Diversity in learners is clear in any classroom I have ever walked into. Diversity can take on so many branches. You can talk about the diversity seen in Learning disabled, gifted, or "regular" students. Is there such a thing as a "regular" student? You can talk about diversity in culture also: Hispanic, Asian, Black, White. Which one is regular here? Next you have the multiple intelligences: musical, linguistic, kinestetic. The list goes on and on. There is no regular here, is there?
I know I need to look at is each individual student and what do they need. This is difficult, at best. So when I create lesson plans, I need to look at all of these factors. Begin by looking at providing as much authentic learning as possible for all learners. When I am providing instruction, I need to be as explicit as possible. Offer as many concrete examples as possible. A great example of this is the new math curriculum we have been using in Harrisonville. It is based on teaching students with concrete examples first, then work your way to abstract. When a teacher moves onto the abstract, she can go back to the concrete for an example when needed. This helps students with ADHD, Learning Disabled, ELL, and Autistic students, to name a few. However, the math curriculum does provide extension activities to help gifted students with an open ended activity that allows for divergent thinking and problem solving. This is great for math, but what about reading, writing, science, spelling, and social studies?
This last year in my second grade classroom, I had the most diverse group of students I have ever had. I had 3 students with LD, 6 students with a speech IEP, 2 students who were emotionally disturbed, 4 students with ADHD, 2 students with only one eye, and one student with a club foot. We spent most of the year building a community that cared for each other despite all of our differences. One of the first things we did as a class was we created a self portrait of ourselves. We used Gardner's multiple intelligences. We talked about how we are all smart in different ways. Some people are word smart, music smart, body smart, and so on. Each time we talked about a "smart", the student would talk about if they felt they were a little smart or really smart in this area. In the end, each child was filled with different colors of smarts. We all look different, but we are each smart in our own way. This is keep in our classroom all year long. I refer to it often throughout the year when any relational problem might occur. I remind the students about what we learned or I ask them to remind me what we learned. I ask them to apply this knowledge to the situation at hand and they are able to grasp the understanding that we are all different, but all smart in our own way. Next year, I will add technology as one of my smarts.
After reading an article on multicultural classrooms
http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/buildingblocks.html
I changed my thinking about my teaching in February. I felt teaching about famous African Americans during the month of February was a great way to highlight many people who had changed the world. I never looked at this as saying to my students, 8 months of Whites versus 1 months about African Americans. Look who is superior. I need to make an effort in include read a louds from multiple cultures during each unit. I need to spotlight different people for what they have done, with less emphasis on what color they are. This can be included in units from science, social studies, or reading.
I believe the biggest and most important culture in the classroom begins with me. I need to be open. Open teacher = open class = open lines of communication. I want my students to see in me, what I want to see in them. I have to model it first. I need to learn to not make assumptions about behavior before understanding the culture from which the student comes. I need to be open-minded to not making any assumptions about a student's culture based on the color of their skin.
The beautiful thing is this doesn't cost any money to do. Books are free at the library. Attitude is free for the taking.
I love how you stated that much of your year was spent building a community that cared for each other. This is something I too strive for each year. When you think about how much time we spend together during the 9 months of school we really are each others' family and that is one thing we talk about every year.
ReplyDeleteWow! I loved reading your blog today. You seem to have such a great classroom community. Wish I could have a sneak peek in your room. You brought up so many great questions and thoughts. I enjoyed reading about building a community that cared for each other. Creating a caring community is so importnat especially when each classroom is so diverse. When you teach your kiddos this skill you are teaching them to be accepting of others. Thank you for sharing all your great ideas!
ReplyDeleteA great post, and I enjoyed reading it very much! Sounds like you had your hands full yet had such a positive outlook. Building classroom community is so important and I feel like I am getting better and better at creating that environment each year. I love the coloring of different smarts, I might try that this year!
ReplyDeleteI love the self-portrait activity and having your students learn about and identify the multiple intelligences. We talk about them a lot as teachers and include them in our lessons, but I haven't seen anyone use them in this way with elementary students. This is such a great help for you in understanding your students and a great way to build confidence in your students and their strengths. Great job!
ReplyDeleteYou must have had a challenging but rewarding year. Using multiple intelligences so each student could be smart about something was a great way for them to enjoy coming to school and will help them to understand they can be successful.
ReplyDeleteI, too, realize I need to be more open to the students. There are a lot of Hispanics who attend school where I teach. After reading the building blocks article I have a better understanding of the culture even though I have taught here for 15 years.
Wow! You most certainly had your hands full this past year, and I loved hearing about your ability to make your diverse classroom a community. I also enjoyed reading your reflection of the building blocks article. As you pointed out, a classroom community begins with the teacher and this concept was also substantiated in our textbook reading. Our reading said, we need to gain an understanding of our own culture and that of others. I believe, as a teacher, it is important to be knowledgeable and understanding of cultures, so we can be aware of those around us. In addition, we can serve as models to our students which will benefit their ability to be accepting of others. Thank you for your reflection and giving us a glimpse of your classroom!
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