Theme II: Culturally Responsive and Inclusive Education

3.7.7- Determine personal contributions to working with culturally diverse communities

and learners by reflecting on one’s own personal culture

Diversity is an important element that teachers need to recognize for the benefit of all of

their students. Respectful and tolerant environments are essential in teaching students to

collaborate and communicate with students that hold different cultures and backgrounds. Every

student's uniqueness is shown through their culture. All students deserve a stimulating

educational environment where students from different cultures can openly express their culture

without facing society's negative stereotypes. It is vital that teachers and educators understand

each student's culture in order to build relationships, incorporate differentiation and teach

students how to accept diversity.

As a future teacher in order to understand my students culture, it is important I

understand my personal culture. I grew up in Powell, Ohio with my parents along with my sister

and brother. My family is mainly German along with some Norweign and Irish roots in which

we have celebrated mainly holidays including Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas (2.4.1 Culture

Prezi). I would classify my family as upper-middle class where I have attended elementary,

middle and high school in the Olentangy School District. Throughout my childhood, my parents

have embedded several values into me including importances of education, respect, dedication

and lifelong learning. In contrast to my own culture, there are multiple cultures such as Indian,

Asian and Middle Eastern represented by my classmates. Across my classmates, there are many

cultures and traditions celebrated that contrast with my personal culture.

 My culture fits into the true “American Culture” like a puzzle piece. Although America is

filled with diversity and culture, it is important for students and educators to understand a variety

of cultures. In order for students to learn many aspects of other cultures, I created a diversity

project that can be used in a late elementary/ early middle school classroom (2.4.2 Diversity

Project). Students will be given the opportunity to research one culture of their choice, compare

it to their own culture and create a visual representation to share with the class. This allows

myself and students to learn information about religion, language, holidays, dress and food from

several different cultures around the world.

As a future teacher, it is crucial that I create an inclusive learning environment for

students of all cultures. I will do this by first being aware of all students' cultures throughout my

classroom. I will create an “all about me” worksheet which students will complete at the

beginning of the school year (2.4.3 Teaching With Students in Poverty Philosophy). This activity

will reveal each student's culture, interests and hobbies which will allow me to have personal

conversations with individual students. This will ultimately help me build special relationships

with each student throughout the school year. This will establish trust between my students and I,

which can make them feel more comfortable in the classroom environment.

Someday I hope to become an elementary school teacher. During my future lessons I will

strive to implement culturally diverse and relevant instruction. For example, when teaching ELA,

I can incorporate stories and readings written by a diverse selection of authors that hold different

cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, teachers can integrate all curriculum with “knowledge, skills,

values, and concerns that students bring with them from their home and community” (2.4.4

Edutopia Article). Some examples could include cooperative learning, extended dialogues to
develop language and thinking skills, and the use of technology to enhance instruction. While

interviewing my second placement teacher, Miss. Emery, she noted that new technologies and

social media can be used as an advantage when incorporating curriculum that involves all

students ( 2.4.5 Teacher Survey).

Perspective is a huge factor that impacts the way teachers view their students, which is

initiated by unconscious bias. Unconscious biases are “learned stereotypes that are unintentional,

deeply ingrained and able to influence behavior” (2.4.6 Unconscious Bias Notes). Teachers need

to be aware of unconscious bias in the classroom so that they avoid snap decisions, consider

assessment criteria carefully and use words and phrases that are relevant to all students. It is also

essential that teachers realize that students come from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Students may be living in poverty and teachers need to be able to accomodate in specific ways

for those students. These accommodations could include extra homework assistance, providing

them with educational resources, access to trusted adults and other various ways students of

poverty can strengthen themselves as learners (2.4.3 Teaching With Students in Poverty

Philosophy).

Diversity and culture are an important aspect in the schooling system today. As a future

teacher, it is my goal to educate myself on the importances and methods of incorporating

diversity into my lessons. Teachers play a huge role in assisting culturally diverse students

academically as well as emotionally in order for them to feel comfortable, safe and willing to

share their ideas in the classroom environment. Understanding each student's uniqueness is

extremely valuable to a student's education.