4) The culturally competent teacher is aware of the diverse cultural
groups represented in his/her classroom, investigates the socio-cultural
factors that influence student learning, and is able to integrate this knowledge
into his/her teaching.
No one enters a classroom without a personal
history; thus, no one enters a classroom completely free of bias. How might your
personal history/socio-cultural characteristics intersect with those of your
students? What challenges or advantages might you have as a teacher in this
classroom? What misconceptions about various cultural groups have you confronted
during this experience? Give examples.
Thinking about my personal history, I may not to be able to relate directly to my students but I have been through a lot that I may know where they are coming from. For example, I have moved around a lot as a kid and had to go to different schools in elementary school. In 2001, my godfather (my moms brother) passed away on 9/11 in the twin towers, I watched my grandfather have a stroke the day before I left for my first year of college in front of me and took care of him until he passed away. During the time my grandfather was dying, my father left my mother for another woman. Even though my personal history I have experienced a lot for my first 21 years of my life, I dont know how I can relate to them socio-cultural wise. I have had best friends who were african-america, native american, gay and lesbian but I am still a white girl who has lived in Smithfield, RI, Cape Cod and NorthernVermont. (possibly the most undiverse places to live ever.) I have always been accepting of others and never judged them based on their skin. That's just how I was raised and usually was the one to get pissed at others in high school when they brought up a gay joke or a racial joke. I think this might have to do with having a gay best friend and being defensive of bullying to others. I dont kow what advantages my history and experiences may bring into the future classroom. I don't think I will know until I meet my students and learn what they have been through.
Hi Brittany,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your personal story. It sounds like you really have been through a lot in your life thus far.
I was also the girl at my high school to get very defensive when others were bullied (especially if it was comments made about someone's sexual orientation.)
Wow Brittany, thank you sharing such personal information. I am sorry to hear about all these difficult experiences and I admire your serenity through this and your positive attitude. Certainly some of these stories and how you dealt with them taught you great skills to deal with emergency situation and keep your cool, which is beneficial when interacting with people of all ages incl. elementary age children!
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