understanding+culture+differences+in+a+classroom

April Elsesser  Ed Diversity   Lisa Plichta   Dec. 4, 2011 Dray, B. (Sept. /Oct. 2011). //Mindful Reflection as a Process for Developing Culturally Responsive Practices//. V 44 Issue 1, p28-36.

This article talked about having good communication and a better understanding of children in your classroom. It focused on teachers using critical thinking, educating themselves culturally, and avoiding prejudices. “Mindful Reflection for Developing Culturally Responsive Practices”, reminds teachers to recognize their own prejudices they may have, and gives ideas on how to avoid acting on them in the classroom. A teacher takes a look at her own responses to a child from a culture she has become very judgmental about, and helps her assistant teacher she is training to recognize ways to avoid or judge different children.

I really liked reading this article because it helps you to realize thoughts you may actually have in the classroom. It also helps you to learn to dig deeper into why a child is behaving the way they are. I enjoyed how they used an actual teacher’s experience, and also helped a new teacher in the field to have a better understanding of a child’s behavior. One thing that I thought was interesting is that while training another teacher, the lead teacher was trying to improve on her own teaching skills. This article has the use of mindful and critically thought out tactics to respond to a child who may have a behavior problem, or is reacting in a way that is different in a culture different from ours. This article was trying to stop so many children from being put into special education programs simply because of behavioral issues. I agree that sometimes children are placed in special ed that doesn’t necessarily have to be put in there.

I think this article could be very helpful in a classroom and have a big impact on future teachers. It is a good reminder on how to keep your eyes focused on accepting different cultures. It also is a good reminder that each child in your classroom has different needs that need to be met, and not all children learn or respond to directions in the same way. By reading this I have found more ideas to help children of a culture different from mine to learn in ways they need to be taught, and to notice that what may seem as a bad behavior, is something they don’t view as one.