Sunday, February 19, 2012

Chapter 14 - Culturally Responsive

I feel I am at an advantage in this chapter because I have just completed a multi cultural course.  The chapter does a good job of seeming to simplify the content for one chapter in a book.  Like the teacher example, Ms. Stansbury, I did not have much training in diversity before becoming a teacher.  I am from a small town, and going to a large university was the best thing that could happen to me.  I would like to describe it as culture slapping me in the face.  I feel I am a patient teacher.  I allow for little comments, I enjoy stories being shared, if you don't raise your hand or are rude to me - hey, maybe that's how people talk at your house.  I do try to teach some manners in my room and respect for others.  I tolerate a lot because I know people and family structures are different now than mine was growing up.

I do have a lot of areas I need to work on.  I am not good at micromanaging group work.  I don't know why I can't get a handle on it!  But as our reading shows, students learn a lot from each other and in cooperative learning groups.  I will probably try this out a little more in my classroom.  I also feel I do not do enough to connect my examples to students' personal interests.  I may seek out a few examples from students but need to find more for other students in the class.

I will work on group activities for students as well as monitoring my lecture to include the different aspects of my students' lives. And one thing I have been doing and still need to continue doing is reflecting on learning and on my teaching so that I am up to date with new interpretation of what's working and what's not as well as changing with out changing culture in America.

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