Portfolio Summary

Throughout this class, I have learned a lot about myself as a person and what I need to do to be a successful inclusive educator. As I mentioned in class, before taking this course I was very ignorant and very okay with my ignorance. I did not want to have to deal with things that made me uncomfortable or think about those topics. However, this course exposed me to all of those things that made me so uncomfortable. I was forced to learn about things that I previously deemed irrelevant in my life because I have not had to face those issues.

Some major disruptions that I had were learning about how hard some of these children have it in life. I am a very privileged individual, and I didn't realize it until taking this class. It was very hard for me to hear about situations, like the video we watched where the students blamed themselves for their families' poverty. It broke my heart to realize that people were in those situations. It helped me to realize what "Being the Other" actually means. It is hard to be in a place that is so different than that of your peers and I realized how careful I have to be in helping my students to feel safe in the classroom and develop the skills necessary to break out of the social reproduction that the system produces. Students deserve so much more than that, but are so often oppressed by society, and that is something that needs to be changed.

I have become a lot more aware of things that I need to know during this class. It has been really hard for me, because I was really okay with my ignorance. However, I have realized that there is a lot that I need to learn about and be aware of, otherwise there will be many problems that will come up in my classroom and I will not be sure how to deal with them.

I learned a lot from doing the various portfolios. They caused me to step far out of my comfort zone-going to a gym dressed normally and not knowing how to use the machines, going to a jail where I was terrified that something bad was going to happen, reading about a family who had a gay son and were trying to help him discover where he fit in society, etc. I was forced to think about what I would normally have avoided. I needed to expand my knowledge of social justice, and I now feel like I have the resources to teach for social justice and help these struggling students. I have names of resources and places that I can give to parents for them to find help for their children.

I think that is what I have most taken away from this class-there are so many resources out there. As a teacher I need to be more aware of what is available in the community to help students. I need to be more aware of students who may be struggling and not just have a deficit view of their situations, putting all the blame on them. I have been made more aware of my own prejudices and biases because of this class and am going to work to make sure that I am teaching all students in a way that works for them so that all students have the opportunity to excel in my classroom.

Redo of Cultural Artifacts

Today's culture would suggest that it is impossible to get around without a smartphone. In some areas, they are a sign of wealth and can even be used to determine who is popular in schools. Anywhere you find people, you will most likely find someone actively using a smartphone.
If someone were not from a culture where smartphones are present, this would be a confusing concept to them. They might not understand how a phone can be smart. They would not know that this phone can connect them to the internet, to people thousands of miles away, to ideas and news that are happening across the world.
This is also an important part of culture today because more and more often students are starting to bring smartphones to class. They can be extremely useful, allowing students to find information relevant to a lesson and access resources that they would not have, allowing them to better understand the content of the lesson. However, they can also prove to be a distraction in the classroom as students have access to various apps, social media, and games that might take their focus away from the lesson.

Books are a big part of my family's culture. We are a reading family. We are expected to read and all have developed a love for it as entertainment. It is highly encouraged and is not unlikely to see someone with a book out in my house sometime during the day. Harry Potter was one that my parents read to us when we were younger before we would go to bed. Because of the large audience of this series, in my family and at school in the younger grades, there were a lot of references to these books. People who have not read the books or seen the movies are not likely to understand what a Patronus is or why it might be funny that we are saying my mother needs to cast one to ward off the weird people from our home. My roommate recently came to our house and had never experienced the Harry Potter culture, and was confused because of all the references to Dumbledore and Dobby, the calling of people mudbloods, etc. because they were terms that are really only used within the community that knows about Harry Potter.
This will affect a classroom because language that we learn in books is what will be used in the classroom. We will have references from books or relate things to stories so that it is easier for the students to have context for something that we are learning about.

