August 31, 2017

{Education 350}

        The deeper that we dig into this class, the more I like it! This class is making me really excited to create my own classroom culture and teach a diverse group of students confidently. I learned that it is my responsibility as the teacher to create a positive classroom environment and set the mood for my classroom culture. This aligns with Standard 1a, "Teachers lead in their classrooms." This also aligns with Standard 2b, "Teachers embrace diversity in the school community and in the world." I'm already learning more about diversity and culture and issues that might arise in my future classroom as a result of this, but I am also learning techniques that will help me solve these issues. For example, I learned that if I assign my students homework that might go against their religious beliefs, I can assign an alternate homework assignment that they may do instead. This way, all my students are completing homework relevant to what we are learning in class, and there should be no conflict.

        On Monday, we were assigned reading about Multicultural Curriculum and Teaching Diverse Learners. This reading helped expand my knowledge on bias curriculum and the importance of making sure that my lessons are free from bias. I also learned the importance of discussing inequality with students at a young age, but keeping the discussions age appropriate. This aligns with Standard 4a, "Teachers know the ways in which learning takes place, and they know the appropriate levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students."

        In order to gain a better understanding of diversity that we might face in our future classroom, we made a list of various types of diversity. They include gender, race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, religion, community, disability, beliefs, political status, citizenship status, learning styles, level of education, occupation, home life/family makeup, language, age, sexual orientation, culture/customs, and physicality. There are probably more items that we could add to the list. I didn't realize that there are so many factors that play into diversity, but by making this list, it helped me see the importance of being ready to teach a classroom of diverse students!

        So what does this mean for my future classroom??

• I will establish my classroom's culture, because as the teacher, that's my responsibility!
• I'll be ready to tackle classroom diversity with confidence and embrace it.
• I'll know how to talk about things such as diversity, inequality, etc. on a level that is age appropriate for my students, and at appropriate times.