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Diversity in classrooms
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In the past twenty years I have experienced different aspects of life that have shaped me into who I am today. I have had personal experiences, moments with friends, and indirect encounters. Each story explained below goes into detail of what occurred how it has shaped me into the student I am and future teacher I am becoming. Experiences throughout life affect the way we teach and the opinions that we can potentially transfer over to our future students. I went to a diverse high school with a decent amount of cultural backgrounds present. There was a great divide though between the African Americans and the white people. The stereotype was that the white people were smarter and in higher level classes while the African Americans were in lower classes and …show more content…
I had a friend Trey who was a massive football player that towered over me. We had been friends since middle school where we met in band. Trey is African American but that never stopped us from being good friends. Second semester of freshman year I went to lunch anxious of finding people to sit with. I walked into the lunch room and immediately spotted Trey because he was not hard to miss. I asked Trey if I could sit with him and he said yes. As we sat down and others started to find their place in the lunch room, our table filled with boys just like Trey. By the end of lunch, I was surrounded by six large African American boys just like Trey. I was the outcast yet again in a school where I had always felt normal. Everyday was a new experience when I sat with these boys. I had experienced a new culture that I had never experienced in all of the years I was friends with Trey. They talked differently using phrases and words that
Well, who really am I? Am I rude, strict or obnoxious? Or am I loving and caring? Think and know me better.
I grew up across the street from two high schools. One of them, Fiorello Laguardia High School, is a special admissions public school for students who are gifted in the performing or visual arts. The student population at Laguardia is relatively diverse with students of all races attending, although the majority of the students, as at all of the NYC special admissions high schools, is white and Asian. The other high school, Martin Luther King jr. High School is a "regular" public high school. The population is almost entirely African American and Hispanic with a very small minority of Asian students.
A person does not experience many events that shape their life in a large way, whether it be for better or worse. I have had just one major situation that has sculpted me into the person that I am today. In February of 2008, I was diagnosed with a life changing disease; it would relieve me of the agony I had been experiencing for as long as I could remember, but also restrict my diet for the rest of my life.
I vividly remember that the only time black people (or non-whites) were discussed was in history class, moreover, when we got to the chapter that dealt with slavery. I had to make a big adjustment in high school because my high school was well over ninety-percent white (just the opposite of my jr. high school.) Fredrick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and the Nat Turner rebellion was pretty much the extent of people of color within the curriculum.
1. Tell us about an experience, in school or out, that taught you something about yourself and/or the world around you. (maximum 200 words)
Experiences? How can some experiences influence a person’s life so drastically, while others do not leave a hint of dust? I myself have had one of those experiences that has changed my life, a heart condition. This condition has made me jump over various problems since I was born. From heart surgeries to activities I could not participate in, these obstacles has transformed me into someone who can take on numerous tasks without becoming stressed, I hope to continue to be that type of person in the future.
Everything in life that we experience effects who we are as a person today. Even if we do not remember all the events that shaped a particular part of our life, we have memories of the events that we believe had the biggest impact. The types or experiences we have both positive and negative help shape us into the types of readers and writers we become.
My high school was newly built school and had every modem accessory available. The school had an auditorium large enough to front a Broadway play and a swimming pool grand enough for the summer Olympics. What it lacked was diversity. My graduating class of 1988 had one African American and one Asian. That's it. No Hispanics or Native Americans. But, my sophomore year I discovered that within the walls of our school existed several "invisible others."
Many events have occurred in my life, although a few have changed my life to how it is today. Growing up I realized how moving to Canada, coming to Milton and getting a baby sister are moments which have had a significant impact on my life. They showed me a completely different atmosphere, got my work recognized and made me more mature, thus, helping me get countless new opportunities and responsibilities.
We are all different in many ways, today I am going to tell you about myself and what makes me... well me! I have so much to tell you but let's just start with family, friends,soccer, and God. Before I continue we have to remember that everyone is special and different in their own way. Although we may have a few things in common, we are all different. Now let's get started.
In my early years of Elementary School I was in a neighborhood with a lot of children who were from different cultures. When I was in third grade I moved to the next town over and went to a different elementary school. This elementary school was completely different considering it was out in the country and only white children attended this school. At that age I was used to Hispanics, Latinos, African-Americans and Asian Americans. When I changed schools, it was almost frightening to see all white students. Even though I went to a school with children that I looked similar to, I did find out that we were all different in our own way. In this school we had a lot of different socio-economical classes present.
As I was pondering what to speak about tonight, I started thinking about what has been the main influence in my school experience. I realized that what has shaped me most has been my teachers. What is a teacher? After 13 years of school, believe me, I have an extremely good idea of what a teacher is. Two teachers began to teach me, my father and my mother. The poet Ann Taylor wrote, "Who taught my infant lips to pray, And love God’s holy book and day, And walk in wisdom’s pleasant way? My Mother."
I never really thought about where my life was going. I always believed life took me where I wanted to go, I never thought that I was the one who took myself were I wanted to go. Once I entered high school I changed the way I thought. This is why I chose to go to college. I believe that college will give me the keys to unlock the doors of life. This way I can choose for myself where I go instead of someone choosing for me.
There were many instances in my life that have shaped my values, intellect, and academic or career goals. I was raised by my parents to become a hard worker, independent, and caring young adult. I was taught how to be all these qualities by a combination of experiencing and witnessing them first hand.
Student diversity at my high school based on race was small. We were 94% white, 4% Hispanic, and 2% other races. Other than race, though, we had many different types of students. Similar to an appreciable amount of schools, we had a large group of students who were involved athletics, students in a club, and a small amount of students who weren 't involved in anything. These activities ranged from football to art club. It was simple to find something you enjoyed at my high school, and because of this, student involvement was high. In addition to this, the students involved in specific activities seemed to get along with other groups of people.