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Reflection Two
Beautifully well-constructed and utilized St. Thomas creates a safe place to a community

of 95% immigrants and refugees. Not only do administrators educate students a part of different

learning disabilities, ethnical, cultural, and traditional backgrounds, but also their parents and

guardians. St. Thomas gives families hope and a helping hand by proving shelters, supplies, jobs,

and much more. Different from our previous visit to William C. Goudy Technology Academy,

St. Thomas provides assistants to the entire family not solely their students. They work towards

knowing they are sending their students home to a stable environment that provides them feeling

safe and secure.

Prior to my visit I did not know what to expect; I had never been to a catholic school

ever. Similar to all of society, we put a stigma into our heads of how we perceive young learners.

educators, and the parents of those who attend catholic schools or anything that seems opposite

of the majority. However, similar to my feelings at Goudy, my initial thoughts and feelings were

shut down from the moment I walked into the educational building.

Refugees are a special group of immigrants who… relocate voluntarily, but they are

fleeing their home country because it is not safe…there is an increasing sense among

many ethnic groups that they do not want to assimilate…into mainstream American

society…they want to maintain their culture and identity while still being a respected part

of the larger society. (Woolfolk, 2019, p. 188).

I first observed a fourth-grade classroom. Within the class there was two students who I sat by;

one of which was bilingual in English and his traditional language and an ELL student who

primary spoke his traditional language. It was heartwarming to know that the teacher met the
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Reflection Two
student's need by putting the two male students together to let the ELL student be included with

the classroom activities even if he could not understand fully. The students worked together

translating the directions and the teacher’s words to still be able to participate in the math game

they were doing that day. Without any doubt the student did not feel excluded.

[Educators] must be able to use a range of strategies, and they must also be capable of

inventing new strategies…. they also need to know their own particular student who are

unique combinations of culture, gender, and geography. (Woolfolk, 2019, p.9).

In relation to Woolfolk writing’s, the educator used the strategy of having peer instructors to

help others around them. Being aware of this student’s need; the educator was able to continue

the class normally without the distraction of the two male students talking in an entirely different

language. Additionally, I find it to be exceptionally professional that the teacher is able to adapt

her teaching to accommodate the two students. For instance, the educator used Woolfolk concept

of ‘Sheltered Instruction” she spoke slower, would casually look over to the student to make sure

he was never confused, used hand gestures, and other students as examples. Most importantly,

she did not make it visible that she was teaching differently to her other students or bring any

attention the two heritage language students.

Everyone --- teachers, parents, classmates, and even the students themselves --- may see a

label as a stigma that cannot be changed. (Woolfolk, 2019, pg. 120).

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Reflection Two
The assistant principle also mentioned to us future educators that parents often live in fear of

their child becoming labeled, when it is brought to their attention that their child may have a

learning disability. Parents are quick to deny and come up with excuses if their child is not

learning or behaving the same as their peers. It is understandable that any parent has the need of

wanting to protect their child from the insensitive acts other children; when they are not around.

St. Thomas recognizes these fears and ensures the parents with test scores, teacher evaluations,

and administrator evaluations that provide parents with detailed plans of actions to help their

child. These plans include the child never being excluded from the general population, treated

differently from their peers, or voicing the student has a disability to others.

St. Thomas was an excellent experience to be a part of and observing the classrooms helped me

have an open mind to students learning in catholic/private schools. They are treated no less

differently and taught no less differently than those that learn in a public school environment.