As a new teacher coming from a background that includes several social majorities, it will be a challenge for me to be sensitive and aware of inequalities and disparities that are occuring both naturally (students' socioeconomic status, family life, etc.) as well as those that I will create unwittingly within my own classroom.
W - If my superiors do not share my ideas about fostering equity how will I impliment this in my teaching? This will be the challenge.
D- I want to keep the conversation of equity alive and not turn into words without charge. I hope to keep it out of the hands of the bourgoise discusion of political correctness and deconstruction and one that continues to use the language and life of those seeking equity.
We are concerned about our ability to relate to students and colleagues from backgrounds different from our own. It is difficult to place yourself in someone else's shoes and understand how they experience daily life. We are also concerned about the amount of diversity found in the classroom (mental and physical disabilities, cultural and ethnic diversity) and our ability to incorporate all of these differences within the classroom.
In regards to equity, the concept of monitoring and developing measures of classroom equity may be the most difficult in my classroom. The combination of subjective and objective standards are important to incorporate, however one may be careful to create a unique balance of these aspects. What are the best ways to establish equillibria between these two?
In regards to equity, the concept of monitoring and developing measures of classroom equity may be the most difficult in my classroom. The combination of subjective and objective standards are important to incorporate, however one may be careful to create a unique balance of these aspects. What are the best ways to establish equillibria between these two?
I think it may be difficult to consistently keep in mind the idea that cultural diversity does not specifically refer to differences of race. Socioeconomic differences, religious views, and sexual orientation are also factors that must always be considered when dealing with multicultural education.
Having been in Ithaca for a couple years, we've witnessed several incidents in which the community was less than thrilled with the district's response to accusations of racism (e.g. school bus incident). What does this mean to our multicultural efforts? How does 4350 translate into interactions with the community? How does it change student learning? What is the process/is there a process within the ambitions of 4350 to respond to family concerns?
Besides offering a broad vision, how does this play out in my classroom?
Time is always the enemy. Trying to find the time to teach the curriculum, prepare for the tests, and embrace and differentiate for each student's unique attributes will be the main challenge.
As educators we can enable or disable. Every interaction with students does one or the other. It is so important to be aware of how we consciously or unconsciously impact our students and colleagues. We should always be evaluating our interactions and work to enable ourselves with tools and attitudes to maximize our ability to empower others. (I have always equated enabling to helping a person continue to make bad choices...ie. to enable an addict to continue his/her addiction. This blog intro is an interesting twist to the theme of ableness.)
The real challenge staying committed to the work and changing what we actually say and do in the classroom. Reflecting on and evaluating how our behavior effects students will be essential if we are to make progress towards equity goals.
When addressing issues of equity it is extremely important to involve the family/parents as well as the students. Families need to feel comfortable and not threatened or comprised in order to be active and contributing. This is evident in PTA participation, direct participation in the classroom and interactions/conversations with the teacher. Each family has a role to play, and the ability to empower families and enable them to feel that they have a significant place in the school community is an important step towards establishing equity.
As the parent of a child with an "invisible" but nevertheless significant cognitive disability, I am mindful of two things: (1) that our work as teachers is made easier by this district's commitment--not just in words but in specific supports for us as teachers and to the students--and (2) that the challenges often involve teaching our students to be sensitive and appropriate peers AND developing instructional strategies that meet all of our students' needs.
my biggest challenge will be explaining equity in non-legal terms. I don't want to hide behind Policy #4350. Laws and policies don't mean much to kids.Teachers must promote equality for moral and ethical reasons.
It becomes very difficult to have full staff agreement on such sensitive grounds. I feel that it will be a challenge to find staff support in regards to partaking in activites which identify and teach differences in culture, race, gender... I hope that teacher support and dedication will be universal.
My greatest challenge is when an incident occurs in the classroom where there is a victim and a victimizer, whether either of them notices it or not, how to I create a "teachable moment" out of an uncomfortable, unpleasant, or even potentially violent situation?
I'll be teaching a fairly racially homogenous population, and am interested in working with other teachers in the district to help our students make connections and begin to understand other lifestyles, ethnicities, backgrounds, family structures, etc. Setting this up and maintaining it may prove to be a challenge, but I'm excited about the possibilities that this might create.
