Sarah Findlay

Reflection 2-

Developing Multicultural Educators-Chapter 2

Review-What did I learn?

            Most teachers, including myself, think that they do not stereotype, have prejudices, or have racist feelings.  The topics discussed in chapter 2 of Developing Multicultural Educators prove that even though many do not know it, they believe and feel things based on stereotypes, prejudices and racism.  The author’s explain that it is difficult for one to see their own biases because they are part of who we are (Noel, 2008).  By using Gadamer’s theory of hermeneutical consciousness we are able to begin recognizing our own prejudices by confronting them (Noel, 2008).  We must recognize that our beliefs about others are not outside of our consciousness but are part of our identities. 

            We develop our sense of worth by associating with what we feel is our “in group.” (Noel, 2008)  We have positive feeling towards others in our “in group” and negative feelings to those in the “out group.” Some of these feelings are dispositional, meaning that they are under the control of the individual.  Other feelings are considered nondispositional, meaning they are out of our control  (Noel, 2008).  These positive and negative feelings are what form our stereotypes.  They may be formed by oneself or taught to them by their own “in group.”

            Prejudices can be formed or caused by many different characteristics.  We form prejudices about others because they are physically or culturally different than ourself, we are competing with them economically, we have expreienced a traumatic experience or know someone who has because of this particular difference.  We may also base our prejudices on others because we somehow feel that we are not able to satisfy our own needs because of them  (Noel, 2008). 

            Racism is formed in similar ways.  Economic turmoil, idealism, the need to belong to a group, the need for power or from one’s own self esteem.  (Noel, 2008)  These causes make us believe that our race is superior to another’s.  Racism can be formed by both the individual and society as a whole.  The most prominent reason for racism is power but is often fueled by economic stress  (Noel, 2008). 

            These beliefs can have quite an impact on societies.  These beliefs are often taken on by those in power and then become norms for that society.  Practices based on these judgements often lead to lower self esteems, lower success rates in school, and can have a negative impact on daily life.  (Noel, 2008)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Reflect-What does it mean to me?

             I believe this chapter has inspired me to adopt hermeneutical consciousness and evaluate my own beliefs towards others, especially my students.  The reason I became an educator was so that I can truly make a difference in the life of a child who may not have been given the support they need without me.  I specifically wanted to work with students from other countries, who spoke other languages, and had cultures different than mine.  I also have a passion for working with underprivileged students.  I am wondering now, however, if I had some stereotypes, prejudices, and racist beliefs that caused me to feel the need to become a teacher to this particular group of students.  Some of the theories behind how these beliefs are developed made me think of my own beliefs and how they came to be. 

            I come from a comfortable upbringing where my siblings and I never “needed” for anything.  I had two parents at home who supported me in my education, athletics, and college and career choices.   One of the reasons that I felt the need to make such an impact on my students was because I believed they did not get these types of supports from home.  Some of my students do not have a great support structure in their homes but I now realize that many of them do.  Just because they are of a lower socio-economic status or their parents have a lesser education level than I, does not mean that the parents of my students do not have high expectations or hopes for their children.  I know now that I must take an initiative to actively engage my students’ parents more and trust that they will support their child and me.  They too want their children to do well in life.  Before now, I simply assumed that the parents couldn’t or wouldn’t support us.   

Refine-How will I use this information in the classroom?

            As conferences are rapidly approaching, I have a new and improved outlook on how I will conduct my parent-teacher conferences.  In recent years, I have done most of the talking and have told the parents what I want for their children.  I would like to try taking a step back and allowing the parents to discuss with me what their goals are for their children.  I would like to employ the parents as partners in their children’s education rather than just a passive entity. 

            After reading about how stereotypes, racism, and prejudices effect schools, I want to take a closer look at what I assume about my students.  I need to evaluate whether I treat my English speakers differently than my Spanish  speakers or my boys different than my girls.  I must also be sure that I set realistic expectations for my students based on their academic abilities not their culture.  Tracking is another thing I must be wary of when setting expectations and goals. 

Bibliography

Noel, J. (2008). Developing Multicultural Educators. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Chapter 2 Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Racisim- Kiel

Chapter 2 “Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Racism” Reflection

Casey Kiel

Gwinnett County: ESOL Endorsement Program

29 September 2012

Review:

Does pretending they do not exist make prejudice, racism, and stereotyping disappear?  Noel argues that only by admitting our prejudices to ourselves, we can overcome thier negative effects on those around us and society at large (Noel, 44).  In this chapter she breaks down the differences and causes of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping.

It was interesting to learn why, psychologists believe, we form stereotypes. Noel explains that we are exposed to so much information that our brains simply cannot process it all, so we categorize and consolidate it.  Putting things, ideas, and at times people into categories allows us to quickly make judgements.  When it comes to people we may stereotype them based on something that happened to us or someone close (emotional interest), something that was told to us in great detail (concreteness), or an incident that occurred recently (temperal or special) (Noel, 46).

There are also several theories as to how we develop prejudice.  Prejudice is an emotional reaction to differences.  Racial and Cultural Difference Theory says that prejudice is born from fear or discomfort with something that is “different”.  Economic Competition Theory suggests that prejudice forms when groups are competeing for jobs or necessitites.  Tramatic experience theory says that prejudice can be brought on bu a physical attack.  Frustration Aggression Theory explains that some personalities are actually more prone to prejudice.  Social control theory holds that prejudices form when people conform to social traditions and prejudices (Noel, 52-56).

Racism is more than just bias based on the color of the skin.  According to Noel it can also be about the social and emotional construction of a group. There are different types of racism: aware/blatant, aware/covert, unaware/unintentional, and unaware/self-righteous. Those that are blantantly aware of their racism may be inclined to join hate groups.  This can be triggered by social upheaval (competition for jobs), idealism (ingrained beliefs), the need to belong, ambition, “power”, or just self hatetred.  Individual racisim can lead to institutional racism when the ingredient of power is added (Noel, 62-64).  Noel further offers two common reactions to racism.  In the face of it some reject their group, while others totally embrace their group and traditions.  Both can create a problem with understanding others (Noel, 67).

Caucasian’s go through different phases of awareness of identitiy.  At contact level they think of themselves as normal, not white, and have a curiosity or fear of other races.  At the disintegration phase they recognize the differences in their lives compared to those of other races.  They may begin to try to stop racist comments or withdraw from conversations.   When they are in the reintegration stage they tend to ignore racism or blame the people who are being targeted (Noel, 69). 

What does all this mean for schools?  Noel continues by discussing the achievement gap and that studies have found that low income schools are often lacking in teacher preparation, experience, technology instruction, school safty, and even instructional materials.  She further explains that when our own steriotypes or prejudices follow us in the classroom it can lower our expectations of students.  Studies have shown that when teachers expect more they treat students differently.  When students feel more is expected of them then they preform better (Noel, 71-72).  

Reflect:

            This chapter had a lot of information to digest, therefore I had to read it in pieces. I had to take a moment to pause and reflect after each section.  After reading the section on stereotype, I thought about my stereotypes and how they were formed. In the prejudice section I was reminded of a few encounters I have experienced in my lifetime.  The racism portion also stirred up some thoughts and feelings. 

            I think I, like most people according to Noel, categorize people as well as things in an effort to recall necessary information.  The problem here with people is that even within the catagories we set up in our own minds people will still differ.  Attributional Theory explains that we apply the characteristics of one to the whole group (Noel, 48).  More often than not our assumptions or stereotypes are untrue. 

            I had a rather uncomfortable moment of hermeneutical consciousness when I married and moved away from home.  We were in Chattanooga looking for a church home.  We found a congregation that shared our beliefs, had strong leadership, and offered great activities and classes.  However, I kept telling my husband I did not feel comfortable there.  I did not see anyone with whom I thought I could grow a friendship.  I was convenced that everyone there was stuck up after only one visit.  After some time, I realized that everyone there dressed in designer clothes and wore lots of make-up.  This is the way the popular girls in high school dressed as they snubbed myself and my not so fasionable friends.  I ended up making some great friends and enjoying our time there, as well as, learning something about myself.  This event came to mind when reading about how stereotypes and prejudice are formed.  At the time I did not recognize this as a sterotyping and perhaps prejudice.

