This paper will be discussing a recent fifteen hour field experience I participated in which I observed students of diverse socioeconomic groups. I will be discussing how I have a better understanding of how a student’s socioeconomic status can influence their behavior and actions in the classroom. I will discuss any prejudices/discriminations I observed in the classroom based on socioeconomic diversity. I will also describe how this experience has made me determined to try to create a positive learning environment for students with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in the classroom. Keywords: Experience, socioeconomic group, diversity Diverse Socioeconomic Field Experience Report My field experience was completed at Isanti Intermediate …show more content…
I feel that I have learned greater sensitivity to students who are facing economic challenges. What I viewed as a discipline issue before this experience may not necessarily have been the student being naughty, but rather their actions and reactions are a result of their socioeconomic background. I also realized that by really listening to students and knowing their needs, I could assist them with simple issues that left unattended could turn into a whole class disruption. I learned that students who are considered part of the lower socioeconomic group yearned for a person to take interest in them. By establishing rapport and warm communication, the students really became trusting and wanting to do a good job for me. This really helped in assisting them doing their work and it also helped me keep them focused on their task at hand. I also gained more empathy and awareness on how we need to treat our students fairly and without prejudice. I believe that this experience has made me grow as an educator and made me realize how I need to understand the complexity of human behavior and understand my own behavior to be successful in the …show more content…
The first encounter with biases/prejudices was my own. This is very hard to admit but once I identified the students of low socioeconomic status I started to treat them differently in my mind so I know my actions were reflecting that. I was feeling bad for them and I felt like I needed to give them a break because I know what possible issues these students’ might be dealing with. My expectations of behavior and academics seem to become less for them. I realized that I started stereotyping based on assumptions I learned throughout my life. I am so glad that I was able to explore this topic because I realized that I need to make sure I address my own thoughts, actions so I do not bring them forward in my classroom environment. I realize that I need to give the same expectations to all my students and give them a fair playing field. I want to make sure that I do not set a classroom of bias, stereotyping, and prejudices based on my actions/reactions. I also saw something that could be considered biased with the classroom teacher in regard to behavior. It felt like the teacher gave these LES students a little more leeway on their disruptive behavior. They seemed to be given a second, third chance while the other students were not given the same opportunity. I wonder if it is because the teacher is feeling sorry for the student or if she understands
The hidden bias test by Project Implicit was interesting method of determining hidden biases. A hidden bias is, “Biases thought to be absent or extinguished remain as "mental residue" in most of us.”(Teaching Tolerance, 2014). Studies have shown a link between biases and behavior and biases can be revealed through an individual’s actions. If biases are revealed through actions then they must be learned. Teaching Tolerance indicates, “Bias is perpetuated by conformity with in-group attitudes and socialization by the culture at large.” (Teaching Tolerance, 2014). This perspective supports the belief which biases are learned and never forgotten and reestablished through behavior. My perception of biases is they are formed through experiences not group conformity. Culture is important influence in forming biases, yet biases can change. According to Teaching Tolerance, even if a bias still changes it lingers in the unconscious. An interesting perspective, biases continue to stay with each of us even if we think it is hidden.
1) Carbone II, Steven A. (2010). Race, Class, and Oppression: Solutions for Active Learning and Literacy in the Classroom. Student Pulse, 2.01. Retrieved from:
Education is exceptionally significant for a minority student. A minority student faces economic issues with his or her lower class status. There is very little money. A minority student comes from a home in which parents have a low level of education. There are not many books around while growing up. A desire to change their economic and cultural position makes education their first priority as a goal they have to reach. Life’s circumstances did not give their parents the chance to go to school. Minority students have seen first-hand how hard it is to live throughout their lives without education. These students believe that if they ed...
It has been shown time and time again that a child’s family and background plays a substantial role in the future of a child. There have been a plethora of studies regarding the idea that students with a higher cultural capital, such as middle-class children, receive more assistance from teachers or rather just simply do better in their classes. It has been demonstrated that many of these middle-class students were instilled with this sense of entitlement and with that they have no fears of being looked down upon because they have been encouraged to speak out.
