12 Elements Reflection

12 Elements of Effective Teacher Education for Diversity

I focused on Element 4: Teachers have developed a bond with their students and cease seeing their students as “the other.” (Diverse Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners, 2008)

This element resonates with me because I believe a strong student-teacher bond is crucial for student development both in and out of the classroom. I don’t necessarily believe that teachers must know every detail of their student’s personal lives and vice versa, but I do feel that by using Strategy 2.2 from the reading (show students you care by getting to know their individual needs and strengths and sharing their concerns, hopes, and dreams), teachers will be able to bond with their students on a more personal level, and be a guiding hand for them, both academically and on a personal level if need be. When I was in elementary school, I spent a lot of time in the school counselor’s office. I don’t remember ever having a specific reason for going to her, but I did know that she had an open door policy, and as long as her door was open, anyone was welcome to play with the toys she had in her office. I come from a broken family, and Ms. Gina knew that, but I don’t remember discussing anything about my family unless I wanted to. She would ask me questions like “how was your stay at your dad’s house last weekend?” because she knew what my living situation was like. I never thought anything of it at the time, but I now realize that she made my situation seem so normal by asking me those types of questions. She didn’t try to be my psychiatrist, but instead was a listening ear and an open door whenever I needed it. This is how I hope to be in my professional career as a teacher. I want to know about my student’s living situations and get to know their parents/guardians, so I am able to learn my student’s individual needs and strengths in order to develop a bond that will ensure my students that I will be that open door for them.

Strategy 2.3 (understand student’s home cultures to better comprehend their behavior in and out of the classroom) goes along with my statement about learning about students home lives in order to create a bond. I work at a recreation center and work with a lot of students who come from broken homes. One student in particular has a parent who is incarcerated, and she has a hard time with it some days, causing her to act out. We have had one-on-one talks about this, and have come to the conclusion that if she is “feeling bad”, she can step out of the room for as long as she needs to refocus. I know the reason for why she is acting the way she is, and we had come up with a solution that works for that particular student. Evidently, she enjoys being with my group more than any of the other groups, because she feels that I understand her, and I don’t punish her for expressing her emotions. I know her home culture, and can determine when it is affecting her behavior. We have created a strong bond from this, because she trusts me with information that she wouldn’t want other people to know, and knows that I have empathy for her situation.

Finally, Strategy 2.4 (encourage active participation of parents and guardians) is an important part in bonding with your student. I make it a point to speak to every parent when they pick their child up from my work, no matter how brief the conversation may be. One conversation that I will always remember was with a parent of a kindergarten student. He was having a hard time adjusting to the community center, and would often cry. There was one day in particular where he did not cry, and actually participated in activities with other participants. When his mother signed him out, I simply told her “He had a good day today”, and she was elated. She knew he was having a hard time adjusting and was feeling guilty for sticking him in a program that she thought he hated, so she was pleased to hear that he was adjusting accordingly. Parents and teachers do not necessarily have to be BFFs, but I feel it is important to let parents know the great things their children are doing in class, because it lets the parent know that I am paying attention to their child, and I am noticing their development. However, not every parent is open to communication, which is where I question what to do in the instance of an uninvolved parent, and how to “make” them understand that their involvement plays a key role in their student’s learning, because they are their child’s first teacher. You cannot make a person do something, so I am hoping to learn more about this in the future.

The only other real question I have regarding creating a bond between student and teacher is how to create that boundary that lets the student know that although I know your situation and strengths and weaknesses, I am still in charge. I have difficulty with this sometimes especially at work, because my students see me as being young and do not really see me as an authority figure sometimes. One major “AHA!” moment for me did not come from the reading, but instead from a quote I heard while listening to a podcast relating to this topic. The quote reads, “If I had to make a general rule for living and working with children, it might be this: be wary of saying or doing anything to a child that you would not do to another adult, whose good opinion and affection you valued” – John Holt. Children are people now, they do not become people when they are older. This idea really opened my eyes to cease seeing students as “the other” because it separated adult-to-child or even authority-to-lesser, and focused on person-to-person.