            In the racisim section, I thought it was important that Noel pointed out that racism is about more than the color of one’s skin.  That also has to do with the social construction of race (Noel, 60 – 61).  Our perception of our own race often influences our perceptions of others.  People must guard against these perceptions, misconceptions, developing into stereotypes, prejudice, or racisim. 

Refine:

            There were parts of this text that were uncomfortable to me.  While I thought that Noel made it sound like all Caucasians were destined to be racist, I think she had some good points in the section on “Caucasian Awareness of Identitiy”.  I agree that sometimes we forget the privalages that accompany being born Caucasian.  Many of the people in power are white.  Often we are already participating in “societal norms”; we do not have to work as hard to “fit in”.  The section about the African American student in the honors English class illustrated this point well.  She had additional pressure that the white students did not.  She felt she had to prove herself not just for her namesake, but for her entire race (Noel, 74).  I want to be more aware of the feelings of my students and the additional pressures they may be experiencing due to being thrown into a culture that differs from their own.

 The section on self-fulfilling prophesy really hit home.  I have always tried to set high expectations for my students, but I now realize as the year rolls on my expectations tend to change.   They have to change based on the students needs to a degree, however, I fear I have been guilty of expecting the negative.  I would like to do a better job of maintaining high positive expectations for all of my students throughout the year.

“Many people react to discussions of stereotyping, prejudice, and racism by denying that they hold any stereotypes or have any prejudices” (Noel, 43).  Noel’s statement in the beginning is shocking, scary, and true all at the same time.  We cannot improve on anything, until we admit that change is needed.  Change is needed in us all.

               

 

References

Noel, J. (2008). Developing Multicultural Educators (2^nd Edition)

Doris Reynierson - Reflection Chapter 2

Reflections Journal

Developing Multicultural Educators: Chapter 2 – Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Racism

Defining Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Racism

     Chapter two discusses stereotypes, prejudice, and racism by defining these concepts, their formation in society, and effects in schools. These three processes are mechanisms that people use to describe, judge, and alienate themselves or others.  To deny their existence is as dangerous as ignoring their effects.

     Stereotyping is the creation of categories that group people, items, or events and assumes that all within the group share a single trait or all characteristics (Noel, 2008).  Stereotyping is a mental, rather that emotional or behavioral process of describing people.  Prejudice, on the other hand is a judgmental process by which people perceive others.  Prejudices, which are either positive or negative, are how we feel about people, objects, or events (Noel, 2008).  And finally, racism is a belief that one’s race is superior to other races and consequentially that other races are inferior (Noel, 2008).

     Because educators interact with children and young adults everyday in the classroom and school environment, it is vital that they understand each of these concepts, identify their existence, the importance of addressing their effects, and how to take action to facilitate quick abolishment and intolerance of negative or harmful perceptions in the school and classroom environments.  Educating all stakeholders is the best way to understand where we were, where we are, and where we want to go.

Stereotyping

     Stereotyping is natural in a school community as members define groups by using characteristics that people possess.  What is erroneous is when people assign all characteristics of a group to all group members purely by association rather than getting to know them as individuals.  An educator must be careful not to assume students possess all characteristics that are generally assigned to a culture.  Getting to know their students is of upmost importance in the classroom.  Thoughtful planning to institute classroom activities which facilitate sharing appropriate personal information can be done at all functioning levels. Secondly, it is erroneous when the intention of a group’s creation (an in group) is to form the group to keep others out (an out group). Basically we decide who is like us and who is not which is not harmful in itself unless we use this information to distance ourselves. Differences should be embraced, shared and even celebrated in the classroom and school environment. Educators must ensure that they get to know each student as individuals through thoughtful classroom exercises that help students and educators develop a trusting relationship that fosters a comfortable learning environment.