Family is a large part of Utah culture. People are expected to spend time with their family and have a happy, good family life where everyone gets along. Families consist of a mother, father, and their children. People not from this culture might be confused as to why I, and many others, like to spend a lot of time with family rather than going out with friends all the time. We plan family activities nearly every week. This would be a foreign concept to someone who is not very close with their family or who is unable to spend a lot of time with them due to work or other time commitments. It might be hard for them to understand why someone might choose to spend time with their family rather than going to see a movie or going to a party with friends.
This would be important to a classroom environment because many students will have different kinds of families. Some families will not be as close and may hardly see each other. Some students may have a harder family life because of this and it is something that we as teachers need to be more aware of.


Family dinners are encouraged. Families sit around a dinner table with a homemade meal and eat as they discuss the work or school day. Children eat with good manners (mouths closed when chewing, proper use of utensils) and participate in the discussion when called upon. This may be foreign to other cultures because today many people eat whatever they can find in the house for dinner, and everyone serves themselves. Many families sit on the couch, watching tv as they eat, so the idea of talking about their day might be a foreign concept. Many may not understand how to talk around the dinner table, while being polite and using the correct manners.
This might be important in the classroom because it might show how much of role parents have in the lives of their students. It would give children the opportunity to tell their parents what they learned about in class or tell about what happened on the playground at recess and learn to talk through problems, whereas students who do not have this same support might think it strange that families do this. They may not know what it means to have good manners and it may be something that we have to teach some students.



Music is a large part of people's day. Almost every where you go, you can hear someone's car radio, a speaker, or some building playing music over the loudspeaker. It is nearly impossible to find quiet when out in the city. There is always some form of music. It is entertainment, as well as therapeutic, or even a filler for lack of noise.
Those who do not understand rap culture might find it difficult to understand what is being said in the music. They may not even know what rap music is. Those who do not know what country music is or have an appreciation for that type of culture might have difficulty finding a reason to like the music.
Music culture can affect our classrooms. If we understand the kinds of music students are listening to, we can create parodies and other memory enhancing techniques using lyrics and songs to help students better remember the things that they are learning about. However, we will not be able to reach the students through music if we are using musical genres or styles that are foreign to them.




The LDS temples are a large part of LDS culture. When on the grounds of this temple, quiet is expected and reverence within. It is a place of worship as well as a symbol of peace and hope.
People who are foreign to such a culture or have never seen such a temple or walked on the grounds may be confused if someone were to give them a dirty look if they were talking loudly on the grounds. They might not understand the significance or why the building's grounds are so well kept. They may even try to enter the building and be confused as they are turned away for not having a temple recommend. There is a very specific jargon associated with LDS temples, such as this temple recommend. The recommend is a piece of paper signed by two local church leaders, as well as the recommend holder, stating that the person who it is signed for is authorized and worthy to enter in the building.
This may affect the classroom because there might be students who have visited these places and talk about it with their peers or bring it up in class and teachers need to understand what it is that they are talking about as well as how to address the situation when it is brought up so that the students are not offended or confused.




The little name tag there is a large part of LDS culture as well. When wearing this name tag, missionaries have a duty to represent their family, church, and God. There are expectations to the way that a missionary will act when wearing this tag. For example, they are to exercise the highest form of charity and love, serving others and seeking to build up the kingdom of God.
Many people are probably familiar with the term missionary. However, there is a very specific language associated with being a missionary. Things like "investigator," "tracting," and "the discussions" are terms that are very specific to missionary work, and that someone may hear when two missionaries are talking together, but may not understand.

Christmas is a large event in American culture. Celebrated with decorated trees, exchange of presents, colored lights hung in trees and on rooftops, etc. It is a time when everyone is happier and people are willing to give a little more. 

Personally, we celebrated by watching a different Christmas movie every night, or as often as we could with popcorn and in our pajamas to get ourselves more excited for Christmas day.

Christmas in the classroom may be a foreign concept for some students because some of them do not celebrate Christmas at home and may not know what is expected of them or what they need to do to better participate in activities revolving around this holiday. A teacher needs to be prepared to explain Christmas and help students who may be confused about all the things their peers are talking about involving Christmas if they do not celebrate and do not understand the culture in America around Christmas.

