One hope that I would have for myself with regards to working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I would be open minded and accepting. I would hope that I would take the time to get to know the student and their parents before making conclusions about their religion, home environment, and culture. I would want the same applied to me so I can only reach out and expand my knowledge about people that might come from different backgrounds than me so that I can continue to strive to be the best teacher that I can be.
One goal that I would like to set for the education field regarding diversity, equity, and social justice would be to inform others of the importance of education and what it takes to help children succeed regardless of their backgrounds. I think that children from all areas of the globe deserve the opportunity to receive quality education and I think that it should be standard regardless of where you live. In my opinion children that live in less than favorable conditions should have quality education and services that would help them become great students and want to be positive members of society. I feel that in order to do this we have to recognize each student as an individual and respect the student’s differences so that we are learning as teachers while we are teaching our students.
I would like to thank all of my fellow classmates that have given a voice to this topic and that have shared their experiences with me. I think that as long as we keep pushing forward in a positive manner we can help make our communities better a little bit at a time. Enjoy your future classes.
DeWana,
ReplyDeleteIdeally it would be wonderful to have a set standard for all children across the globe, but logically it is not possible. For one thing, the difference in culture and value of education is a consideration. The economic status of the country is also a consideration, such as Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the world. They would like for all their children to have an education but economically it is not possible. Save the Children have built schools in many places in Guinea but they stand empty because there is no money to pay teachers. I do agree with you that an idea of a standard to accomplish is a great idea, just not real.
DeWana,
ReplyDeleteWe do need to remain open to discussion and lend a listening ear and helping hand. That is one of my goals that I am taking from this class is to listen more carefully to families and children to better meet their needs. We do have to recognize each students and meet their individual needs. These are concepts that are always stressed but only recently with standardized testing as there been vast collaborative efforts to discover how to meet their needs. There is much more to meeting their needs than making them feel comfortable. They also need to feel valued and included. I have enjoyed reading your discussions and posts and look forward to hearing from again in future classes.
Ginny