Education has evolved over the last several decades. Different cultures interacting with each other has made the education more multicultural. Throughout this semester, I have learned the importance of truly connecting with my students and getting to know their cultural identities. I have learned that I need to make adjustments in my curriculum and activities to make them more multicultural. Just like, not every student learns the same- not every culture is the same. I have learned that we have different beliefs and customs. Communicating with families and getting to know families is important in creating a working relationship between home and school. I realize that as the expectations for education changes, so does the need for creating a multicultural curriculum. For my project, I wrote a biography on how my multicultural identity has defined my culture and who I have become. I also provided my personal plan to make multicultural education exist in my classroom. Knowing my students and being able to adjust my teaching is so important. Being more versatile as a teacher for my students is setting them up for success!
My Project:
My Multicultural
Identity
Thoughts, feelings, and behavior can define a person’s culture. Culture is influenced by where a person lives and how a person interacts with others around them. Culture is shared and continually changes depending on the impacts of outside factors (i.e., hairstyles, technology devices, fashion statements, and expected behavior). For me, my culture defines who I was, who I am, and who I will become. My culture can be defined by three areas that have a strong impact in my life; family, leisure activities, and values.
I grew up on a farm rural in North
Dakota. Many generations of my family
and extended family continue to live around the area. My parents are farmers,
so I would consider myself a farm girl. I often helped my father with the
miscellaneous jobs that needed to be done during spring work, planting season,
and harvest. I would say that farming entailed a lot of hard, physical labor. Since
I grew up on a farm and was expected to help out, I have a strong work ethic
both personally and professionally, which continues presently. Another thing
that has defined my culture is spending quality time with my family. It is
expected that every holiday and birthday, we would gather as a huge family to
celebrate. My family means the world to me. Every chance that I get to spend
time with my family and friends, I am always thankful. My family has a
Christmas Eve tradition to fondue, open gifts, and celebrate the birth of
Jesus. This tradition is so important to me, that my family has continued it
for the past 54 years, even as my siblings and I have gotten married.
Traditions are a sentimental part of my culture. Having a strong work ethic and
close family values are important aspects that have influenced my life and
created my sense of culture.
Growing up in a small town, my
family and I are very community- minded. Any time there was a fundraiser or
community event, I was involved. I enjoy participating in the same activities
that my family and friends do. In school, I was always involved in sports
(basketball, volleyball, and track). I continue to enjoy being physically
active by running, hiking, and biking. With my family, I love going to new
parks around my city to boost physical activity. My family encouraged an active
lifestyle and wanted us to participate in an organized sport. It just seemed
natural. Now with my children, I have embedded the same ideas for living a healthy
lifestyle and have my children involved in a sporting activity. Along with being huge supporters for sporting
events, my family and I value education. Studying and getting good grades was
required. My parents would attend parent-teacher conferences every quarter
throughout my entire elementary and secondary schooling. Having high
expectations and setting goals have impacted my vision and success for my
future to describe my personal cultural.
My values and morals are a huge part
of who I am and who I want to be. I would say that my multiple cultural
identities encompassed by my high standards for living and associating with
others. My family practice the Lutheran religion and going to church on Sunday
was expected growing up. Throughout my early years, I have learned the
importance of treating people with utmost respect. “Treating others the way
that I want to be treated,” was the character trait that I live by and
describes my happy-go-lucky personality. My parents modeled positive behaviors
that attributed to my caring, honest, and warm-hearted personality. I tend to
associate with family and friends who share the same traits as I do. I teach my
daughters the importance of being honest and caring for others. It is also an
important part of my culture to not take something that isn’t mine or envy what
others have that I do not. My culture embraces gratitude and showing thanks for
the things that I have and sharing them with others.
My culture has been defined by my
experiences and exposures from the past and present, and will continue to grow
as I move into the future. My family, leisure activities, and values are a part
of my culture and who I am. My culture is unique to me and is shared by those
who are closest to me. As I reflected on my culture, I found that I have
differences from others in my community, students I teach, and people I work
with, which enables me to be exposed and welcome other cultures into mine.
Personal Plan
Human culture is constantly changing
as the impacts of society continue to develop and change. As families continue
to immigrate into our country, more and more cultures are being intermixed.
Allowing these cultures to remain in practices and sharing my culture with them,
is important in creating a positive relationship. In my teaching career, I have
worked with students whose cultures differ from mine, so I have to develop a plan
to increase my knowledge about their culture, become more exposed to their
culture, and assess how my awareness of culture differences is impacting their
education.
Each school year, I have a new
opportunity to learn and embrace each of my student’s unique culture. A
person’s culture plays a key role in their academic success. As the leader in
the classroom, it is necessary for me to understand and develop relationships
with my students and their families. I have an activity at the beginning of the
year (All About Me), that allows my students to share their interests and
personalities with their classmates. Through this activity, I am able to get to
know my students on a personal level and start developing a relationship to
understand their culture. Throughout the school year, my plan is to have a
board in my room that allows students to bring in photos of their family, which
allows them to share their culture more with the class. For me, engaging in
daily conversations with my students, beyond academics, is necessary in truly
understanding their culture. It takes time and effort to increase knowledge
about a child’s culture, but in the end, it is rewarded by truly understanding
and accepting their distinctive differences.
Creating a positive home and school
relationship is essential in maintaining a student’s motivation and desire to
learn. The attitudes of parents have a major impact on how students’ view
particular things. By working with families and being more exposed to their
culture, I will be able to learn and understand their values and expectations.
My school district has different events throughout the school year to allow
families to share their experiences and cultures with others. By attending
these events, I am increasing my exposure to their culture and showing my
support for assisting their transition into our community. I cannot stress
enough how important it is for me, as an educator, to maintain positive contact
with my families. So many aspects (attendance, homework, conferences) of the
child’s education are impacted by having and maintain a relationship with
families. Every school year, it is my goal to encourage families to come into
my classroom and participate right alongside their child. Knowing cultural
differences helps me to develop a multi-cultural curriculum that will benefit
all students.
Being able to reflect and assess my
teaching practices and how I am incorporating a multi-cultural curriculum
happens on a daily basis. Some days I am frustrated when the simplest concept
is hard for a certain child. When I really think about the individual student
and his/her beliefs, it makes it clearer on how to approach the concept. I
found that being a diverse teacher, my students are more successful. I cannot
express the importance of knowing and embracing cultural differences. I have
learned so much working with diverse families that it has impacted my cultural
in a positive way. As I continue to educate students, my plan is to continue
increasing my knowledge of their culture, become more exposed with cultures to
understand their differences, and reflect on my teaching practices to make a
multi-cultural curriculum. My goal is to create a welcoming environment for all
diverse families to be comfortable, so learning can take place.
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