Social media is constantly in use. It is the main means for communication. It is normal for people at least 13 years old to have one or multiple social media accounts to keep up with friends, watch cat videos, look at pictures, or send quick 10 second videos to others. It is normal for several people to be in a room together, but not say hardly anything to one another and instead be looking at or communicating through social media.

People who have not used a specific social media will feel lost when they are trying to navigate it. They may not understand the purpose of having a Facebook or Snapchat. There are words such as "snap," "post," "tweet," and "like" that will not make sense to people who are not familiar with these social media sites and apps.
It is our job as teachers to educate students in a way that they can use social media to benefit their community and use it as a tool, rather than having students who waste hours on social media because they have nothing better to do with their time. Social media can be used in the classroom with things such as blogs that will help the students to know how to better access information on the internet that will benefit their learning and help them find true facts rather than basing everything they think they know on other people's opinions. 

Education is the norm. If you do not have a bachelor's degree, or possibly an associate's, it is difficult to get a good, well-paying job. It is normal for people to now go to college and earn a bachelor's and spend thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a good education.
Those who are foreign to our culture of education might not understand what the difference between private, charter, and public schools are. They probably will not have heard the term "Ivy League schools" and will be unfamiliar with the importance that these colleges have in the community or on a resume. 

Clothing varies from dresses to jeans and a tee-shirt, to short shorts and a tank top, to leggings and an oversized sweater. Everything is the norm in clothing. Right now some of the big cultural movements are flower print on clothing and combining mismatched prints as well as velvet shirts or pants.

People who are foreign to the culture of clothing may question why velvet pants are in style. They may feel strange in an environment where it seems like they are the only one who is dressed differently. 

This is important to a classroom because schools have dress codes. Students need to understand appropriate ways to dress. However, they will also dress in a way that will make them fit in with their peers.

There is also a cultural movement to be more active. Triathlons, marathons, hiking, etc. have all become more common as the hegemonic culture begs for people to slim down and be more physically fit. This includes outdoor activities such as running and biking. 

People who are not familiar with this culture may feel strange going to a gym because they will not know how to use the machines. They may not understand the meaning of triathlon or marathon, which are both long races. They may not understand why there is such a big push on 

being active.
This is important in the classroom because we need to help students to develop a healthy lifestyle. We need students to have physical education so that they can develop skills to remain active and be healthy throughout their lives. 

BYU football is huge in my family culture. When the game is on TV, silence is expected unless you are cheering because of a good play or touchdown. There is always food and it is normal for it to be extremely loud and for there to be quite a bit of jumping up and down.

For someone who doesn't understand calls and plays and signals the referees use, football can be a very confusing game. It is very easy to get lost in what is going on when watching a football game if you are unable to follow where the ball is at and what all the fans are screaming has happened. It is something that you would probably need to research or have some else explain to you before you attend a game.
Many students may have a love of sports and want to play them at recess or during P.E. Knowing the sports that students like and are familiar with can help us to make concepts more relevant to their lives. We can create many analogies and story problems using sports as a topic because they are so well-known in our community.

Playing soccer at a young age is a part of the hegemonic culture. Children are expected to participate with their team and do their best to score a goal. Families and sometimes even grandparents attend Saturday morning games. Parents all hope that their child will love the sport and be good enough so that they can continue to play.
Again, like football it is important to know the rules and official terminology associated with soccer in order to really understand the games. Things like goal, defense, and forward are all terms that are necessary to understand in order to fully comprehend what is happening during any given moment in the game.
Like football, soccer can also be used to connect concepts in the classroom to real life situations, like geometry and the angle needed to kick the ball to reach a certain player, or talking about the importance of teamwork, etc. 

Grandparents are a large part of my family culture. Living close was important and behaving while at a grandparent's house was necessary. There was no running around them, and manners like "please" and "thank you" were required, as well as telling them you loved them and giving them a hug hello and goodbye.

