Schmidt Chapter Four: Great Teachers are Curiosity Seekers

             This was a great chapter to read to review about culture in the classroom. I think it is important to recognize that all students have personal strengths that come directly from their families and the culture that they were raised in. It is important for me to create a classroom environment that is accepting and open to all cultures. I think it is great that God created us all different. If we were all the same life wouldn’t be as nearly as exciting and worth living. God has given us so much by creating different cultures. We want to make sure that every student’s culture is represented and that we take the time for the students themselves to tell about their culture.

                When looking at the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards they have created a standard on diversity. It says, “The competent teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.” I will accomplish this standard in my student teaching placement in multiple ways. We currently just finished our unit on Black History so that each student from this culture or a different one can understand what it took for the African American race to be where they are today and those who lost their life for this freedom. We also take a class period a couple times a month for “public speaking.” This is where a student can tell us about their family and their interests. This allows the student to share their cultures, interests and routines with the class and we can discuss how our families differ from each other but yet we are all still a community in the classroom.