who they are as a human being and were able to feel comfortable with everyone else.
1. The idea in this chapter that I believe will be most beneficial to me is the dangers of stereotyping. In the small section that talked about stereotyping it showed how it can cause children to conform, and as a future teacher that is the last thing that I want my children to do. I want them to stand out and not be afraid to be themselves or say what they are feeling( in a professional and respectable manner of course). Everyday a child is being stereotyped for their race, gender, athleticism or lack thereof, and I truly believe this prevents a child from being who they are supposed to be. We, teachers and future teachers must really find a way to stop stereotyping, and show every kid they are each special in their own way.
ReplyDelete2.The information in this chapter has opened my eyes to how diverse each child is in the classroom. It has also brought to my attention that their are various factors that can make a child different from another one. Each of them are diverse in the way they think, respond to each other, and learn; and I think that is truly amazing.I am very excited to actually experience all of this in person, and see for myself how each student is different one another.
3.I would decorate my classroom to where it had posters that gave both examples and information on different cultures. I would also have informational books on various cultures so that my students would be able to understand their fellow classmates and those out in the real world better.
4. A question that I have is can stereotyping sometimes be considered bullying or teasing?
5. In order to encourage the girls in my class to participate more in activities that our class may have I would possibly do a game where the teams were girls against boys, and whoever won got a reward. This would at least get some of the girls to start to speak up and participate. And when the other girls saw that some of them were becoming more outspoken hopefully this would encourage the rest of the girls to follow along and also become more outspoken.
1. To me the valuable lesson in this chapter has been the impact of culture upon the classroom and student experiences in school. One of the biggest issues of diversity in school is that of socioeconomic status and the stereotypes placed upon it. Research shows a slight advantage to students who come from a higher socioeconomic status. However, any numbers of factors could have influence this statistic. In the future, I will be aware of the expectations of what I put on my students and regardless of their status. This will take a conscious effort on my part.
ReplyDelete2. This idea of not stereotyping a student based upon his or her socioeconomic status has greatly impacted the way I will operate in the future. Because, I am human I believe that this will be a challenge at times not to stereotype. I believe that if I am intentional about the way I approach socioeconomic status in my classes it could change the dynamic of the classroom. Each student should have the same high expectations regardless of their status.
3. Designing my classroom will be fairly easy to do in this regard. I will simply set an example that no student is expected to achieve more or less because of his or her status. In doing so, I believe that students will all be able to reach their potential and achieve great works of art according to their ability and not a label.
4. For me, this chapter evokes an introspective question of what kind of teacher will I be? Will I be able to expect the same out of every socioeconomic status? I know I will struggle with stereotyping, but what stereotypes will I be forced to battle the most?
5. If I ever see a situation that my class is dominated by the male students I will work to create a classroom that is more conducive for my female students. I would first work to get them comfortable with the classroom and their artwork with positive reinforcement. It may be as simple as calming the male students in my class down more so that the female students will not feel overpowered or outspoken.
1. The ideas in this chapter that will be most useful or valuable to me in my future teaching career are basically all the concepts about diversity and ethnicity and ELL or ESL. Coming from an all white middle class school, I have always wondered how different it will be in my future classroom. I got a little experience in freshman Field Experience, but this chapter brought up some good points and suggestions on how to incorporate these different backgrounds into your teaching methods.
ReplyDelete2. This chapter has changed my view on really how difficult and different it would be to learn as someone from a different culture or ethnicity. I think I always just assumed that everyone can learn generally the same way, or at least when put into a classroom with a good teacher. But unless the teacher takes into account their differences, the students will not be able to succeed to their full potential because they may be limited by the structure or flow of the classroom.
3. Using the ideas presented in this chapter, I think I would use a mixed seating chart, equally distributing students of different genders and ethnicities. Whenever there was time to work in groups, if I saw there was a problem of segregation of sorts, I would start assigning groups myself to mix everyone up and allow them to get to know different people. Also, if the students were okay with it, I would like to talk about the different cultures and backgrounds present in my classroom which I think will help the students better understand each other and appreciate their differences.
4. If I have a classroom with a few different ethnicities represented, would it be better to talk about them as informational to the whole class or leave it up to the students to discuss with their peers? Assuming they were okay with me teaching about it.
