Reflection 10

Teaching for inclusion got me very hooked. From the first paragraph, you can already get a sense of what kind of information will be present in this article. It tells you the importance of teaching the individual regardless of gender, race, religion, environment, class status and any other ridiculous factor that may make a child different from any other. You must take the chance to get to know your students on an individual level. Like trying to get to know their dreams, likes, beliefs and values. Support them in exploring new things yet not disheartening them in the things they already enjoy. No matter how perfect you think your classroom is, there is always going to be problems to deal with. As a teacher, we should never stereotype our students. If we wrongly stereotype someone, they could feel like they aren’t good enough or smart enough. These problems aren’t always seen. For example, religion and sexual preference is not always known off the bat. One must be sensitive to the fact that it is unknown at the moment. Be aware and look for warning signs. The reading suggests that giving a questionnaire will help you realize who is struggling with such issues. As a teacher, you want your classroom to be a healthy environment. It should be a safe zone for your students. It can be place where they can express who they are and be open to discussion. Your classroom rules should include something about not allowing hurtful name calling or slurs. If stated at the beginning, it can avoid problems in this nature. When making the rules, you should be conscious about what could happen if the rule is not in place. You could state that name calling, making fun of, or teasing will not be tolerated on any means. Another important factor is that as a teacher you should never single out a student. For example, if you are talking about Mexican migrant field workers, it would be a wise decision not to call on the Mexican child if you know they will feel on the spot. Take that opportunity to call on someone whose opinions have not really been heard in the classroom. It offers a lot of in depth explanations to questions most teacher might have when dealing with diverse populations. I learned a lot of ideas from reading this passage. I myself work in an environment where all the children are 100 % different from the next. I can harbor in some of these ideas to make their time and space much more welcoming. I think every teacher, no matter how diverse their class might be, should take the time to read this.