Prejudice

      “Developing Multicultural Educators” by Jana Noel reports that prejudices are formed due to five categorized theories: frustration-aggressive theory, racial or cultural difference theory, economic competition theory, social control theory, and traumatic experience theory (Noel, 2008).  During a classroom exercise, prejudice was illustrated using a looking glass.  Class members were asked to look in the mirror to see people and their perceptions, keenly asking do we see our perceptions or individuals. After each theory, Noel asks if readers can attribute each theory to their own prejudices.  During a lifetime of personal interaction, it can be theorized that an adult cannot avoid having prejudices or experiencing their effects in daily life.  More importantly though, is how we handle these prejudices because this determines our sensitivity and humanity.  Educators must know that prejudices exist within themselves, students, parents, peers and learn to identify their existence while intelligently and compassionately educating all stakeholders to understand that individual’s cultural differences will benefit all stakeholders because each experience (that is not harmful) is a learning experience.  As a special education teacher for children in the autism spectrum, I am quite familiar with prejudice and stereotyping.  I have dealt with peers who assume my students are extremely high (Asperger) or extremely low (severe and profound).  I have found I that must educate them about the spectrum of autism.  All my students are individuals, with high skills sets and some low skills sets but their right to self advocacy is no less important than every general education student.   

Racism

     Racism is a dangerous and harmful concept to a group, classroom, school environment, community, state, or country. Racism uses fear and hatred as its fuel and breeds negative results.  There are four types of racism: aware/blatant racism, aware/covert racism, unaware/unintentional racism, and unaware/self-righteous racism (Noel, 2008).  During a classroom activity, class members stated they didn’t know which was worse, being an aware racist or an unaware racist.  Past experiences will answer that question for each individual.  The important question is what we will allow in our classrooms, school environment, or communities. We cannot allow racism in any form in our schools but it is important to study the results of our past mistakes to ensure our future success at all functioning levels. Racism can be hate, graffiti, and inappropriate language but is it also tracking students or subtractive schooling? Can educators set the tone for a student’s future by setting expectations low? Absolutely! Educators need to look closely at differentiating instruction to ensure that it is not a form of racism that separates students or preordains student potential. We must set high expectations for all students and group students together so that all every student benefits from instruction and student interaction.

Summary

     Accepting the existence of stereotyping, prejudice, and racism will help to identify and make positive changes in our schools. School stakeholders have to answer difficult and important questions regarding meeting school diversity needs and overcoming roadblocks to successful cultural pluralism.  A school-wide philosophy to achieve cultural pluralism with extensive planning and a process for evaluating progress will provide support and direction for a diverse school environment. By creating professional statements regarding diversity, team members and parents can understand the issues and concerns of stereotyping, prejudice, and racism and begin to agree on a common philosophy of addressing their negative effects. The philosophy should state beliefs and values that will guide members in making decisions that support those values.  A move to the diverse school environment has the potential to impact the entire school program, staff members, and all students.  A system-wide plan is important as well because all stakeholders in the process can be educated about the philosophy, direction, process, and evaluation of the program, which will lead to a higher rate of student success over all.

Culture - Ch 1

Review

            During my preparations to become a teacher, it never occurred to me that culture would impact children in such a dramatic way. So many times I have heard colleagues ask why children could not be on time, act like other children, and follow simple rules. After reading this assignment, it comes to mind that maybe the adults should have tried to take the culture of the individual child into consideration (Noel, 2008, Chapter 1).

            Cultures have differing communication styles. This affects the way children share their ideas. If their culture is accustomed to reading a story and then talking about it, they will share differently than if they are taught to simply listen to a story or to reflect on a story after hearing it (Noel, 2008, p.18). For example, Native American children do not appreciate the teacher stopping to discuss parts of a story. They have been taught to listen to the entire story and then talk uninterrupted for as long as they wish (Noel, 2008, p.18).

            This brings me to the Adichie (TEDtalksDirector, 2009) speech that told how everyone should be careful not to read a single story about people and think you have a clear picture of their personal history. Cultures are made up of so many experiences. Children are different according to what their encounters have been in life. 

            Many times children do not have an area of personal space that is appropriate for the classroom setting. This is also a cultural issue. Some children are taught to stay at an arm's length from each other while others are not (Noel, 2008, p. 19). For instance, some children stand very close to others during school activities. Children can be taught to stay at an acceptable distance in their classrooms.