As a new teacher it is difficult to determine what will be most difficult because I am not familiar with Ithaca. However I believe that effectivly addressing issues of race will be most difficult. I believe also that making sure you are treating people equally and critical of yourself ot make sure that you are constanly improving on yourself.
It is nice that we are not only told to be aware, but also given resources and contacts to make equity a part of our classrooms. Now if we could only see how other teachers have included these ideas in their classroom (and not in just english and social studies)
I think what will be the most challeging for me will be creating lesson plans that target the children's goals while simultaneously facilitating discussion about and appreciation for differences. I know that components of equity will be embedded in my work, such as on the spot teachable moments, but I would also like to actively create a curious and accepting attitude towards differences among people.
How to communicate this message of equity to early learners in a broader scope? Getting parents on board may also be a challenge. Some parents may believe this is not the school's job.
One problem that concerns me with promoting a learning enviroment that recognizes the needs of students, and the different diverse nature of learners is how to bring discussions up within the classroom about diveristy. I believe that students will have a difficult time identifying characteristics that make them stand out among their classmates. Students may feel uncomfortable talking about diversity, as it remains a touchy subject. I would need to identify methods of breaking the ice with discussions pertaining to discrimination and diverse backgrounds. Also, I would need to better understand how to manage the classroom if discussions became challenging for some students to participate in.
An equity challenge for us would be dealing with families who don't speak a common language How do you therefor speak upon their childs educational needs and create an understanding between Teacher, Parent and Student?
I applaud ICSD for begining with diversity training and identity awareness. I hope we can go beyond the labels and truly understand, respect and accept all members in our community.
the most challenging part would be challenging peoples beliefs. It seems that America's culture defines people by their personal beliefs and their attempts to cling to optimism. It's these core beliefs that would be the hardest to overcome.
Reaching ALL students is the biggest challenge for any teacher. Some teachers will reach a few students, good teachers will reach most of their students, but ICSD teachers will reach ALL students. That is a lofty goal, a worthy and meaningful goal, but nonetheless a definite challenge for a new employee.
27 comments:
Are you familiar with the term ableism? How will you take ableism into account while teaching in ICSD?
As a new teacher coming from a background that includes several social majorities, it will be a challenge for me to be sensitive and aware of inequalities and disparities that are occuring both naturally (students' socioeconomic status, family life, etc.) as well as those that I will create unwittingly within my own classroom.
W - If my superiors do not share my ideas about fostering equity how will I impliment this in my teaching? This will be the challenge.
D- I want to keep the conversation of equity alive and not turn into words without charge. I hope to keep it out of the hands of the bourgoise discusion of political correctness and deconstruction and one that continues to use the language and life of those seeking equity.
We are concerned about our ability to relate to students and colleagues from backgrounds different from our own. It is difficult to place yourself in someone else's shoes and understand how they experience daily life. We are also concerned about the amount of diversity found in the classroom (mental and physical disabilities, cultural and ethnic diversity) and our ability to incorporate all of these differences within the classroom.
In regards to equity, the concept of monitoring and developing measures of classroom equity may be the most difficult in my classroom. The combination of subjective and objective standards are important to incorporate, however one may be careful to create a unique balance of these aspects. What are the best ways to establish equillibria between these two?
In regards to equity, the concept of monitoring and developing measures of classroom equity may be the most difficult in my classroom. The combination of subjective and objective standards are important to incorporate, however one may be careful to create a unique balance of these aspects. What are the best ways to establish equillibria between these two?
I think it may be difficult to consistently keep in mind the idea that cultural diversity does not specifically refer to differences of race. Socioeconomic differences, religious views, and sexual orientation are also factors that must always be considered when dealing with multicultural education.
Having been in Ithaca for a couple years, we've witnessed several incidents in which the community was less than thrilled with the district's response to accusations of racism (e.g. school bus incident). What does this mean to our multicultural efforts? How does 4350 translate into interactions with the community? How does it change student learning? What is the process/is there a process within the ambitions of 4350 to respond to family concerns?
Besides offering a broad vision, how does this play out in my classroom?
Time is always the enemy. Trying to find the time to teach the curriculum, prepare for the tests, and embrace and differentiate for each student's unique attributes will be the main challenge.