5. In order to get the “project” students more involved with the rest of the class, I would develop a way of grouping the students differently whether by seating chart or activity groups so that they are forced to talk with the other students during group projects. I would have to make sure though that this would not be seen as a punishment for the “project” students, or the other students, so it would take some careful planning and organizing. I would also encourage a few “get to know you” games that would allow the students to have fun while playing and talking with people they wouldn’t normally hang out with.
1. The idea that is most useful to me is knowing the different cultural differences in the class. Knowing that there are differences between people and different beliefs will help me open my mind to what is out there. I will also know how to react when a situation arises that involves diversity.
ReplyDelete2. The content of this chapter really made me look at teaching at a different angel. There are students out there that may do something, or may not do something, because of their diversity. Culture rituals can happen in the classroom, or at the school, and I need to be able to accept that (to an extent). Like we mentioned in class, I may to take a situation that happens in the school, and try to help my student fulfill a cultural need that may not be accepted, or completely understood by the school.
3. I would use my classroom to help teach my students about the different diversities out there. I would have a time where I explain different cultures that may be a part of the classroom. If a student feels comfortable, I would have a diverse student explain how their life may differ from the other students.
4. My question is how would you address a cultural diverse situation in the class room without making a scene, or "calling out" the student?
5. I would try to incorporate for feminist question or topics in the lesson. I would "force" the females to answer questions. Making a topic over a view of what a female would do will help the ladies in the classroom talk, and get their point of view.
1. This chapter made me realize that the beliefs that I hold to be true may not be the same over all cultures. Some, as we talked about today, may see physical fighting as a way to solve conflicts, though I see that it isn't necessary and needs to be talked out.
ReplyDelete2. I will need to find a way, as a teacher, to have all students act the same way in my classroom no matter the background they come from. Also, I would need to understand that not all students have the resources, like computers, at home to be able to do assignments and should rather give them time in the classroom or stay after school with students for them to use the resources at the school.
3. I would want to include all the different cultures into the classroom in some way. I would have the students bring something in or talk about something that means a lot to them and their family that relates to the culture.
4. My question would be how do I keep the students' biases and stereotypes out of the classroom. And by extension of that, how would I keep the parents' biases and stereotypes out? Also, how would I be able to deal with a student who is scared by stereotype threats?
5. I would have the "project" students work together with the other students. Also, having the students do projects that help them to get to know each other more would help out, using things like common interests to get students to start to work together.
1. The ideas in the chapter that will be most useful in a future teaching situation would be just the information about interpreting cultural differences. I think it is valuable to know that not all cultural differences are going to be obvious. Also, about how social class can have a huge impact on how students act in the classroom and things as simple as vocabulary can become an issue.
ReplyDelete2. I always viewed the classroom as more of the middle class and I did not see that there are vast differences between social classes. The content of the chapter helped me see that these differences will be in my classroom and I will be responsible to make the changes needed so that students can break beyond the barrier of social class to learn more effectively.
3. Using the ideas from the chapter I will design my classroom so that all students feel welcome. I will warmly welcome even students of the lower class and students of different ethnicity's and backgrounds. I will teach the common students that these differences do not matter. I will do this by example. All of my students will be equal. In addition, I will do my best to allow students of different backgrounds to share their cultures with the entire class so it can be a learning experience for everything.
4. A question this information evoked is:
How do you encourage acceptance of minority students without making it seem like you are singling them out?
5. To address the issue of students from the two differing groups not working together I would assign students of the groups to work together. This working together would be a something they could have fun with and something that could help them bond with one another. In addition, I would encourage both groups of students to share their lives with one another. Both groups have struggles as well as good times and seeing this could make the difference needed to bridge he gap between the two groups. Also, I would focus in on the the "project" students are good at and use that so they can be a help to students who might not be the best with those things.
1. The ideas in this chapter that would be most helpful would be learning how to deal with cultural diversity in the classroom. In the classroom, a teacher will have students from different backgrounds and it is important to be aware of their culture and how to use your students diversity in the best way possible.
ReplyDelete2. The content of this chapter has changed my view in the way that I have viewed socioeconomic status. A child's background does not necessarily mean they will or will not be more successful than other students, but it does have a part to play.
3. From this chapter, I would design my classroom focusing on the different cultures represented in the classroom. I would design a bulletin board with a big globe on it and pinpoint where everyone is from and try to give some interesting facts about their culture. Then every month in the classroom we could focus on a different culture, and the classroom could be like a melting pot because students are all the same in the classroom.