            There have been instances where people do not seem to have a sense of time. For instance, if told to come to a party at 2 pm, the family finally arrived at 3:30 pm. Individuals who are not worried about time schedules are considered to be polychronic (Noel, 2008, p. 24).  Families who are on a tight schedule, and plan everything are monochronic (Noel, 2008, p. 24). An example of this would be a mother standing and tapping her watch telling a child to hurry or they will be late.

            The economic background of families could be determined by where people live, what job they hold, their family history, and other factors (Noel, 2008, p. 26). For instance, what is important to someone in a rural setting is very different from those living in an urban area.  Schools release students during harvest and planting times in rural areas. This was true in my dad's family.  Everyone in the family had jobs during those times. The younger children normally milked cows, mucked stalls, and fed the animals while the older children and the adults planted and then harvested the crops. The oldest daughter would make sure the children not in the fields completed their chores.  Everything was about family in the rural setting. On the other hand, urban cultures are trained for jobs outside the home and rely on problem-solving to learn their trade. This group is more about individual efforts (Noel, 2008, p. 31).

Reflect

            In all my years of training, I never thought culture would impact my life as much as it has. My upbringing was in the rural South with very strict guidelines on how to talk to adults, when to ask questions, and when to be quiet. You by no means questioned an adult about why you were told to perform a task.  It simply was not allowed.  Everyone spoke the same and had just about the same kind of clothes, cars, and houses.  It wasn't until I went away to college that cultural issues started to impact my life.  Suddenly, my speech was not correct for several people with which I came into contact. They made fun of how I talked. This was never an issue where I grew up. This definitely is an example of differing communication styles listed in this chapter (Noel, 2008, p. 15).  Noel (2008, p.15) noted vocabulary, word meanings,  and sentence structures are all components of a person's culture.

            It appears that culture dictates differences for men and women as well.  In fact, even the decade determines those differences.  For instance, when my mom and dad were married, she was to carry out all the household chores.  My dad expected dinner to be on the table when he arrived each night.  By the time my husband and I were married, he helped with chores.  Dinner was cooked by whomever arrived first.  We both helped setting the table.  However, if you did not cook, you washed the dishes.  Now, my entire family has jobs to get dinner on the table.  They also help with clean up.  At least now, they can use a dishwasher to make the process faster.

            Teachers need to be more mindful of a child's background so they can make for a more relaxed learning environment.  A child who is used to sharing their opinion will not raise their hand and wait their turn.  A child who is from a polychronic background will not suddenly arrive on time.  A child who is from an urban area will not speak the same way as a child from a rural area (Noel, 2008, p. 24).

Refine

            The material in this chapter (Noel, 2008) has opened my eyes to the differences in family backgrounds.  It is now up to all teachers to make each child's life a little easier by taking those differences into account.  A child who is not used to storytelling will not be able to tell a story in a matter of minutes.  Children can become more at ease learning in new ways if taught how to do so.  They can be asked to summarize what is read in class. This makes children more comfortable speaking in front of others.  They would speak from their seat. However, it is sometimes necessary to ask them to speak louder.

            Children in my classroom will always have opportunities to work on their strengths as well as their weaknesses.  This cannot happen simultaneously, but given time students will be more comfortable with their work.  Children will be encouraged to share their ideas in a spoken format as well as a written one.  Bringing their own experiences into their work will help them feel more comfortable. Students will be placed into groups of different cultures to learn about their way of communicating.  Lessons will be structured to discuss difference in personal space. The lesson will sometimes dictate how far away students will stand.  For example, small group lessons are conducted at a closer distance than large group lessons.

            Students who are really strict with schedules will be taught to slow down and not schedule everything.  They could have a few minutes in my classroom to do what they wish.  They might pick a writing activity, a computer game, or a game just to release tension.  Students who don't adhere to schedules at all, can be taught to schedule certain parts of their day.  For instance, timing assignments without the pressure of grading will increase time management skills in students. Later, assignments will be given for a grade. So many times using a computer makes children want to complete their assignment.  Computers seem to lose any fears of writing when they use technology.

