week 4

Assignment 1-1

From the start of Canwen Xu’s speech I knew that she was going to discuss how Asians are stereotyped within the American society. She states that she felt as if she was forced to either conform to the whiteness around her or try to stay unique and herself. What I found of interest is how she states that the more American you become the more you begin to lose a part of yourself, such as your heritage and cultural background. What I took from this speech was that people in general don’t know how to appropriately communicate with people of other races. Just because she looks a certain way doesn’t mean that she is or was born in a specific place. I feel that Americans are very curious of different cultures. The fact that people look differently than the “average joe” actually interest them. Some people just don’t know how to communicate in an appropriate manner. As Canwen discussed, people would ask her where she is from and she would respond her home town in America. She was born in American so for her to respond by saying China or such is not relevant to her response. It tends to throw people off. However they just don’t understand. Their question to her should be what’s nationality are you? That I feel that would be more appropriate and straight to the point. Canwen seems to take offense when people ask her where she is from. I would take offense as well. If I had Canwen as a student in my class I would first address different nationalities to the class and how to respect and understand people of different cultures. I would also discuss with students the appropriate way to converse with individuals of different cultures. In taking this approach this would make Canwen much more comfortable within the classroom and to her peers.

Assignment 1-2

Learning about your student’s background is an informative way to build a relationship and to better understand your students. This is one of the most important things that a teacher will do throughout their professional career. English language learners in your classroom may represent diverse languages and cultures from all around the world. The more a teacher learns about where their student is from, the easier their job will become. The teacher should become aware of the student’s language, culture, values, family history, and home environment. As stated in the article “learning about your students backgrounds” written by Pat Mora, she states that at home our students and their families will communicate with whatever language that they feel most comfortable with. The more Spanish or different language that a teacher knows the better off they will become. Even a little or bits and pieces can go a long way. Communication with the student’s parents is one of the best ways to understand the family and their input about the student. A teacher should understand beyond their student’s cultural heritage and understand where they actually come from such as the region or country.  Pat Mora also expresses how to invite the family in of the ELL student for show and tell, storytelling, food tasting, or dancing. Understanding and knowing our students is one of the key concepts when teaching a class with either one or many ELL students.

Considering I live in a very diverse part of Long Island I had the opportunity to visit two different community centers. The first community center that I visited was the YMCA, ( Young Men’s Christian Association). The YMCA has a wide range of activities and beliefs that coincide with a student’s culture. The activities that are available are cultural and performing arts, fitness, summer camps, dance, karate, swimming, and much more. The dancing and culture and performing arts classes would apply best to becoming familiar with different cultures. Each culture has a different style or way to dance, especially when it comes to the music that is heard. The memberships are very inexpensive and financial assistance is also available for those families that are struggling, but want their children to be involved with activities. I spoke to a counselor (employee) at the YMCA, and I asked him how different cultures are incorporated and respected at the Y. he informed me that the Y is a very diverse center that welcomes all types and different cultures. He said that a majority of the staff is fluent in Spanish and in one or two other languages. The class culture and performing arts includes plays of different cultures. The students are educated on the different cultures that the play my represent. This incorporation of culture allows student to become more familiar with their outside world. As for the second community center that is explored was the Boys and Girls Club of Bellport. The Boys and Girls Club has many activities as well that relate to an individual’s beliefs. The activities would include cooking, dancing, art, and a summer enrichment program. The summer enrichment program is for students age 5-12 and teaches them life skills and traits. However as for the dancing, art and cooking programs. The instructors informed me that thy try to incorporate as many diverse cultures as possible to assist the students to develop and understand their diverse society. I felt as if the instructors at both the YMCA and at the Boys and Girls Club had a solid structure as to educating students of different cultures. The students will be able to understand and interact with these different cultures in the future in a respectful manner.

As a teacher I have explored many different neighborhoods to understand my students and their environments, many students make use of their resources such as community activities, sports, and volunteer work to remain active. As for other students they just stay home all day and do nothing or play video games. However,  when I call many of my student’s parents to discuss with them the outlook on their child. They generally give me a rundown of their life experiences (child and parent), their work experiences or career. The parents also inform me of the student’s emotional status, academic needs, and the family social history.  The parents that I have recently dealt with generally give me a nice understanding of what I need to know in order to help their child to be successful.  In doing so this gives me the pedagogical knowledge that I need to help assist this child in an effective manner. I haven’t dealt with any ELL students yet, but when that time comes I’m sure I will have someone translate for me. 

Assignment 2

1)      One way that I would have family be incorporated into the classroom would be to invite a parent each week to assist with helping out within the classroom and expressing their culture to the students. Also, have the parent either cook or create an activity related to their culture that the students can complete.

2)      Another way to involve families and the community into the classroom would be to create a community book club were the child’s English class will read a specific book and will required to gather copies of the books. Start an online discussion between parents and students, as everyone in the club works through the chapter assignments.

3)      Another way I would have families and the communities get involved with the school is by fundraising events such as a bake sale, cook off, or even a car wash. This will raise money for school programs. And will demonstrate to the child that the parent has and shows a value for their child’s education.