Classroom Reflection

Teaching in racially diverse classrooms often leaves educators feeling uncertain about how to proceed and how to respond to historically marginalized students. There is pressure to acknowledge and accept students of color with different perspectives, to diversify the syllabi, be more aware of classroom dynamics, and pay attention to how students of color experience the learning process.

The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children by Gloria Ladson-Billings was a great resource in thinking about how I would work toward influencing my staff, and the school community as a whole, to engage in discussions about equity. Most notably, she advises us to “acknowledge the race and culture of your students and try to weave it into your teachings” and to “foster a sense of community”. I am lucky to work in a school that was founded and lead by a woman of color for the last 6 years, so equity conversations are not as awkward as they may be in some other schools. In light of recent travesties of justice that have occurred in the US over the past year, these conversations have the potential to become more high-stakes

During my third year in college, I participated in the Civil Rights and Social Justice Pilgrimage that the ministry department made each year. While on this trip, I was exposed to the good that came off the Civil Rights Movement, but I also witnessed the horrors that so many people endured. One of the events that really troubled was school segregation. One exhibit allowed me to view what a White classroom would look like compared to an African-American classroom. There were extreme differences in these classrooms. As someone who has a passion for teaching and helping children, this deeply upset me that the color of a child’s skin effected their education. At that point, I realized that if I was to become a teacher I would make my classroom

My time spent in the Clinical setting, so far, has been extremely inciteful as to how to become a better educator in a classroom setting. Through the data I collected I was able to connect Borich’s Seven Variables of learning to the students. By being in the clinical setting for nearly two months, I have been exposed to new ways of thinking when it comes to structuring a classroom and instructing a classroom. Within this reflection you will find out how I would better plan an effective lesson for the pupils in my future classroom. You will also discover what I will do about certain issues in the classroom and how I will address/fix them.

Through the reading of Beyond Heroes and Holidays: A Practical Guide to K-12 Anti-Racist, Multicultural Education and Staff Development and A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota I have not only learned about the experiences of others, but have also gained a deeper understanding of my own racial and cultural identity and how that relates to other identities around me. In learning this information, I feel that I will not only be able to understand and relate better to my future students, but also understand their backgrounds and how they are affecting them presently. Therefore, I will be able to teach to individuals in the way they need me to, but also create a more welcoming and inclusive environment (racially, culturally, and otherwise) in my future classroom. The information I have read has helped me to understand my own racial and cultural identity, how it relates to the identities of my future students, and what I can do to make educational institutions more racially and culturally inclusive.

1). Gay discusses that these conversations, on race and privilege, are happening and need to happen because as educators “they understand that raising students to live in a bubble- a white bubble, a black bubble, a Latino bubble, whatever type of bubble you want to call it- is not to your benefit in a global society” (Spencer, MB. 1). Doing these larger initiatives throughout the school year, where they tackle white privilege, students begin to stop thinking “this isn’t my problem, because it’s not happening to me” to “this isn’t happening to me, but it needs to stop.” When schools only address these “discussions about race and class for Martin Luther King’s birthday, Black History Month, and an annual assembly or two” and address them with passive concern, it doesn’t become real for the students, and “diversity directors say has [been proven] ineffective” (Spencer, MB. 1).

”(Feagin 1) Racism has not died yet. One might think it has because there are no segregation laws or slaves anymore but it is still prevalent today. There are many ways to combat racism all over the world though. For college campuses, we need programs implemented into the curriculum, not only for students, but for staff also. The school will get everybody talking about race, even though it is a touchy subject in today's time with all that's going on. It will still get them talking about it and the people who don't have to deal with racial subjection because they are white will most likely feel uncomfortable talking about this. The university will have the students and faculty do these classes in big seminar groups, or they can do it by themselves in their dorm or at home where they may feel more comfortable. We hope that educating the youth about racism and combatting racism will reduce systemic racism, and racism in the youth of America. According to the article “College degree gap grows wider between whites, blacks and Latino,” by the author by Meredith Kolodner in the state of West Virginia, it shows the percentages of college graduates compared between races. Only 24% of the African Americans in West Virginia graduate from colleges, compared to 48% of Whites

My ethnic, racial, and cultural identity as an African American is the primary anchor and explanation for what I emphasize in analyzing current educational realities and future possibilities for marginalized students of color. All students should have the opportunity to live, dream, and achieve all they can in life. For educators, whose backgrounds and experiences are different from students, it is critical to acknowledge sensitivity. I know from personal and professional experiences the transformative benefits of culturally responsive teaching and the devastating effects of continuous failure due to educational irrelevance and ineffectiveness. My advocacy for cultural diversity to improve the achievement of ethnically diverse students is