In many cultures, grandparents are highly respected individuals because they are the elderly and are believed to be wise. However, for those who live far from their grandparents, discussing memories of the smell of grandma's hand soap or the taste of grandpa's pocket mints would be foreign and would not make sense to them. They might not have the same respect for elderly people as someone who regularly visits a grandparent.
This might be important in the classroom, when talking about the different types of families. Those who never knew their grandparents may not think of them as part of their family, while those who visited grandparents frequently might have a close relationship and even consider them as part of their immediate family.

Online shopping is the norm. People expect things to get to them quickly and rarely do they go to try on clothing in a store any more. They click a few times online because it is more convenient and then wait for a package to arrive on their doorstep a few days later.
This is hard if you do not understand things like shoe or pants sizes in the US because they are different than some other countries. It is also difficult because there, again, is a specific jargon associated with online shopping, such as "Add to cart" and the process through which it is done may be completely unfamiliar to someone who has never experienced that culture.
This is important because there are sites where you can create a wish list of things you would like purchased for the classroom and send it out to parents. There are also sites you can refer students to for them to find supplies or textbooks they may need for classes.




People also expect food to be ready and available to them very quickly. There are many fast food restaurants, which are a common place to eat at for a quick meal. Customers stand in line, order their food, sit at a table and eat it quickly and then leave.
If you do not understand what a drive thru is or what a dollar menu is, this place will seem rather foreign. This is different than a normal restaurant because you wait in a line to order your food and then pick it up usually at that same counter. Practices here are different than a more formal, sit-down restaurant.
This is important in the classroom because most students will be familiar with such restaurants. Many will eat at these restaurants quite frequently, but there are movies that show that there are better alternatives to eating and what fast food restaurants do to your body, which could be shown in a health or physical education class. One such movie is Super Size Me.

Grocery stores are the place to go for food. Once inside, customers grab a cart, and put items in until they have all that they need. Hardly a word is exchanged between customers who did not enter the store together.
People may end up lost in a grocery store if they have never been there before. There are generally signs above the aisles or different areas of the store that show what kinds of different things are available in that part of the store. However, not every item is listed, so if you are unfamiliar with what items are similar to one another, it may be more difficult to figure out where a small, infrequently purchased item may be located in the grocery store.




Movie theaters are a common form of entertainment. It is normal to buy a large popcorn with extra butter and a large fountain drink, sit in your assigned chair in the the theater and not talk to anyone. During the film silence is expected as people sit, enjoying their snacks.
If a person were unfamiliar with the movie theater culture, they may not know where to go to buy a ticket, how to find their assigned seat in the theater, why there are butter machines located in the food area, or how to get to the theater where their movie is being played.
Similar to sports, movies are a popular and well-known part of culture today. Students will often know about what movies are coming out and discuss movies or shows during free time. Again, we can use these movies to create story problems as well as make analogies to the content that they are learning about.




Traffic signs, such as this are on nearly every corner in the country. Culture teaches us that we should bring our vehicle to a complete stop in line with the sign. Pedestrians cross the street before the car continues on.
This may be foreign to people who have lived in other countries, where other languages are more popular or where different signs or signals are used to mean different things along the roadway. They may not know what a pedestrian (someone on foot) is, or know what Xing means.
It is important for students to know some of these signs, such as school zone, and pedestrian crossing signs, so that they can be safe near busy roads that are close to the school and get to their homes safely, or play safely around the school.


I have realized that my culture is a very rule-based environment. Things are expected of society, and if someone does not meet that expectation they receive strange looks from other people, and some times even more serious consequences such as a fine or ticket. My culture defines my actions because I generally do not be the one person acting outside of the norm. My culture is very Internet based, as well as pleasure based. It is also a culture in which people greatly lack patience if things are not provided to them quickly.

For the most part I think that this culture helps students in a school setting. Students have a cultural expectation to attend college, and thus generally have a desire to do well in school. Culture dictates that technology be used often, and so technology has been introduced into the classroom and is being used to teach children, for the most part in a very effective way. Culture teaches children what they ought to be doing and they do it so that they feel a sense of belonging. However, sometimes this can be a hindrance to the classroom. For example, social media plays a huge role in today's society. Yet, within the school it mostly serves as a distraction. It really depends on a teacher's classroom culture what will hinder or help a child's education.