As educators we can enable or disable. Every interaction with students does one or the other. It is so important to be aware of how we consciously or unconsciously impact our students and colleagues. We should always be evaluating our interactions and work to enable ourselves with tools and attitudes to maximize our ability to empower others. (I have always equated enabling to helping a person continue to make bad choices...ie. to enable an addict to continue his/her addiction. This blog intro is an interesting twist to the theme of ableness.)
The real challenge staying committed to the work and changing what we actually say and do in the classroom. Reflecting on and evaluating how our behavior effects students will be essential if we are to make progress towards equity goals.
When addressing issues of equity it is extremely important to involve the family/parents as well as the students. Families need to feel comfortable and not threatened or comprised in order to be active and contributing. This is evident in PTA participation, direct participation in the classroom and interactions/conversations with the teacher.
Each family has a role to play, and the ability to empower families and enable them to feel that they have a significant place in the school community is an important step towards establishing equity.
As the parent of a child with an "invisible" but nevertheless significant cognitive disability, I am mindful of two things: (1) that our work as teachers is made easier by this district's commitment--not just in words but in specific supports for us as teachers and to the students--and (2) that the challenges often involve teaching our students to be sensitive and appropriate peers AND developing instructional strategies that meet all of our students' needs.
my biggest challenge will be explaining equity in non-legal terms. I don't want to hide behind Policy #4350. Laws and policies don't mean much to kids.Teachers must promote equality for moral and ethical reasons.
It becomes very difficult to have full staff agreement on such sensitive grounds. I feel that it will be a challenge to find staff support in regards to partaking in activites which identify and teach differences in culture, race, gender... I hope that teacher support and dedication will be universal.
My greatest challenge is when an incident occurs in the classroom where there is a victim and a victimizer, whether either of them notices it or not, how to I create a "teachable moment" out of an uncomfortable, unpleasant, or even potentially violent situation?
I'll be teaching a fairly racially homogenous population, and am interested in working with other teachers in the district to help our students make connections and begin to understand other lifestyles, ethnicities, backgrounds, family structures, etc. Setting this up and maintaining it may prove to be a challenge, but I'm excited about the possibilities that this might create.
As a new teacher it is difficult to determine what will be most difficult because I am not familiar with Ithaca. However I believe that effectivly addressing issues of race will be most difficult. I believe also that making sure you are treating people equally and critical of yourself ot make sure that you are constanly improving on yourself.
It is nice that we are not only told to be aware, but also given resources and contacts to make equity a part of our classrooms. Now if we could only see how other teachers have included these ideas in their classroom (and not in just english and social studies)
I think what will be the most challeging for me will be creating lesson plans that target the children's goals while simultaneously facilitating discussion about and appreciation for differences. I know that components of equity will be embedded in my work, such as on the spot teachable moments, but I would also like to actively create a curious and accepting attitude towards differences among people.
How to communicate this message of equity to early learners in a broader scope?
Getting parents on board may also be a challenge. Some parents may believe this is not the school's job.
One problem that concerns me with promoting a learning enviroment that recognizes the needs of students, and the different diverse nature of learners is how to bring discussions up within the classroom about diveristy. I believe that students will have a difficult time identifying characteristics that make them stand out among their classmates. Students may feel uncomfortable talking about diversity, as it remains a touchy subject. I would need to identify methods of breaking the ice with discussions pertaining to discrimination and diverse backgrounds. Also, I would need to better understand how to manage the classroom if discussions became challenging for some students to participate in.
An equity challenge for us would be dealing with families who don't speak a common language How do you therefor speak upon their childs educational needs and create an understanding between Teacher, Parent and Student?
I applaud ICSD for begining with diversity training and identity awareness. I hope we can go beyond the labels and truly understand, respect and accept all members in our community.
Learning and using different ideas will be my biggest goal.
the most challenging part would be challenging peoples beliefs. It seems that America's culture defines people by their personal beliefs and their attempts to cling to optimism. It's these core beliefs that would be the hardest to overcome.
Reaching ALL students is the biggest challenge for any teacher. Some teachers will reach a few students, good teachers will reach most of their students, but ICSD teachers will reach ALL students. That is a lofty goal, a worthy and meaningful goal, but nonetheless a definite challenge for a new employee.
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