Before taking this class I had always thought that I wasn’t racist, and that I didn’t have any biases. Shortly into this course I realized that I had a lot more to work on than I thought. I had learned that I didn’t need to be personally racist to support racist institutions that favored my race only. I have learned that we are all the same species, and that this thing we call race is something that we have created. Upon reflecting from the beginning of this semester, I believed and still do believe that culturally competent educators acknowledge their students differences, and learn to value and respect these differences in the classroom. Educators must model positive behavior by respecting and valuing where their students come from. When educators value differences in the classroom, it creates a culture in which everyone can be himself or herself. In order to create this culture in my future classroom I need to acknowledge all of my student’s differences, and I must learn to value and respect these differences.

People of color in the classroom are challenged by tough circumstances that many of their mainstream counterparts may not be exposed to on a daily basis. Whether it is ethnicity, family sizefamily size, first language, poverty or any other number of characteristics that people of color face, they do in fact, have a strong impact on a student’s development.

Our schools are changing and becoming more diverse every year. Because of this, it is vital that all teachers learn how to design an anti-bias curriculum that works for the students and their families they see every day. However, learning how to teach young children about diversity and social justice is not something that comes naturally to many teachers nor is it something that can be learned in a one semester of school. It is an ongoing process that requires a willingness to continually revise teaching practices in response to the changing needs of the children and their families. Anti-bias education requires teachers to acknowledge and accept diversity and confront the truth that differences in background, education, and ethnicity do affect how people are treated in society.

Since I started this class, I have a learned a great deal about cultural diversity in the classroom and abroad. My perspective has changed slightly but my knowledge of this subject has improved. In my family, my father taught me about the civil rights movement and the evils of segregation in the U.S. My parents taught me to be tolerant of all humans, no matter what they look like, how they dress, or their sexual orientation. My family has always been liberal thinkers who taught me the dark history of racism and bigotry in this country. As an educator I would be accepting to all race, creeds, and religious peoples.

The task of effective teaching involves a myriad of ineffable and abstract qualities; pedagogy demands persistence, patience, and problem-solving skills beyond compare, just to name a few. A teacher’s career consists primarily of amassing these talents whenever possible and learning to put them to best use in an educational context. It is merely a matter of opinion to identify some of these skills as more important than others, but in my humble opinion, cultivating and maintaining a commitment to diversity should be a top priority for today’s educators. History runs rampant with examples of the oppressed only becoming more disadvantaged the longer unjust systems are able to remain in power. Unfortunately, certain aspects of public schooling can fit this bill, but it us up to teachers as self-aware members of these institutions to be the architects of novel and radical classroom structures—environments that foster a spirit of achievement relative to both the individual and the group as a whole without ever needing comparison to determine success.

Starting from last year, the chemistry teaching lab at Tech has been my second home at Northwestern University. Soon, it became a place where I worked, researched, and studied. On some days, I would spend more time in the lab than in my own dorm room. This place was familiar to me, but while observing this familiar place, I found different interactions that I had not noticed before. Prior to this observational exercise, I thought that the lab was just a place where classes were held and experiments were conducted. Although I had recognized that there was an academic hierarchy, where the importance of professors, TAs, and undergraduate students were clearly divided, I had never truly noticed how socially complex this lab was. From my observations, there were three main interactions in the lab: equal interactions, unequal interactions, and resonance interactions.

Through my prior experiences, and knowledge learned in the appendix “How to Engage Constructively in Courses That Take a Critical Social Justice Approach” (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2012) . I will be able to enter teaching with a clear unbiased mindset allowing me to not only teach kids but understand some of the troubles they’re going through. Growing up with an African American grandfather I have been removed from most of the stereotypes many of my peers have been exposed too. I was raised on the grounds that everyone is equal no matter their race, and to this day I still highly believe this statement to be true. From a personal experience, I can vividly remember a time of racism in which my grandpa encountered, this left him ashamed, embarrassed and clearly upset. Translating that into a classroom setting, I can only imagine how hard it would be for a kid coming back from recess in which he experience racist remarks directed towards him, and now he has to try and learn? One will never be able to fully defeat racism. However, there are many ways to help oppose racism in the classroom and at large. One would be to incorporate the privilege walk into a lesson plan. I took part in a privilege walk in grade 11 that really opened my eyes to many of my peers struggles. This activity is a great way to show those who are privileged just how hard it can be for some of the less privileged kids to do many simple everyday activities that would be normally taken for granted. Secondly, one should have an open discussion on the topic and constructively engage using the five principles for constructive engagement (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2012). This will allow for the class to participate in a safe and friendly discussion on racism