I make an honest effort to address the needs for ALL students to experience pride and success in the classroom and in life. I am working toward my classroom becoming more and more student-centered. Promoting a community (or family) type atmosphere the learning environment becomes about relationships, communication, expectations, respect, and trust. Students sit at tables, rather than desks, and work together throughout the day. All supplies are considered "community" and must be taken care of as a whole. Students collaborate throughout the day, and learn to accept, tolerate, support and encourage one another. This practice has taken away some of the competitiveness out of the classroom.
Unfortunately, I do not always have multicultural information, materials, or resources available for all subjects or activities. I try to incorporate family, home, and school, but I do not always include the community. Educating myself on my students' cultures and heritages will continue to evolve with my students.
One easy way I can become more involved in my students' communities is to attend festivals and celebrations within the school community zone area. I have to make it a priority to begin to include more multicultural resources in my classroom. When I am asked my philosophy of teaching, I often stumble on my response. There is a statement in this chapter that really spoke to me and I would like to adopt it as the philosophy of my classroom and me..."Teachers vary their teaching styles to accommodate and affirm learning styles, employ flexible grouping, collaborate more with students, and focus more on creating a climate that is cooperative and family-like." I think this sums up my goal of the type of teacher I strive to be.
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