Lauren Kingston

Tim Michaelson

Cultural Diversity Practicum

Reflection Paper

25 October 2019

Park Brook Elementary

Park Brook elementary is located in Brooklyn Park. In general Brooklyn Park is a very

diverse community which then carries over to their schools. When my friends and I entered the

school the first person to greet us was the principal. He was very kind and welcoming. They

gave us our assigned rooms and told us we could walk around the school to check it out. I was

assigned to the kindergarten room with Mrs. Shober. She gave me a tour of her room and went

through what their schedule was going to look like for the day. While she was greeting the

students as they walked into school, I walked around the room to check out the different

activities, workstations, and embellishments she had for her students. The room was very large.

There were six tables with four wobble chairs around each table. The classroom’s carpet had

squares on it, she utilized the squares by putting strips of tape with the student’s names to

mark where the students will be sitting when they sit on the carpet. There were two sinks and a

bathroom in the classroom. The atmosphere of the classroom was very inviting and welcoming.

Overall the school was well kept and at first glance I did not see anything different from the

classrooms that I had been in before.

As the kids came in the room, they seemed excited to see me. Even with a new person

in the room, they knew exactly what they were supposed to do and got to it. The diversity in
the classroom was surprising. I don’t remember the exact numbers because I turned in the

sheet already. They ranged from black, white, Hispanic, Asian, and Somalis. Since the diversity

was a large number the school had to make accommodations. During the second half of the day

for about thirty minutes the students were split up. The three to four student’s whose primary

language was other than English were grouped together and taken to a different room to

practice English. The other students were then split according to their subjects they needed

extra help with. For example, the students who did not know their numbers well enough went

with one teacher and the kids who struggled with the alphabet went with another. I am not

certain as to how they are split but after the experience I can infer this is how they would be

split up. This set aside time during the school day was the only noticeable modifications they

had to change in their curriculum.

Mrs. Shober was an excellent teacher and accommodated to all the student’s needs.

She was very patient and understanding while having set expectations for her class. If a child

was acting out or had behavior issues, she had two chairs set aside for them to reflect on their

actions and change their behavior. For example, if everyone was sitting in their squares and one

of them was blurting out often, she would simply ask them to take a break and the student

would get up and walk over to the chair. If they could not handle themselves on the chair, she

would call a para to come take them to a different room. If the child was able to calm down and

reset themselves, she would tell them they can join the class again. This was a very successful

behavior management tool. There were many times when a child had to sit in the chair multiple

times throughout the day but as long as they were able to reset themselves it did not matter

how many times a day they had to sit in the chair. I really liked this idea because a lot of
students just need a reminder without having a harsh consequence and they will change their

behavior quickly. If the teacher would have used a behavior management tool I saw last year

from my practicum in her classroom she would have totally different results. The school was

changed to an active school a few years ago, meaning they have brain breaks every so often

where the teacher plays an interactive video for the students to get up and move around as

well as giving them a chance to take a break from schoolwork. The principal told me that once

they made this switch, the behavior of the students was a night and day difference. There used

to be about 80 suspensions every year and now there are less than 10. This school gives

students the opportunity to take out their energy and actions in a positive way opposed to

punishing them for being disruptive and making them focus on their work. Especially for

kindergarteners, they have a short attention span and on top of that, there are many that have

behavior issues. The teachers are trained and have learned how to handle these behaviors. By

adding in the brain brakes, they are preventing the behaviors even before they can occur.

In my opinion, teachers use different teaching styles and disciplines because of where

they live and what type of families the children come from. The total percentage of free and

reduced lunch in this school was 70%. The school built in a block of time for all the students to

eat breakfast together in the cafeteria. I know at most schools it is optional for kids to eat

breakfast, but not at Park Brooke. There was a little girl who came up to me an hour before

lunch and told me she was hungry. I thought to myself about how great it was that the school

sets a side time in the day for each classroom to eat breakfast, because if they did not have

that, this little girl would have been starving. Mrs. Shober also provides every student with their

own water bottle in the back of her classroom for them to sip on during school and after recess
especially. The extra little things these teachers and staff do for these kids is so amazing. They

have taken the initiative to make sure every student is being able to learn at the best of their

ability with no barriers. Although some kids do not have privileges others may have outside of

school, in school they have gone above and beyond to make sure every child is accounted for

and has the same chance at a good education.

Throughout this practicum experience I learned a lot of valuable and useful tips and

tricks to a better managed classroom and school. The number one lesson I learned was to

create a learning environment that allows all students an equal opportunity to a successful

education. While being in Park Brooke elementary, the staff showed me that even in a diverse

school there are always accommodations and modifications that can be made. For how big the

school was, everyone for the most part knew everyone, and it was a great atmosphere to be in.

While I was there, they held an assembly for two special Olympians. They were both trying out

for the 2021 Olympics. The ladies shared their stories and at the end the kids were able to ask

them questions. When I was in high school, our school invited Miss Minnesota and we held an

assembly for her. I wish we could have had more speakers like Park Brooke did. It was a really

cool experience and it presents a powerful message to the kids. One of the Olympians was

paralyzed from the waist down and was in a wheelchair, but she won many medals in the

Olympics swimming. By inviting these women to their school, it sends a message to the

students that even if you get hurt or run into an obstacle you should never give up and keep

chasing after your dreams. I am grateful for the three days I spent at Park Brooke elementary. I

was able to experience firsthand an active and diverse school. The knowledge I gained will

never be forgotten and I cannot wait to implement some of these tricks into my classroom.