Reimagined Classroom

  

What My Classroom Will Look Like:

My first picture is of a reading corner that I want in my classroom. There will be shelves full of books to encourage literacy and enjoyment of reading. There will be books with students of other cultures, ethnicities, from families that may not have one mom and one dad, biracial families, children with disabilities and learning differences, different traditions, etc. The books will reflect the lives of the students to the best of my ability so that students are exposed to a variety of differences and cultures at a young age so that it does not seem strange as they grow up and see these kinds of things in their community.
There will be a carpet for students to sit on for when I read out loud. There will also be pillows or beanbags for students to use for when there is free time or reading time and the student wants to read. There will also be space in the reading corner so that students who may have wheelchairs or crutches will also be able to access it and have a place to sit and can be a part of our out loud reading, or can also use the area when they are doing free reads. 
Photo by Khumantaris. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/33216422@N08
/3578400771/in/pool-spaceandplaces

My second picture is of a job chart. Students will have a daily/weekly job to help them learn responsibility. It will help them understand that gender expectations do not mean that boys can not do work that they think is for girls and vice versa. Students will also be responsible for helping to clean up the classroom, as they spend much of their time there and it should be a clean place where we can continue to learn, and where the Spirit can be present to help them learn (and to help me teach).

Photo by Jodi Durgin. Retrieved from http://frame.bloglovin.com/frame?post=1327624935&group=0&frame_type=a&blog=2679652&link=aHR0cDovL2NsdXR0ZXJmcmVlY2xhc3Nyb29tLmJsb2dzcG90LmNvbS8yMDEzLzA3L3RpcHMtZm9yLWNyZWF0aW5nLWFuZC1tYW5hZ2luZy5odG1s&frame=1&click=0&user=0

The third picture is the “Good Morning” Board. It is a welcome area, where, as students come in to the classroom, they can turn in homework, pick up the classwork that needs to be done that morning as they come in to the room, etc. There will also be a calendar with important dates. I might include religious holidays for various local denominations, or even some religions celebrated around the world, as well as some major national holidays and possibly even children's birthdays if everyone in the class celebrates birthdays. 

Photo by Ashley Hall. Retrieved from http://owlwaysgoodteaching.blogspot.com/2015/09/classroom-reveal.html

The fourth picture shows more or less how I want to arrange the desks in my classroom. I want students in groups of 4 or 5 with their desks put together so that when we do group work we do not have to use our class time moving desks and putting them back. These groups of students will be as diverse as possible so that students can learn from each other and begin to see different points of view based on different cultures and what their peers have to say. However, contrary to what is shown here, there will be more space in between the groups than they have showing in this picture so that students who may not have wheelchairs or other disabilities will be able to maneuver around all parts of the classroom without problems.

Photo by Caitlin Spencer. Retrieved from http://www.teachingforthethrill.com/category/teaching/

The last picture shows that I want my room to be colorful and full of life. I want it to feel warm and have boards on the walls to post students’ art or good writing or other work. I want them to be able to show their hard work to others and have them think about how much effort they are putting in to what they are doing because it might go on the wall where their parents, peers, and other teachers will also be able to view it. However, I also want it to be there classroom. Students will help decide what goes on the walls and what kinds of things we hang up so that it can be a safe space for them and that they can feel comfortable in the classroom environment. 
I will also have a "GLSEN Safe Space" poster hanging, probably near my desk, so that LGBT students can know that they are safe in this classroom and that they have an ally and I am willing to help them through their struggles.

