A Self Evaluation on Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices

I would love to think that after ten years of teaching, I would be able to say that I am doing everything that I possibly can to be an effective teacher for my students. However, the reality of it is, there will always be room for improvement. After taking this course, I must admit that there a lot of areas that I need to take a look at and work to improve if I want to give all of my students the educational opportunities that they deserve.
While reflecting on Dr. Garcia's CREDE standards and assessing myself using the checklist provided, I discovered that I am weak in some areas and strong in others. In standard one, Joint Productive Activity, I am sometimes reluctive to have the students work in cooperative groups although I know that it is good for them to do so. When I do have them work in groups, I never let them choose who they want to work with. I make sure that the groups are diverse in an effort to ensure that they learn from working with peers who come from different cultures. While ELL students are not an issue in my classroom, it is still necessary to promote acceptance of other people and cultures. I also make sure that the students work together to accomplish tasks even if they are simple ones like putting the classroom in order or rearranging desks.
Standard two, Language Development is an area that I feel I am competent in. I always allow the last ten minutes of the class period for "catch up time" in which the students and I catch up on what's going on at home and in their lives. Everyone gets a chance to share if they want too. I also make an effort to respect the mannerisms of each culture. If a student is not comfortable with eye contact, I respect that. I also provide multiple opportunities for students to practice vocabulary, write in journals, and speak often in order for them to become comfortable with the English language.
Standard three, Contextualization is an area in which I could use some improvement. I think it would be a great idea to encourage parents to come into the classroom to help with various tasks but have always thought that they would not be interested so have never asked. Also, I would love to get the community involved by developing community based learning activities. These things take a lot of planning, time, and effort but my students would benefit from the opportunities.
Standard four, Challenging Activities is an area in which I am both competent and need improvement. I give my students clear and directive feedback and make sure that my students see the whole picture when I am instructing them on a topic. However, sometimes I do not challenge them enough. I need to give them more challenging standards to follow and expect more of them. This will help them when they leave high school and enter either the work force or a post secondary educational setting.
Standard five, Instructional Conversation is probably the area that I feel the most competent in. I understand the importance of holding meaningful conversations with my students. It helps to create a positive learning environment and makes the student feel comfortable. I utilize the act of guided conversation in every lesson that I plan. I encourage my students to state their opinions and to speak freely as long as it is not disruptive. Student understanding can be assessed by listening and I take advantage of this on a daily basis.
Dr. Garcia's standards create a guideline that all educators should follow. One should never grow complacent and comfortable in their teaching career. There will always be room for improvement and growth. I for one, took the self evaluation to heart and will make changes in order to become a better teacher and person.

Reflecting on My Culture continued...

Being an African American woman who is an educator, I feel an awesome sense of responsibility. I am one of the few African American teachers in a school that is predominately impoverished African Americans. I must constantly be aware of the way I present myself to my students. I try my hardest to lead by example and to teach them that they way they are raised does not have to define them. I want them to know that they can accomplish anything they set their minds too. They can be who they want to be and do what they want to do once they leave high school I have been told by former students that I inspired them to do positive things in their lives. That to me makes being an educator worth every single struggle that I've encountered.

Further Reflection on My Culture

I teach in a Title I school high school. The majority of my students are African American. I find myself frustrated a lot of the time because of the attitudes that these students have towards education. Because my parents stressed to me the importance of education on a daily basis, it amazes me how unmotivated my students are. It is sad to say that the majority of my students fit the stereotype of the "ghetto black person". I find myself constantly trying to get through to them the importance of getting their high school diplomas. They seem to all think they will be famous rappers, professional basketball players, etc. Whatever is the easiest way to get rich is the route they will take even if it involves illegal activity. It saddens me that these students represent my race. They do not however, represent my culture. It is possible to have many cultures within a race. Unfortunately, many people stereotype all people of a race into one broad category and the educated members of a race are the ones who suffer because of it.

A Reflection On My Culture

I remember vividly the day I realized I was black. I was nine years old. From the time I was born until I was nine, my family lived in an area that was predominantly white. For some reason I never realized that I was different. I was never treated differently by anyone and the thought never crossed my mind. At the age of nine, my parents divorced and I moved with my mother to an area that was predominantly black. I remember the moment like it was yesterday. I came home from my first day at my new school and I said, "Mom, there are so many black people at my school." She looked at me with amazement and said, "honey, you are black too." I remember feeling like I finally "got it" even though I had no idea what "it" was. At this point I became interested about learning everything there was to know about my culture and my heritage.

Growing up, we moved a lot. I was constantly changing schools and was able to become a "chameleon" wherever I was. I had both white and black friends. I enjoyed spending time with people of all races. I never dealt with racism during my youth. My parents taught my brother and I to respect all people and that differences were okay. While we were never wealthy, we were certainly middle class. We were taught that some people had to deal with hardships but that you can always rise above them with a good education. Getting the most from our education was mandatory in my house. I appreciate all my parents did to instill in me the importance of accepting diversity.

It's Only the Beginning

While my course is coming to an end, my blogging will continue. I have learned so much throughout this course. I have learned about aspects of technology that I had never even heard of. The terms wiki, blogs, and podcasts are now a permanent fixture in my vocabulary. I have begun to develop lesson plans that will help my students to thrive in the 21st century because of the technology that I am implementing. My learning disabled students now realize that that they can accomplish anything that that they set their minds too. It is never easy to implement new forms of technology in the classroom, however with the proper tutorial, all students can become masters of technology. Technology encourages students to take ownership of their education. Rather than having teacher centered classrooms, the students are more in charge of what they learn. The teacher is a facilitator that encourages creativity in the classroom. I hope to learn more about creating podcasts in my classroom. I have already discussed with administration the possibility of holding more teacher inservices to learn new forms of technology so that we can keep up with the pace of our students.
One goal that I hope to achieve within the next two years is to apply for a grant to receive new technology devices for my classroom. I hope to receive webcams and laptop computers for my students to use. I also plan to meet with the technology coordinator for my district to discuss ways to educate the staff so that we are all on the same page as far as meeting the needs of our students. It is crucial that our students do not leave us behind in terms of learning new technologies.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

I found the Partnership for the 21st Century to be very interesting. I know how important it is to infuse the 21st century skills into education and this program focuses on just that. I love the fact that all stakeholders are involved with creating the vision for the 21st century education. This is something that we have to get all stakeholders to buy into and it helps that the business community, education leaders and policymakers are all involved with this process.

This is site that was created to encourage and advocate for the implementation of these 21st century skills. This is something that all schools should use and see the importance of. The fact that only 9 states have bought into this shows just how hard we have to fight to incorporate this change. This shows that teachers and educators have the tendency to stay in their comfort zones and how they unfortunately have that immediate resistance to change. This is definitely unfortunate, but true. It has been this way with education for years and years. We have to show data and prove to them that this change will work and that the students will benefit from it.

I like that the fact that the program has "developed a unified collective vision for the 21st century learning that can be used to strengthen American Education." This is something that I feel strongly about. I believe that lawmakers and policy makers have so many outcomes that they want educators to reach, but they give limited ideas and strategies on how to reach those goals. This is something that could be put into place so that all educators would be on the same page when it comes to addressing these 21st century skills.

One thing that I disagree with or that is lacking is how to provide the schools with the technology resources. Yes, they give publications and online tools, but what about the schools that don't have computers and other technology resources that they desperately need. How can we address the technological inequalities within the schools systems? How can we make sure that all students have the resources that they need to attain the 21st century skills?

The implications for myself and my learning community is that we have so much work to do. I recognized that my students have so much that they have to do in order to survive in the 21 century. I know that I am dedicated to preparing them for this 21st century. I will continue to reach this goal by absorbing as much knowledge as I can and exposing my students to all that I learn.

Ideas Anyone?

I would love to hear how you innovative educators have used the blogs. Can anyone share their ideas or creative ways that you have incorporated blogging into your lessons? What has been your feedback from your students?