Today's education is often viewed as failing in its goal of educating students, especially those students characterized as minorities, including African American, Hispanic, and Appalachian students (Quiroz, 1999). Among the minority groups mentioned, African American males are affected most adversely. Research has shown that when Black male students are compared to other students by gender and race they consistently rank lowest in academic achievement (Ogbu, 2003), have the worst attendance record (Voelkle, 1999), are suspended and expelled the most often (Raffaele Mendez, 2003; Staples, 1982), are most likely to drop out of school, and most often fail to graduate from high school or to earn a GED (Pinkney, 2000; Roderick, 2003).
Jean Anyon’s “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” claims that students from different social classes are treated differently in schools. Anyon’s article is about a study she conducted to show how fifth graders from the working, middle, and upper class are taught differently. In Anyon’s article, she provides information to support the claim that children from different social classes are not given the same opportunities in education. It is clear that students with different socio-economic statuses are treated differently in academic settings. The curriculum in most schools is based on the social class that the students belong to. The work is laid out based on academic professionals’ assumptions of students’ knowledge. Teachers and educational professionals assume a student’s knowledge based on their socio-economic status.
Diversity among students including differences in culture, language and socioeconomic stance is not a new trend. The difference, however, is that today, the school system realizes that all students, including those who differ in some way from the "average" student, or those “at-risk” must be provided with an equal, opportune education (Morris, 1991).
Even when low-income schools manage to find adequate funding, the money doesn’t solve all the school’s problems. Most importantly, money cannot influence student, parent, teacher, and administrator perceptions of class and race. Nor can money improve test scores and make education relevant and practical in the lives of minority students. School funding is systemically unequal, partially because the majority of school funding comes from the school district’s local property taxes, positioning the poorest communities at the bottom rung of the education playing field. A student’s socioeconomic status often defines her success in a classroom for a number of reasons.
Those efforts improve students' learning and experiences by cultivating key behaviors and knowledge and by providing a unique educational context. Published in the American Educational Research Journal, this paper gives insight into how racial diversity stretches beyond educational engagement and social composition. The significant difference made by diversity-related efforts, such as hybridized racial interactions and policies, is fully explored. The findings of the study presented can be generalized to the argument of institutional racism, as this piece presents rationale against it. The limitations of this paper are the insufficient detail regarding educational context needed to illustrate the steps institutions can take to apply diversity.
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves (pp. 20-25). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children
Culturally diverse classes provide better education in Diverse Populations. Diversity can likewise discuss as acceptance of different personalities inside a class. Diversity among students in education, specifically impacts their performance. Studies demonstrate that students work better in diverse environments, empowering them to focus and drive themselves further when there are individuals of different backgrounds working close by them. This advances imagination, and additionally better instruction, as those with contrasting perspectives can team up to make
From the reading by Marzano, (2004) I learned that poverty and social status in society plays an essential role in determining the types of experiences a student will encounter in their life. This type of stigma can affect the student’s academic success, how they learn new information and even their occupation later in life. (Marzano, 2004) We know this is true, but how much though do we really put into it and change our teaching styles to help students acquire new information. As teachers, we need to help students acquire necessary background knowledge through various strategies for learning new material. After the readings, I realize even more that I must always be diligent in knowing the diverse backgrounds in my classroom and that all students have not had the same experiences in life, nor are they at the same knowledge level as other students. (Marzano, 2004) This is an important factor to consider when making lesson plans.
The lower class student’s major issue with learning in class is a shortage of confidence based on real or apparent weakness in the home environment. These students often feel undesirable. They are very aware of the class in which they come from and of the place and position people classify them under, they often feel the urge to hide their background. Students that are categorized in this particular class frequently come to school with a lower level of academic skills and involvedness than their peers that are categorized in the midd...
...ed student engagement and academic achievement in my classroom. I know that I am a better teacher, mentor, and role model because of these experiences.
The stimulations were really eye opening. I was able to see through the eyes of a child with a learning disability in different areas. I always understood that children who have learning disabilities learned differently, but I didn’t imagine how extreme the difference could be. The problems were hard for me and became frustrating. I now know firsthand how frustrating it can be for students who have learning disabilities in different areas. It’s amazing what extra time or shorter questions can do to help increase understanding. I realize that some things that come naturally to me may be extremely difficult for someone who learns differently. As a new teacher, I will make sure to teach children strategies and develop assignments that increase student understanding.