No photographer listed. Retrieved from https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7e/21/4e/7e2

14e8ad5a881b10cba3e2d3145cfbc.jpg

What the Room Looks Like and Resources for Students:

My classroom will be a place where students will feel safe. It will have some of their best work posted on at least one of the walls. It will have a large bookshelf full of books of varying levels and genres to promote student literacy and enjoyment of reading. Like I said above, there will be various books that promote normalcy, so that things that students, especially in Utah, might not see growing up will not seem to strange to them later in life. There will be books with biracial families, families that have adopted children, families with single parents, families with divorced parents, families with two moms or two dads, etc. There will be books that are written by people in different cultures and see what other people in the world might be experiencing. There will be books written by authors of varying backgrounds. There will be books that talk about people with disabilities. There will be art supplies as well and pictures of students and interesting places-such as India, the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids in Egypt, Mount Rushmore, etc. to incite a desire to learn and discover new things and learn about new cultures. During lessons we will use art supplies, where applicable, to inspire creativity. We will talk about pictures and paintings and we will use books. I also think that we will use technology to our advantage. I will show videos to help students learn about things or places to which we do not have access within our classroom. The room will be vibrant and full of color and life, but it will also be a calm place. Things on the walls and boards will not be so distracting as to cause students to lose focus on the task at hand. I think we will also use word walls, where we can post sight words for students to see. This will be advantageous to all students, but especially to ELLs so that they have access to more resources and we can help them to learn words faster. We could even put the words in the native languages of students next to the word in English so that they can relate words and continue learning in both their first language and English. 

What the Students in My Classroom are Like:

The students in the classroom are engaged learners. They think critically and ask questions. They are a diverse group culturally and socioeconomically and are willing to share their differences with one another. They embrace difference and do not look at it negatively. They are interested and invested in their education because they think learning is fun. During the lesson, a few may be off task occasionally, but for the most part students are following directions and commenting and enhancing the lesson. All students participate in the lesson because it is enjoyable for them. 

Classroom Policies:

The most important classroom rule I will have is respect for others and yourself. Listen to the teacher and follow her directions. I will use the “Class”, “yes” method to get students on task and use tallies to show how well/poorly students are behaving that day. Other than that I will let students decide on their own rules and consequences.

My discipline plan will be to first use teacher proximity, and get closer to the student or group that is causing problems. If they continue to act out, I will issue a quiet warning as the other students are busy working on something else. The third step, if the problem continues will be a first timeout. Students will sit in a designated area in the classroom (probably a corner further away from the activities and other students) until they feel they are ready to come back, in which case they come talk to me, and then they return to class. The fourth step will be a second timeout in which the student will go to the principal’s office (unless they are trying to get themselves there, in which case it will be the corner again), and they will be talked to about behavior. A message will be sent to parents as well, or an at home visit will be made. The fifth step would be a behavior-intervention contract in which students, their parents, and the teacher meet to discuss the student’s behavior and possible solutions to the problem. This would be if it all happened in the same day. However, if a student has several repeated warnings or timeouts, I would involve the parents.

My homework policy would be that turned in on time you can get up to full credit. If it is late it will be docked 10-25% depending on how late it is. No late work for units after the term has ended.
However, because of a strict homework policy, I believe that it is important that I make time available to students to do their work because, depending on home conditions, some may not have the ability to do homework at home. I will make myself available before and after school so students can receive help on homework they may not understand. If those hours do not work and a student still needs help with homework, I will make arrangements to meet them somewhere at a time that works for them or I will make home visits so that we can work together so the child can be successful. I will also be very careful to make sure that our homework will not require the use of technology if a student does not have access to such technology at home, or easy access in the community. I will provide an environment in which all students can be successful on their homework, so that they continue to see it as a relevant and important aspect of their learning.

Typical Lesson:

I chose a lesson designed for third or fourth grade, as that is the grade level that I hope to teach. I decided to teach about literacy. The goal of this lesson would be for students to learn to use alliteration in their writing. Students would listen to, read and identify alliteration in writing and then practice using it on their own. We would read on the reading carpet A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara and identify patterns in the writing. I had originally planned to use Dr. Seuss's ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book, however I realized that this was just one more book written by a white middle-class man. Using Nagara's book is a great way to teach students about differences  without having to directly address the topic, and allows students to explore it and ask questions if they want to. Then we would have a small lesson on alliteration, using various visual aids, like the Ice cream scoops page (see image at right). Students will then create their own ice cream alliteration and write their examples on the board and share with the class. Then students will apply alliteration to their writing piece from the previous lesson. I want students to begin to identify and apply different writing techniques. I chose alliteration because it is an easier technique to identify and learn to use and can be used across most grades as an introduction into writing strategies. I also want students to learn that their writing is unique and that it can be fun to do.

