Access

The systemic challenges present in Clarksdale directly impact my students' access to unique travel opportunities where students experience different cultures and places.  The challenges of low-income households and an insufficient tax base reduce opportunities to travel beyond school doors. In particular, research indicates that "travel improves educational attainment and future success" leading to more college enrollment and potentially greater earnings (WYZE Travel Confederation, 2013). Through exposure to cultural experiences beyond the Mississippi Delta, students experience personal growth which "contributes to better academic performance and social interactions" (Lamb-sinclair, 2018).  As a result, the lack of access may limit my students' perspective on the world and their potential future success. Covid only amplifies the inaccessibility as my school has eliminated all regularly scheduled school field trips (e.g. college tours) except for traveling sports teams. 

Educators may find untraditional access points beyond the standard curricular norms. Opportunities often out of reach which both contextualizes course content and exposes students to seeing the world differently. Students carry these experiences forward, looking back on the memory and unique opportunity to learn and explore new places. 

In my effort to provide access points in the wake of Covid, I presented untraditional opportunities that enabled students to cultivate meaningful connections to the places we study through immersive visuals and historical storytelling.

The opportunity to open doors for my students to see the world, experience cultural diversity, and inspire future learning and travel is indicative of my lessons. The confines of our small town limit the potential opportunities to experience worldly differences outside of our culturally homogenous community. The learning experiences demonstrated in the two access lessons highlight how educators can go above and beyond to expose students to new opportunities without breaking the bank. Especially, in a course like World History where the reality of physically traveling to all of these places is unrealistic. 

The family engagement observed in this section demonstrates one approach to fostering healthy relationships with my families. The importance and impact of family engagement go a long way in transforming my classroom culture. This is an area of my teaching practice that continues to develop and adapt to meet my families at their level. Finding ways to regularly communicate and invest parents/guardians in their student's education begins with sincere concern for their student's academic and socio-emotional wellbeing. With the mutual goal of supporting the student in mind, we are able to hold students to rigorous expectations and encourage healthy risk-taking in their academic pursuits.