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.