Lorena Rojas

May 23, 2021

Culture and Inclusion

Week 5
Reflection:
Choose a marginalized group of students you serve (ELL, Low SES, LGBT, SPED) and reflect
on what you currently do and what you may do to better support their educational experience.  
(10 points)

I sat and reflected on all marginalized groups of students I serve, and many thoughts
crossed my mind. I mentally listed highest to low of what groups I serve and questioned myself
of what have I done? Where could I do better? There are so many students I want to support. I
narrowed it down to students of low socioeconomic status. My passion has been to serve students
of low socioeconomic status because it is similar to my upbringing. I grew up in an area that was
considered not the best and still considered not the best to this day. I think about the limited
resources I had in school and how passionate I have become towards that now that I am teaching
and seeing from a teacher’s perspective. Having had the privilege to work in different school
settings I have firsthand witnessed the differences in materials, curriculum, student background
knowledge, equipment, and so forth. Since I have seen how different schools are ran I try to
include resources and other learning opportunities in my classroom. 
Due to budget, much of the time I was denied anything extra. I wanted flexible seating to
meet the needs of my learners. Little by little, I would purchase items I found on sale or at a
Goodwill to eventually provide flexible seating options for my students. I had students who
learned best bouncing on a ball while sitting at their desk or standing up. If a child could not
purchase a school supply I would ask for donations or ask for donations of gently used items like
backpacks and would purchase extra when on sale in the beginning of the school year.
Unfortunately, I had students who did not have a folder or crayons to bring to school or have at
home. My students learned that it was okay to ask for crayons for home if they did not have them
to complete homework. When celebrations at school occurred, I did my best for all to participate
with parent permission of course. At one particular school they did a costume parade every year
and children's faces were disappointed when they could not participate, so I started keeping my
children’s costumes over the years and donated costumes for that day. I recall some coworkers
making comments saying, “If they have it they have it, if not oh well.” This made me reflect on
the article, Gangstas, Wankstas, and Ridas by Jeff Duncan-Andrade and confirm that there
definitely are different types of teachers. My view was different, I wanted a class community
where we learn to help one another. If there was food that was not perishable, I always let
students grab what they wanted to take home. To provide my students with a better educational
experience I would purchase additional resources or bring in items. During read across America
week I would do fun activities or make green eggs and ham.
To better serve my students I have thought about what I could do to help with their basic
needs. I feel if basic needs are not met then, it is challenging for a child to fully focus in class. I
would like to grow in this area by learning about programs or creative ideas to ask for donations.
This could help families with school supplies, field trip opportunities, purchasing supplemental
materials, or adding items for social emotional learning. Once things are better, I would like to
have a school boutique where students can get gently used clothing they need. This is in the
process, but a school community garden where we can grow fruits, vegetables, or herbs that we
can eat. They are hands on learning a unit in science, but also learning to work with one another.
Lastly, after reading the article it said, “an equal education attempts to provide the same
Lorena Rojas
May 23, 2021
Culture and Inclusion
education to everyone, which is not equitable” and this struck a chord. The examples, of students
not all needing the same amount of time, textbooks, and so forth is true. I think this is what
makes our learners diversity unique. I would like to better serve my students in this area.