I chose to do my diversity practicum at Cheney Middle School in West

Fargo, North Dakota. I’m from West Fargo, so I actually went to middle school

there. With me being from the area, I know how diverse it is. There is a variety of

different cultures and ethnicities in the school district. In the class I was in, there

was almost an even split of girls and boys. There were students from Mexico,

Africa, and Asia in the classroom.

While walking around the school, I noticed how inclusive they are. In the

library, there were all different sorts of things from different cultures. In one

section, it was filled with different Trible vases from Africa. In another area, there

were different decorations from Asia.

Because I grew up here, seeing diversity in the classroom was all I knew.

Growing up, I never really thought about different races and cultures because I had

friends who were all different than I am. I always assumed that was everyone’s

childhood education experience. When I moved to Valley City to go to school, I

had a large culture shock. I grew up with all sorts of different colors around me,

and then there were none.

A lot of my friends that I have made at college are all from very small towns

with no variety of ethnicities. I have started to have a new appreciation for where I

grew up. I want my classroom to embody the variety of cultures that I grew up
with. Even if there isn’t different cultures, I still want to educate and include

different parts of the world.