4. A question that could possibly be evoked is what have teachers done in the past to deal with racism in the classroom?
5. I would put the desks together to form tables in the classroom seating and mix the 'project' students with the other students. Then I would have them do group projects where they could learn to work together and realize that they are not really that different from the other students. Then hopefully, that would encourage all of the students to work together and form one classroom.
1. The most useful thing in this chapter for my future teaching is learning to be aware of all the different types of people a teacher encounters. A teacher has to learn to adjust, be flexible, and understanding to all people groups. A teacher should be a leader and a comfort to students no matter their situation--culturally or financially.
ReplyDelete2. This chapter changed my view because it made me realize the issues with trying to provide equal education and opportunities to all students...even if their is a language difference. My classroom must also practice inclusion in order to not leave out any represented people group in the "mini-world" that is a classroom.
3. It is important to remember that when I design my own classroom I do not group people together based on cultural similarities to the point that there is any segregation. All of the students should be able to cooperatively learn together, and build off of each other's strengths.
4. During this chapter there were no questions that arose during my reading.
5. To encourage more female participation I would single out some of the female students during the class lecture, and specifically ask them the question. This way it will guide the conversation in class and will keep the discussions equal.
1. The main thing that I took from this chapter was the point about how students who have a low IQ score aren’t always the lowest achieving in the classroom. Contrary to what many people would believe, some of these students can be some of the hardest working students in the classroom, it is all about their attitude and if they want to help themselves to become better than what society thinks that they can achieve
ReplyDelete2. The content in this chapter has changed my view and also opened my eyes of how diverse a classroom can actually be. Diversity isn’t just about students from different cultures and different backgrounds; it goes much deeper than that. There may be 12 students in your class, who are all from different cultures and backgrounds, and then there may be two students who live on the same street and grew up together, but they may be to two most diverse students out of the whole class. So the biggest diversity in a class may not always be the most obvious.
3. I think a good effective way to arrange a classroom to make sure that it is as diverse as possible is to make changes every so often, whether that is to the arrangement of desks and displays to seating charts. As the year progresses, as the teacher you will get to know your students better and will learn where to place people that will be the most beneficial both all students
4. One question that I have is what is the best way to group students in seating arrangements. Is it best to place all the best and hardest working students close together so that they can help each other and ‘compete’ against other high achieving students. Or to integrate the higher achieving students with lower achieving students so that they higher students can help those who may struggle with a subject, or would this be damaging to the high achieving students by taking some of their time to help others.
5. I think that the best way to get these students to integrate is to get them to participate in activities that get them to spend time with students from different backgrounds. It will give both students time to see how the other does things, and could possibly learn some things from each other. By spending time with each other inside the classroom it gives them a chance to get to know each other, and increase the chance that they will socialize outside of the class.
1. The idea that socioeconomic status can correlate to achievement with students will be valuable to me. I need to make sure I do not stereotype my students because of where they come from or what ethnicity they are. I should give all students equal opportunities and attention. If I am able to help them, I should.
ReplyDelete2. The fact that students who come from different walks of life are capable of great things really changed my view. Just because a student comes from poverty does not mean they will remain there. I can help them develop in their knowledge and education, and I can help them develop just as a person. A teacher may be the only one to show students from opposite ends of the economic spectrum how to interact and relate with each other in a positive manner. A teacher will bring the class together. Students look to the teacher, and if the teacher shows respect and care to everybody, the students will hopefully follow the example.
3. I think I might have posters and books in my classroom that encourages diverse relationships, and would bring people together. I want to somehow get the fact that everyone should be treated equally across by how I have my classroom set up. This would probably mean some quotes or sayings displayed. I could possibly arrange the seating to integrate the building relationships among students who would not usually talk to or associate with each other.
4. A question I have, but it’s not overly important, is how would a teacher deal with students who maybe have parents who are extremely racist so the student possesses prejudice instilled by their parents? It would seem that the parent who just negate everything you teach the student about equality because the student would most likely listen to their parents instead of the teacher.
5. The “project” students may feel out of place like the other students are better. They might feel inferior or afraid to associate with them. I can see where they would not relate well with other students because both sets of students could hold prejudice. The “project” students may be looking at the “well-off” students as stuck up or conceited, and the “well-off” students may be looking at the “project” students as inferior or lesser. As a teacher, I might try to get them to interact during class or in a game. This way, they could see they are no different and they should not be defined as “rich” or “poor.” From experience, I’ve seen students like this stay away from each other, but eventually everyone come to realize that it’s okay to be friends with each other. It just takes time.