Kyriako Anastasiadis July 29, 2012 Cultural Responsive Classroom Final Paper When I went in for my interview with

the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) in January, one of the questions that I was asked was, How are you going to relate to your students so they can receive a high quality education? That was one of the harder questions that I had to answer that day. Even till this day I have a tough time answering it because I grew up in a community very different from the one that I am going to be teaching at. Taking a class that specifically talks about developing a cultural responsive classroom has helped me gain a bigger perspective of what it means to be cultural responsive educator and how to create a classroom that values my students culture, their community, and them as individuals. One of the big ideas we talked about in class was being able to be honest with ourselves and learn our own identity, as well as our definition of diversity. Being aware of our own identity will create more avenues for connections between students. A teacher that assesses their own character will help them create lessons and give culturally responsive instruction. Our views and opinions will also help us figure out if we can develop a culturally responsive classroom. If we ourselves do not embrace diversity and discourage stereotypes that is an indication that we should not pursue a teaching career in that particular neighborhood. Once we have clearly assessed ourselves and our stance on culture and diversity it is time to learn about the community we will be teaching in. I would like to explain this by sharing a personal story. When I learned that I was accepted by the AUSL I was told

the only campus I am able to attend for my graduate course work is at National Louis Universitys Michigan Ave location. I live in Skokie and there is a National Louis University campus five minutes from my home. Three weeks into the program I understand why I am only allowed to attend the Michigan Ave campus. AUSL wants us to learn and live an urban lifestyle. To travel, eat, work, and live in an urban community will helps us, as residency students, to grow as individuals so that we can make more connections with students. However, as I believe that is a key aspect in our development to become turnaround teachers, the communities that we will be teaching in are not located on Chicagos Magnificent Mile. I have been placed at Howe School of Excellence near Cicero Ave and Chicago Ave, a long way from the magnificent Millennium Park. This area of Chicago is much different from the Loop and I must learn the norms of this community so that I have a better opportunity to give cultural diverse instruction in my class. Driving or walking through the neighborhood or eating at one of the restaurants in the community will give me a feel for how the community is. Having an open communication with parents will give me an even better understanding of the community and what they view as important. Conversely, when I think about the reading and video on Two Towns of Jasper I must keep in mind that there could be sub-cultures within a single community. Two Towns of Jasper tells the story of a horrific murder of two white men attacking a black man. As this story made national news, many reporters discovered two different towns within Jasper Texas. One reporter told the story of a community that was hard working, tightly knitted, and accepting of all people. Other reports told a different story. Their

story said Jasper was a racist town where the African-Americans in town could not stand up for their selves and take positions given by others to give a false sense of equality within the community. This story helps me keep in perspective that even if all the people in the neighborhood are minorities or all the same color that does not mean there isnt tension and hardship with the people in it. I relate this story to the gangs within Chicago. Just like the whites and blacks living in Jasper, there could be two rival gangs within the community. In schools there could have a truce, but out of school there could be a war going on. Being aware of this separation in a community can help us teachers create effective management plans in our classrooms, and create an atmosphere in our room that is safe and engaging for all. Learning about the community we teach in is an on going process. Once we have a good understanding of the community we work in we must then pay attention to how we teach and how we manage our classrooms. As a physical education classroom rules and class management is a vital aspect in creating a safe environment for students to learn. In the article critique that I completed I spoke about cooperative learning groups. Adventure education is a unit that puts students in an activity that they must work together to accomplish. These activities are fun and creates a positive teamwork environment, but the true impact is made when the teacher makes connections from the activity to the real world, or better yet, to the students communities. Activities like Tarp Launch, Hoop-to-Hoop Relay, and Mine Field require the participants to work in groups or partners to accomplish a particular task. Debriefing with the students is when connections to their lives can be made. I believe strongly in these activities because during my undergraduate years at Northeastern Illinois University there was a teacher

name Dan Creely who facilitated these activities and he helped shaped me into whom I am today. There was a book that I read and that helped paint a picture for me of how life is for some of the kids growing up in struggling neighborhoods. The book is titled, Our America: Life and Death On The South Side of Chicago. This book is about a reporter who recruiters two African-American boys to help him do research of what it is like growing up on the south side of Chicago. The two boys are named LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman. They were given notepads and records so they could takes notes of what happens on a daily basis in their neighborhood, as well as their own thoughts and feelings. They explained their community as being Vietnam. The shared that every time they stepped out of their homes it was like stepping into a war zone, you could get shot anytime anywhere. They also spoke of children in their community felt trapped, as if they had no way out. These boys though had other ideas. The dreamed of getting a good education and getting out of their neighborhood and being someone successful. I really enjoyed reading about that in the book. I wonder though, how will I be able to influence these children to believe that there is more out there for them? This class has helped me in a small way has provided me with tools that I could use that will help me develop a culturally responsive class that will give these students a choice other than gangs, drug dealing, and violence. One last point that stood out to me from this book is how they described the boys that lived on his block. LeAlan called them m&ms. He explained that all these boys are hard on the outside, because they have to be, but soft and sweet on the inside. Many of them are crying for help or attention. I know myself pretty well and I know I could be that for another person if they need it.

Aside from facilitating teambuilding activities incorporating games from other cultures is a great way to help students become culturally aware of other sports in the world. I was a camp counselor for three years and during that time I would play World Cup Soccer. I would facilitate this game by having students read about the cultu re they chose to represent and tell the class about it about the end of the period. Introducing students to sports like lacrosse and cricket are other ways to make students culturally aware of other types of competition there are in the world. In addition I also envision myself posting signs of the muscular system, skeletal system, and names of exercises up on the wall in different languages so students can see how these body parts are called in different countries. While reading the Campaigning for Respect article I read a lot of things that I could relate to. This article spoke about boys that carried themselves a particular way in order to gain respect. A lot of these boys probably are members of a gang. Dressing in certain types of clothes, talking a particular way, and acting out were ways for these boys to gain respect from others in the community. Many kids I went to school with dressed a certain way, pretended to be a hot head, talked a certain way, and put up a front a lot of the times because they thought that was the cool thing to do and they would gain respect. The only thing is they forgot they lived in Skokie Illinois and people around here think you are dumb. Although, there were a few kids that did act like that and gained respect that way. It was easy for me to avoid that because there were plenty of places in my community to stay away from those people and the majority of the people living in Skokie did not care to have that type of reputation.

The gang violence that takes place in these areas will either force young men to join their gang or make your life very uncomfortable. I had a place I could turn to so I can stay away from the trouble. These kids need after school activities, like clubs or sports that they can join and create a type of safe haven for them. Being a physical education teacher my principal and I could try to create or organize after school sports intramurals. This next year will be exciting and I have been looking forward to it since I got the call that I was accepted into the program. This class has opened my ears to the challenge of developing a cultural responsive classroom, and supplied me with the tools that will help me with my classroom this year and for the future.