Summer Staircase Program: Achieving Diversity In The Classroom

A supportive learning environment should be purposeful and task orientated, where the tutor emphasises the need to progress steadily. This can be done by starting lessons promptly, creating a smooth flow to the lesson, involving pupils and monitoring their progression and organisation. A positive effort should be made to ensure pupils have or build on self-respect and esteem by setting realistic opportunities for success and helpful support and encouragement whenever difficulties arise.

I believe that each child is unique individual who needs a secure, caring, and stimulating atmosphere in which to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially. It is my desire as an educator to help students meet their fullest potential in these areas by providing an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking, and invite a sharing of ideas. There are three elements that I believe are conducive to establishing such an environment namely, the teacher acting guide, allowing the child’s natural curiosity to direct his/her learning, promoting respect for all the things and all the people.

Poverty is a serious issue which our society and children faces every day. It is a constant struggle that shouldn’t be ignored. UNICEF states “The study of OECD countries in 2007, over fourteen percent of Australian children under the age of eighteen are currently living in households who are defined as poor or with incomes less than half of the median national income”. The increase in the number and percentage of children living in poverty within our society has contributed to making today's classrooms more diverse than ever it has been. This highlights and makes both teaching and learning more challenging. Diversity exists in the students who are living in poverty and the education assistant and teachers must provide the concept of diversity

Working with Mr. Clapp’s 6th grade classes has opened my eyes to the real world of teaching. I started out with some setbacks and learned from them. Then, I went into a stream of comfort and success

In that class, the student learns about different teaching methods and how to care for children. As part of the curriculum, we volunteered at Long Elementary as teacher aides. Working with 4th grade students and observing an everyday class room was such an awe-inspiring experience. I had a completely new perspective about teachers. I have so much more respect as before. Teachers put so much time and effort into helping children for their benefits. I knew from the first day I helped with Ms. Williams’ 4th grade class, how much a teacher is a positive influence on children. There is an overwhelming feeling when you help a student with a problem and in return they give you the most heart-warming smile. The experience at Long Elementary helped me make my final decision on whether I wanted to teach elementary or secondary school. As much as I enjoyed helping elementary students, in my heart I knew secondary school was the path God had in store for me.

I chose to spend my field experience in the Summer Scholar’s Institute at the Gainesville Campus of the University of North Georgia. As I reflected back on my time working with this program, I realized the group of students I worked with had a great impact on my life and reminded me why I want to become an educator. Not only did I connect with my students emotionally, but I was also able to reach them on an academic level because I was a placed in the gifted program during my public school career as well. Throughout the two weeks I was able to work with the group of teenagers, I was able to see how many of them possessed extraordinary intrinsic motivation for their age as well as how extrinsic motivation can be used as a tool in lessons. I also noticed how the diversity within the group brought a unique dynamic to the group and allowed the discussion of controversial topics to be both insightful and realistic.

Over the Fall Break vacation, I decided to conduct my field experience at CC Spaulding Elementary School. I had the opportunity to work with Ms. Sarah Ashley and Mrs. Williams’ Pre-K class. I had previously shadowed with Ms. Ashley, so she was eager to welcome me back. Over the days, I got myself acquainted with her students to make them comfortable with my presence. Luckily, they welcomed me in with no hesitation.

My measurements of success are found in each and every student I teach. One of the most rewarding experiences I have had while student teaching, was watching a child’s face light up at the pivotal moment when they grasp a new concept or master a new skill. In fact, those “aha” moments are my motivators which feed my desire to look for better ways to ensure all students experience those same “aha” moments. As an effective teacher, I am determined and dedicatef to the continual process of researching, implementing, collecting and analyzing data to ensure I am improving upon the curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessment used in my classroom. Learning is a never-ending process. The better skilled I become as a teacher, the better the learning experience I can provide for my students. Therefore, the more I actively research, implement, and reflect, the greater the opportunity for giving my students the education they deserve and hopefully, the inspiration to pursue their own lifelong love of learning.

Moylan and Mrs. Guthier’s classrooms was nothing like I have experienced before. While interacting with the students was my absolute favorite part, observing them truly allowed me to learn so much about the teaching field. This activity also allowed me to help narrow down which grade I want to teach and helped me realize that fifth grade is a bit too old for my liking. Observing the students also reassured me that my desire teach younger grades also correlates with my desire to improve following generations in that I will be the one able to nip any problems in the bud and not let any of my students go to fifth grade at a second grade reading level.

Within the core of many educational institutions, diversity is a commercial tacit. While every institution cannot offer the same kind of diversity, the endorsement of such exists through various definitions. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges define diversity through the various classes: race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, disability, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and age (“Statement on Diversity”)

Foreman (2008) likens the classroom environment to an ecosystem to which there are four interconnecting dynamics; teacher factors, student factors, curriculum and resource factors and physical setting factors. These four factors provide many ways that teachers can set up the learning environment to maximise the occurrence of teaching and learning, however it

What an overwhelming feeling it is to enter a classroom full of vulnerable learners that are looking to extract each piece of knowledge you own, so that they can implant it into their brain, and expand their knowledge on the world around them. This responsibility can be intimidating for some, but it is the thrill of what dedicated and passionate educators, like myself, thrive off of. Educators in elementary schools have a much bigger task at hand than just teaching the basic foundations of core subjects. We not only mold the brain of our students academically, but also socially and creatively. We must do all of this while creating an environment where children feel welcomed, loved, respected and safe. A classroom should be a place where students look forward to entering the door, with the assurance of knowing that their best interests are at the top of the priority list, and the day ahead of them will be filled with fun, laughter, and lots of learning.

Teachers who join the pathway program work designing classrooms where students make leading the class lessons easy and can learn real-world skills with fun. “And that’s the big idea – supply them with information, give them the tools and set them loose on projects they care about. The learning will follow. The school’s pathway program is the latest answer to longstanding debate over how instill real-world, career-focused education into the hearts and minds of increasingly distractible youth.” (Silberman, 2016).

The genesis of my eager enthusiasm for the study of education, an enthusiasm that blossomed into a fervent pursuit for a career in this field, stems from an innate drive that sprang to life at a very young age. At the mere age of seven, I relished the idea of crafting lesson plans for my stuffed animals who sat eagerly in the middle of my childhood room. I positioned my chalkboard easel in the corner and stood proudly teaching them the ABC’s along with simple arithmetic. Every now and then I would look back at them to make sure my stuffed polar bear who sat in the very back understood my explanations. I even remember hurrying back from school in third grade with the intention of constructing a new classroom design, since I felt that each subject demanded a different setup.

There are many things needed to create an environment more conducive to learning for each student, some of which include: