Inclusion in the Modern Classroom

Today's students, classrooms, and schools are constantly changing. Inclusion is becoming more and more important. When I have my own classroom, how will I be able to include students of all learning abilities?

Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, is a way in which teachers use inclusive methods to teach students of varying educational backgrounds. The UDL curriculum seeks to use the same standards across the board whether it be "traditional" classroom students, students from other cultures, or students with disabilities. Although UDL was created with special needs students in mind, it is now a general curriculum for every student.

In order to give every student the best chance of reaching the desired education standard, UDL classrooms use a variety of teaching methods. Technology is mixed in with more traditional style learning from textbooks and lecture. Students are able to use iPads and smart boards to help reinforce the lessons they are learning in class.

I think that UDL and inclusion is very important. Every student deserves an equal opportunity to learn, and should be able to learn the same standards as every other student regardless of "placement". I hope that when I am a teacher I will be able to incorporate all the aspects of UDL to ensure every one of my students feels included, and welcomed in my learning environment.


http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines
http://www.ncset.hawaii.edu/institutes/april2003/papers/pdf/PROVIDING%20NEW%20ACCESS.pdf

Multicultural Education

One of the best things about America is that everyone is different. We have been likened to a "melting pot", referring to how many different nationalities and cultures all come together to form one nation. American classrooms are now more culturally diverse than ever. As a future teacher, some questions come to mind. How can I embrace multicultural learning in my classroom? How can I make learning about --and embracing-- so many cultures interesting and exciting for my future students?

photo credit

As I've mentioned before, respect for others is always going to be the most important thing in my classroom. Even if someone is very different, they should never be made fun of, and all students need to feel safe and welcome in my classroom. I think that a lot of disrespectful behavior from children can be from not really knowing about the person who is "different". I think that by learning about different cultures, my students and I will be able to better understand each other, and therefore, multicultural learning will have a positive effect on the class as a whole. Being able to interact with one another and understand the cultures of everyone in our class is very important.

The students need to recognize that every culture is important and understand that everyone is different and all of these nationalities and cultures come together to make our society the way it is today. They should also realize that while everyone is from a different culture, stereotyping fellow students is never acceptable. 

As far as actually incorporating the study of different cultures goes, I think that inviting visitors into the class is a great way to help my students learn. They can listen to a visitor talk all about his/her culture and lifestyle, and then the students will be able to ask questions to our special guest. Maybe we can even see how people dress from the country of the visitor, or have a special snack from that country.

Another fun way to learn about culture would be to have each student pick a different country to study, and go get books from the library and research the country. they could create a poster about the country, and then when the projects were done, our class could have a culture studies day where all the students present what they learned, and perhaps dress up like the traditional people from their chosen countries do. 

Combining these two ideas, as well as using traditional textbook/classroom learning will hopefully give my students a good view of the different cultures that surround us. Knowing about the people we live and interact with is very important for students to learn about.

http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/caleb/multicultural.html

http://racebridgesforschools.com/wp/?p=2130

Preventing School Violence

School violence has become one of the biggest hot-topics" in America. When the topic of school violence comes up, I think almost everyone's mind goes to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Those who are old enough may also think of the Columbine shootings. While these are definitely tragic, extreme cases of violence at schools, violence can also take place in many other forms. Violence can include fighting, and bullying too.

http://www.edf-feph.org/Page_Generale.asp?DocID=13855

As a future teacher, what will I do to prevent violence in my classroom?

First off, I would teach my students that violence of any kind will NEVER be tolerated. They need to know that if they were to become violent against another student or teacher, there would be immediate consequences.

Secondly, I would teach them about where violence comes from. It is very unlikely and rare for someone to just wake up and decide they want to go cause some serious trouble at school by showing how violent and malicious they can be. Violence often comes from emotions being bottled up inside a student until he/she can't keep them in anymore. When a student has been harassed and bullied and made fun of, that student may reach the breaking point at a moment's notice.

Therefore, I will teach my students that respecting others and treating them as they would want to be treated themselves is one of the best ways to prevent violence. By always encouraging students to love one another and to come to the teacher if there is a problem instead of taking care of it themselves, I think violence would be prevented.

The students should be able to calmly and politely say what the issue is, and work together in a mature way to find common ground and understanding. The key to reducing and preventing violence is zero-tolerance, as well as teaching respect and kindness.

http://www.stopbullying.gov/prevention/talking-about-it/index.html

http://www.greatschools.org/improvement/99-stopping-school-violence-the-latest-trends.gs

Why Should Someone Become A Teacher?

In today's world, many people choose a career path that will lead to money or fame. Why teach when teachers don't make much money? Why teach if there isn't recognition of my skills and talents? Why should anyone spend all day long with a room full of rowdy kids? What makes so many people decide to teach?

Personally, I love spending time with children, I have an extremely high amount of patience when it comes to working with children, and I love to see them grow. I can help them learn something new every day, and make an impact in their lives. There are so many reasons to go into teaching, but there were a few resources I found that have really great reasons to teach.

One website I found is www.teach.org/why-teach. It has a tab called "Why Teach" and it has lots of short clips of teachers saying why they are teachers.  They have amazing reasons, such as wanting to make a difference, leaving work everyday feeling successful because your students learned something that day, and filling a need in the lives of the students. Every teacher on this website was so passionate about their job. I hope that when I am a teacher I can be just as passionate, and make as much of a difference as I know they do.

Another source I found is actually a CNN article called "Why They Teach Despite It All", and it highlights several different teachers who let the world know why they teach. To read this article, link to http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/14/us/why-teachers-stay-ireport/. These teachers are all amazing, and are not in the job for the money. One teacher works two jobs just so she can stay on as a teacher and still support her family. Another teacher in this article was about a man who left his other job to become a teacher even though it would mean a big salary cut. The article tells the story of a special needs teacher who pays for supplies out of her own pocket just so the students have enough materials to learn. These teachers are truly amazing. They give their all to their students, and want what is best for the students, not themselves. They are truly selfless people, who give back to their communities in one of the best ways possible: teaching.

Why teach? To make a difference. To change lives. To help people learn. Kids are dependent on excellent teachers who are passionate about their jobs. Reading about these amazing teachers, and hearing their stories on video really excited me for my upcoming teaching career. They inspired me to work from my heart, to always put the students first, and to strive to make a difference in the lives of my students. My greatest desire as a teacher is for my students to succeed.

culvercitycrossroads.com/page/5

Who I Am!

Hello, Everyone! My name is Katie and I am working towards getting a Bachelor's degree in elementary education, as well as a Bachelor's in physical education. I am studying at Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts.

(this picture was set up by a friend who knew I was interested in education!)

 I have always wanted to be a teacher. I spent countless hours as a child teaching all of my stuffed animals and dolls everything that I knew. I absolutely loved the show "Magic School Bus", and I wanted to be just as cool as Ms Frizzle! I have always loved taking care of people who are younger than I am, and I have been working with kids for the last seven years. My first experience with kids was working as a babysitter, and I now work at a home daycare, and as a nanny. Over the past several years of working with kids, I gained experience helping them with homework, and I knew for sure that teaching was what I wanted to do. Although I enjoy working with kids of any age, I definitely like working with younger kids the best, so hopefully I will be able to teach first grade after I have my degree.

Other than playing with kids, my favorite things to do are cooking, baking, photography, volleyball, softball, swimming, hiking, piano, reading, and knitting.

I always loved doing various arts and crafts in elementary school, so here is the link to the Crayola website. Crayola has so many awesome products, and you can also get coloring pages,craft ideas and lesson plans. Take a look! www.crayola.com