School Contextual Factors That Influence Instruction

a. Because of the great teacher to student ratio it gives the teacher an advantage to go according to the individual needs

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is a small city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Within that small city you’ll find Myrtle Beach High School. It is located off Grissom Parkway near 29th Avenue and Broadway At The Beach. The city of Myrtle Beach has a population of 27,109. About 72% identify as White, 13% as Black, 13% as Hispanic, and 1% as Asian. Less than 1% identify as American Indian, 2% are two or more races, and 8% identify as some other race. With Myrtle Beach being considered a small city, the average household income is about $75,678 with a median household income of about $43,877. There is a median age of 39 for both sexes, but a median age of 37 for males and 40 for females.

An educator who understands issues of diversity and difference will make the classroom a more enriching environment for all of the students in it, and will ensure those students who are adversely affected by such diversity and difference are given the opportunity and encouragement to overcome challenges they face. Socio-economic disadvantage among students has an impact in the classroom in terms of the ability of a child to gain an understanding of the knowledge and skills required to be a successful student. Gender issues can be one of those concerns in a classroom that, unless they are quite obvious, can be almost disregarded because they are not acknowledged as a concern, for example, asking boys to move chairs. Stereotypical roles can be ingrained in an educators psyche. Cultural diversity is becoming more prevalent in our classrooms; it is the educator’s responsibility to ensure the classroom is a welcoming and diverse environment. When considering how to approach these issues in a classroom and incorporating support for students, an educator would benefit from consulting the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) or the Australian Curriculum (AC). These documents provides frameworks for working with diversity and ensuring students succeed within their given circumstances with the support of both their educator and their school. It is imperative educators understand the effects of socio-economic disadvantage, gender issues and cultural diversity when creating an

It is crucial for educators to value, understand and incorporate every child’s cultural diversity in the classroom (The Early Years Learning Framework Professional Learning Program, 2011). This means educators needs to deal with any bias beliefs they might/may hold. For example, some children might not participate in the classroom because

Probably one of the most important issues when it comes to Family/Community Partnership is trying to get the families/community involved in what we are doing. By engaging parents, it will help us to see what we are lacking and what we need to do in order to have our families fully engaged. I feel that if our families/communities are not engaged in our program then we need to reevaluate in order to encourage their participation. By reevaluating our program we can further access what we need to work on. If parents/communities feel that they are not valued as part of our team, they won’t engage in our program. Both the parents and the community play a big role in the education of our children. Parents are their first teachers and the communities have valuable resources for the children.

The setting is Washington Elementary School in West Orange, NJ. The grade I picked is first grade. The age group in the class is between the ages of five and seven. The subjects they learn are math, language arts, social studies, and writing. But they focus more on reading and math throughout the day. There are 8 girls and 8 boys in the classroom which makes 16 students in total. The class is divided into three racial and ethnic groups which are Latino or Hispanic, African Americans, and Asian American. There are about 1 Asian American, 6 Latino or Hispanic, and 9 African Americans.

Understanding a community is essential when planning for instruction. My current placement is at Kofa High School which is a located in an urban community –Yuma, Arizona- with an estimated population of 93,000 people. It is fundamental to recognize that Yuma’s population mostly consists of Hispanic and White people. Although English is mostly spoken in this area, Spanish is commonly heard in the community due to the high Hispanic population.

- Reflect on, with the children, their own responses to diversity and how they would include and respect a new child that comes to the school. For example greeting them and how they would make them feel like they belong.

Step 6: The larger issue stems at the school administration. They need to make new policies about implementing lessons into the classroom about diversity in families. They should also make a parent meeting once a year about the different families at the school and how everyone can be more understanding and compassionate for diversity in the schools.

Something that I connected with was in the Readings for Diversity and Social Justice, was the idea of multiple identities based upon their social location. I liked how the author explained what was social location and the use of the overlapping circles that are specific features of our identity (race,gender,class) and a persons social location is where all those circles meet. I connect this to the classroom by thinking about how each student comes from a different life, experiences, culture, and backgrounds and as a teacher you need to realize and accept each student for who they are and do not try to change them or make them into someone they are not. Each student brings their own set of tools and knowledge to the classroom that enrich your

b) The context and background for this study has evolved from my years teaching at a Head Start in Washington Heights. The community that I have worked with for the past five years is a majority

After completing the checklist in our book, and reviewing the NCLB subgroups, I believe I will focus on students with disabilities for my Family and Community Engagement Assessment and School-Community Relations Plan. As we know, NCLB subgroups include economically disadvantaged students, students from major racial and ethnic groups, students with disabilities under the IDEA, and students with limited English proficiency. In my district, we do not have any students that receive free lunch or would be considered economically disadvantaged. According to the NJ School Performance Report for my school, 92.5% of our students speak English as the primary language in the home, and 88.4% of students are white. Those that fall into the smaller percentages within these subgroups are varied, and it is difficult to focus on one ethnicity or cultural background due to there being so few students fitting into these categories. I could focus on any of these groups, however the population of students involved would be quite small. Regardless, the steps I would take to link school efforts to student learning would benefit all of these subgroups, even if the student population within them only included a few students.

Fostering cultural awareness in children has many benefits that contribute to the overall development of children. Educators encounter challenges that may include academic pressure, collaborating with diverse families, and meeting the needs of the students. This paper examines theoretical perspectives using a longitudinal study. The study examined the experiences of children ages 3.5 to 5.5, by using their everyday experiences of race and ethnic diversity in their classroom setting.

When creating curriculum plans, educators should interpret and understand the learning context (or learning scenario). Explain your interpretation of the scenario of your chosen curriculum plan.

5. What changes would you make to help this classroom become more of a community? Why would developing this classroom into a community be important?