My Work as a Teacher During this Lesson:

During this lesson, I will begin by reading the story. Then I will monitor as children work on creating alliterations in groups, walking between the different groups. I will help students as they write their examples, and provide additional support to students who may have IEPs or be in Tier 2 or 3 in a multi-tiered setting. I would offer support to those students who have differences and may need more instruction than their peers. I would also walk between the desks as students work on their own writing and give them positive praise and feedback, as well as help those who may need further explanation or aren’t understanding what to do or are stuck on how to start.

What Students are Doing During the Lesson:

During the lesson, students are actively listening to the book reading, participating in discussion with the class, and working together with their group to come up with alliteration examples. They will work on their own writing skills and will be seated in their desks, focused on the task at hand. Students who may need additional support will be seated next to students who will be able to help them if I cannot get there quickly enough or if I cannot pause the lesson to help. These students will have permission to discuss the lesson and help each other understand, as long as they are on task while they are talking. 


Assessing Students' Learning and Achievement:

To assess my students’ learning I might create a worksheet where they can identify alliteration by circling the group of words that forms an alliteration in a poem. I will also see if they are able to incorporate alliteration into their own writing.  If they can do both of these things, and explain to a neighbor what alliteration is, then they probably understand it fairly well.



What I Changed From My Original Imagined Classroom:

As we talked in class and I would glance at my Imagined Classroom, I realized that a lot of what I had described initially was extremely vague. I was trying to cater to a lot of needs, but I was unsure how to go about it, so I kept everything very general. Looking further into the imagined classroom, I realized that I had accidentally ignored several groups of people. One of these groups was those who were disabled. In creating my classroom, I did not think about how they might have a hard time getting around in the way that I had set things up. I fixed that. I thought about the specific kind of literature that would be in the classroom and that we would use in lessons a lot because I believe that literature can shape children-who they are and what they believe. A lot of what I changed was in an effort to help students who might be different from myself or their peers feel more comfortable in their learning environment and provide them additional support. I worked hard to make sure that all groups were included and that any student who might feel different in the slightest way would receive the attention that they required to be successful in the classroom. I added a lot of specifics to my imagined classroom about what I could do to help students with disabilities or families that might be different, etc. and I tried to make sure that I would be available to families, even if it was beyond classroom hours and I might have to make home visits because a family did not have the means to come to the school to visit. I tried to make my classroom a truly inclusive room where all would be and feel welcome and differences will be accepted and used to help us increase our knowledge and strengthen each other. 

Book Club

I read the book Oddly Normal: One Family's Struggle to Help Their Teenage Son Come to Terms with His Sexuality by John Schwartz. It is about a mother and father's struggle to help their son come out and feel comfortable as gay, after they saw signs and were nearly certain that Joseph was gay at only age 10.

There were quite a few points in which I felt disrupted reading this book. One such disruption was that there were so many people so ready to offer a diagnosis about Joe's problem, and most suggested Asperger's. This was disrupting for me because most of the people that suggested this were not licensed in a field where they had the education to say what disability Joe might have, when in reality a lot of what he was dealing with internally because he was discovering that he was different and coming to understand that he was gay. The teachers looked at Joe with a deficit theory way of thinking, blaming all of his faults and failings in the classroom on a disability that he had not been tested for in the early grades. I do not believe that this should happen, and based on what I have been learning in a lot of my classes, this is not how such a situation should be approached with a student. A teacher may recommend a student for disability testing, but never say that the student has a disability until it has been diagnosed by a licensed professional. However, that was the other disruption that I had--many of the professionals were offering diagnoses that did not fit Joseph's condition and were unwilling to look at what was going on. They told the parents what they believed Joseph to have, but it seemed to just be an exaggeration of what they thought that it might be. The parents were not involved in the "classification" of their child, even though they should have been directly involved (p. 46).