            As a teacher, it is critical to make sure students do not draw conclusions about someone else by only knowing one thing about their background (TEDtalksDirector, 2009). We must expose children to many ways of learning about different cultures.  One way is to have students bring in items about themselves and tell what the items mean to them as we did in class (Homann, 2012).  This will help students learn how to talk in front of others in a non-threatening way.  It also gives insight into personal history.  Students will be given many opportunities to learn about their classmates.  Another way to learn about students is to have them gather around globes and point out where they were born on the globe. This opens up the lines of communication without feeling they cannot speak in front of their peers. I look forward to learning new ways to incorporate cultures into my classroom throughout this course.

                                                            References

Homann, L. (2012, Aug. 30). Class activity.

Noel, J. (2008). Developing Multicultural Educators (2nd edition).

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 30 August 2012. How to cite sources in APA    style.

TEDtalksDirector (2009, October 7). Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story. (video file). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg

Yvonne Bunkley Ch. 1 Reflections

Review:

Chapter 1 of Janel Noel’s book , “Developing Muliticultural Educators” taught me more about culture, and what that word means, than I thought possible. Understanding that culture is a way of seeing, perceiving, and believing goes far beyond the simplistic idea I had of what culture means. The example Noel uses of a tree to illustrate that culture extends beyond the “branches”;  the parts that we can see and hear,  was profound. The “roots” of a culture, the basis which forms what we are able to observe about a culture, is vitally important for us as educators to understand in order to reach our students whose backgrounds are not like our own. Noel points out that within every culture there is a variety and uniqueness among individuals. This is important to remember because even if we, as educators, perceive that a student is from a culture similar to our own, we must not make assumptions about that student. Chapter 1 of this book taught me that every culture is unique and every student within a culture is unique.

Reading the “Cultural Socialization Practices in the Schools” section was a real eye-opener for me. I had never realized how profound, and pervasive, the roles our schools take in shaping our students into the models our American culture  view as important. How confusing it must be for our students if the norms we set for them at school are different from the cultural norms they are expected to adhere to in their homes and communities!

Reflect:

Using the “Preliminary Activities” on page 10 of Chapter 1 was helpful to me in understanding  how someone with a background similar to my own  could have a perspective different from mine, based upon what they feel is most important in their personalities. It put in perspective for me how large, and potentially daunting, it is to not only understand, but embrace, other cultures in order for me to grow as an educator and as a person.

Refine:

Figuring out how to use the information I have learned about cultures and using it to make me a more effective educator is a challenge filled with promise and rewards. I am looking forward to learning more about my students’ backgrounds and cultures in order to differentiate instruction  within the classroom beyond just their academic abilities.  If I can get to some of the “roots”’ of their culture, I believe that I can allow the more “authentic” nature of my students to emerge, which will allow them to become the best person they can be.

Chapter 1 Reflection

Review – In reading chapter one in our text book, Developing Multicultural Educators, by Jana Noel, I learned many different things about society and about myself. The chapter taught me the definition of culture to be partly the values, beliefs, and perspectives of different customs (pg. 11).  The cultures we are brought up in help shape us and help meet out basic needs; as in giving us a sense of belonging (pg. 13). There are different components that help make up our culture. The components are categorized as: the way we communicate with each other, our organizational style, and our intellectual style. The communication style will play a part in the way the person will form their sentence structures; change their pitch/tempo of talking, and the way they participate in the conversation (pg. 15). There are some people who will always speak very fast, whereas there are other people in different cultures that will speak in a very quiet voice. The way many people communicate with each other change with their culture. There may be some people who feel very comfortable while talking closely to another person, whereas the other person may need their ‘personal space’. Some cultures will communicate in forms of verbal when other cultures will have more of a written communication. This all can be tied to their culture as they were being brought up.  

In summarizing my review of this chapter, our culture will help shape who we are, our traditions, many of our behaviors, and especially will help shape our identities. All of these will help in the way we perceive the world around us (37).