I was also disrupted by the lack of support that Joe and his family received from the elementary school and the middle school. Joe was having emotional issues because of everything that was going on, he didn't get along with his fourth-grade teacher, he was struggling to know why he was different from all the other students, but the administrators at his school were not willing to address the fact that Joe's parents believed him to be gay. There was clear ignorance in these schools, with the administrator's failing to accept the fact that they had a gay student and needed to provide additional support for him. It should not have been like that. His parents reached out for help, but were largely ignored in a time of great need for Joe. The school needed to have resources and ways to help this family, but instead they ignored the problems that were happening in relation to this student. They had multiple opportunities to help, but did nothing. It was a large disruption for me because it goes against everything I know. Even if I didn't agree with a lifestyle that a student might be choosing, I realize that it is my responsibility as an educator to help these students who are struggling and looking for support, but have nowhere to go.

Another disruption I had was that people were telling Joe and his parents what he would not be capable of doing in the future-he wouldn't go to college or summer camp, he wouldn't do well in school, etc.-without actually observing his capabilities. They focused on all the negative and everything that he didn't have the abilities for rather than focusing on all the amazing things that he was doing. This is exactly what brought on every diagnosis he received in the beginning. Physicians, doctors, psychologists, and everyone else looking at his deficits rather than looking at what Joe had the ability to do. I believe that we need to focus on a student's strengths and what they are doing well rather than dwelling on the negative. However, these people in Joe's life did just that.

Joe experienced a lot of harassment when he was first coming out, especially in middle and elementary school. He received a lot of negative commentary about his sexual orientation. Other students would isolate him because he was different and was not conforming with the social norms, including that of gender role and expectations. He was harassed for comments about being gay for several months, one experience which was so severely emotionally damaging that it caused him to try to take his own life. However, once he reached high school, he finally had school psychologists who understood and wanted to help him. He also received a lot more support because his school had access to the resources that would help him. He found people who were accepting of who he was and was able to discuss it more openly.

He was able to talk with transgender peers, as well as a community of other gay individuals. He was able to come out because he finally found a place where he felt safe, and he wasn't the weirdest person. I think that I realized, just as we have discussed in class so many times, that as teachers we have to be accepting of our students and be there to help when they need it. We need to provide the resources and support that they need so that they can continue to be successful in the school environment. If the student does not feel safe, they are unlikely to do well. This is one of the reasons that Joe had such a hard time in his fourth grade class. He didn't feel safe around his teacher and he was struggling to feel safe in the classroom environment, even around his peers. He felt he had so many differences, and his peers thought him odd, so he was struggling emotionally, as well as with the loneliness of isolation. As teachers we have to be aware that things such as what was happening with Joe are going on, and then prevent any conflicts that we can.

Joe's story reminded me of reading Josh's story about coming out as a gay in an LDS environment. His parents were pretty supportive of him, just as Joe's were. I thought it was very interesting that at the end of the book Joe talked about this. He said, "I am so very deeply unqualified to speak for all LGBT youth, and most of that is for the same reason I'm getting a book written about me: I'm an upper-middle-class white boy who is flamboyant but gender-secure, whose parents love him unconditionally, and who has some minor neurological deficiencies. I could list my privilege for hours. I'm the face that has been put on our community for a really long time, and it kind of sucks for people who aren't me or a reasonable facsimile of me" (p.270). Both Josh and Joe had a lot of privilege, growing up in homes with both parents involved in their lives as middle-class, white boys. Things were slightly easier for them, even though they were gay because of the privilege that they had.

I also thought that it was very similar to the video we watched about Ariel's story, where she was dealing with being a transwoman, and facing harsh times in school because of her young age. It was much the same with Joe. He faced a lot of harsh words and criticism from peers because of the things he liked and who he decided to spend time with, as did Ariel during her transition face. However, once both Ariel and Joe were able to fully make the transition, things seemed to get a little better and people seemed to be more accepting of their gender and sexual orientation.