 

Reflect – This chapter meant a great deal to me, since there have been many different aspects about this that I have seen in myself, but yet some that I have never really thought about. One example I have seen in myself has to do with culture and the community where we live. When I was growing up, I lived in a town with many doctors and chemists. Many of the children that went to the schools I went to were well to do financially. There were very few African-Americans in our community, but for the ones that were in our community, they were very well off, as their parents were doctors or chemists. This always confused me when I heard any sort of derogatory comments about African-Americans, since the ones I knew were just like me, just a different color. Thus the reason when I was growing up, I felt the people that lived around me were all the same, just different colors. Then when I got to 6^th grade (still in elementary school) we had a community of Caucasian students bussed in, due to their community only having a school that went to 5^th grade. These students didn’t have the financial means that we had in our community. These students had the reputation as being “dirty” and “stupid” just because of the area they came from. Unfortunately, to this day, I couldn’t tell you if those students truly less intellectual as those that lived in my community or if it was just the preconceived notion I had. Or if the clothes they had were really dirty or if they were just hand-me downs, since they were not as financially fit as the rest of us.

This chapter made me reflect back on my life and see how much culture has affected the way I was raised, raised my children, and the way I have taught students over the years. The chapter emphasized to me how much the people around us create our culture.

 

Refine- After reading this chapter I feel that there are things that I will view differently in my classroom. Realizing that everyone doesn’t have the same cultural backgrounds, everyone should not be treated the same in all aspects. I will pay close attention to the way the students respond to my questions or the way they ask questions in the classroom. Some students might need to wait until I am completely done with my lesson before responding, while others might blurt answers out. I will make sure that I am allowing the students to be able to keep their culture intact while also functioning and fitting into the existing culture of the classroom (pg. 31). An example would be, in the past, I had an Asian student walk about five feet behind me, but yet I tried to get him to catch up. After learning more about his culture, I realized that this was out of respect for an authority figure. Although I had thought that he didn’t want to walk with his teacher. I also will pay close attention to the fact that the students don’t have to be from a different country to have the different cultures. Students could be from here in Georgia, but the family might have different cultures, which would make the students respond differently than the other students.

 

Reflection 1 - Reynierson

Reflections Journal

Developing Multicultural Educators: Chapter 1 – Culture

Definition and Functions of Culture

          “Culture is the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular society, ethnic, or age group” (Dictionary.com, 2012). Culture defines how a society’s basic needs are met, describes who individuals are within the group, and how members can evolve to their potential (Noel, 2008 p. 11).  There are over two hundred countries in the world today which house over 1500 different cultures (Yahoo Answers, 2012).  In the current international world, communities and schools can have diverse populations made up of children and parents from many different cultures.

Components and Characteristics of Culture

          The activities and customs, a group’s outward components, and beliefs and ideas, a group’s inward components are a culture’s make up.  In schools today, outward components, the differences seen each day with the human eye like skin color or dress do not account for the most influential differences between cultures as compared to the inward components such as discipline or participation practices.  These inward components are defined as styles of human interaction including communication, intellectual, and organizational (Noel, 2008 p 15-22). Schools are finding there are many different styles of human interaction and each embedded by tradition and passed down to the students in America’s schools.  These style differences in the classroom today can threaten a student’s learning potential if educators ignore or do not respond to student diversity.

Culture in Education

           A school’s function is to educate its students in math, science, social studies, language and liberal arts and to this end to create an atmosphere where all students can learn to their potential. American schools to date characteristically use a rule and student/teacher interaction system based upon the dominate population’s culture (Noel, 2008 p. 29).   Therefore, all students are expected to follow a cultural system not their own and sometimes very foreign.  Student potential has a better chance to be fulfilled when all students feel ownership and partnership in their education.  Creating this type of classroom is the charge of an international world which needs to educate its students in a culturally sensitive and responsive classroom.

Summary

          How should educators consider the unique needs of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in the classroom? Educators should complete need assessments to determine the ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds of the school, students, and community of all students.  Educators can then create positive socio-cultural influences on classroom instruction by keeping classrooms student centered, utilizing cooperative learning groups, independent learning centers, and increasing classroom unity through acceptance and use of cultural pluralism.  Educators should endeavor to create open and accepting classroom environments to ensure that students from all cultural and linguistic backgrounds feel comfortable in the classroom and by keeping expectations for all students and ensuring students are aware of these expectations; American schools will benefit from this enriched school environment.