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Understanding diversity in the classroom
Understanding diversity in the classroom
Understanding diversity in the classroom
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A Purpose Driven Life
Dr. Seuss wrote in his book Happy Birthday to You, “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” Every essence of our being, from our personalities to our DNA is different from everyone else in this world. Many of these distinctions are apparent in the classroom setting and at times can prove challenging for a teacher. Some students may learn the lessons very quickly while others may take extra time and may need out-of-class help. These differences will affect their ability to learn and grow as a student and the strategies I implement in my classroom will affect their ability to succeed.
When teaching a lesson to a student with a special need such as cerebral palsy, certain tactics need to be used as outlined in an article by Frank Ricci, a nurse in the ICU at a children’s hospital in Pittsburgh. In this article Ricci describes how to develop an educational program for a unique group of students. This group of students was comprised of 12 members who each had cerebral palsy and of those 12, 7 were in wheelchairs and 8 had mild-visual impairments. The goal of this educational program was to teach these students about safety restraints and how important seat-belts are. While this program was not math or science related, the techniques used by the teacher are applicable to any classroom setting with diverse students. To begin the session, a short story was read about safety. The story included animated characters and was funny. Next, posters were presented with bright colors and big slogans that read “Be Smart, buckle up.” Following the presentation of the posters, the teacher showed the students how to properly buckle their seat belt and gave them an opportunity to ...
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...al of Trauma Nursing 6.4 (2000): 129-32. ScienceDirect. Web. 21 Nov. 2013
Stevenson, Andrew, ed. "Poor Students Miss out on Teaching Strategies." Sydney MorningHerald (n.d.): 8. Academic OneFile. Web. 21 Nov. 2013
McAllister, Lesley S. "Positive Teaching: Strategies for Optimal Learning with ADHD and Hyperactive Students." American Music Teacher 61.4 (2012): 18. Academic OneFile. Web. 21 Nov. 2013
Cerebral Palsy." National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs, June 2010. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Wu, Yungan. Teaching Young Adult Literature to ESL Students: An Experiment. Thesis. University of Oklahoma, 2008. N.p.: UMI Dissertations, 2008. Print.
Brewster, Dorothy PB. Teaching Mathematics to ESL Students. Thesis. California State University, 2000. Dominguez Hills: UMI Dissertations, 2000. Print.
Van de Walle, J., , F., Karp, K. S., & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2010). Elementary and middle school mathematics, teaching developmentally. (Seventh ed.). New York, NY: Allyn & Bacon.
Bryant, D. P., Smith, D. D., & Bryant, B. R. (2008). Teaching Students with Special Needs in
Mattern-Baxter, K.. (2010). Locomotor Treadmill Training for Children With Cerebral Palsy. Orthopaedic Nursing, 29(3), 169-175.
Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, by Dillenburger, K., and Keenan M., published in 2009, summarized Nov 19, 2009
The students in our classrooms, both special education and general education classrooms, require individualized education to reach their full potential. Each child’s potential is different just as each child’s road to reach it is different. Our job as teachers is to be there for the student’s to help them reach their potential through their own unique way.
In many low income communities, there are teachers that are careless and provide their students with poor quality education. These teachers are there just to make sure that they keep receiving their monthly paychecks and act in this way because they believe that low income students do not have the drive, the passion, or the potential to be able to make something of themselves and one day be in a better place than they are now. Anyon reveals that in working class schools student’s “Work is often evaluated not according to whether it is right or wrong but according to whether the children followed the right steps.” (3). This is important because it demonstrates that low income students are being taught in a very basic way. These children are being negatively affected by this because if they are always being taught in this way then they will never be challenged academically, which can play a huge role in their futures. This argument can also be seen in other articles. In the New York Times
All children learn differently and teachers, especially those who teach mathematics, have to accommodate for all children’s different capacities for learning information. When teaching mathematics, a teacher has to be able to use various methods of presenting the information in order to help the students understand the concepts they are being taught.
Two years ago, I embarked on a journey that would teach me more than I had ever imagined. As a recent college graduate, I was thrilled to finally begin my teaching career in a field I have always held close to my heart. My first two years as a special education teacher presented countless challenges, however, it also brought me great fulfillment and deepened my passion for teaching students with special needs. The experiences I have had both before and after this pivotal point in my life have undoubtedly influenced my desire to further my career in the field of special education.
Before meeting Eric Walker, and his family, I didn’t really have very much experience or knowledge of what it meant to have a child or sibling with Cerebral Palsy. Meeting with Eric, and his family, along with his speech therapist not only gave me an insight into what it really means to live with a disability and to care for a child with a physical disability, but also the opportunity for me to apply what I have learned in this class and other classes to a real life situation.
Ysseldyke, J. and Algozzine, B. Special Education: A Practical Approach for Teachers. 3rd.ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1995.
How do teachers enable all students of varying abilities to reach the same goals and standards established for their grade level? Instruction begins with a concept of treating each student as a unique learner whose strengths and weaknesses ha...
...S. and Stepelman, J. (2010). Teaching Secondary Mathematics: Techniques and Enrichment Units. 8th Ed. Merrill Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Curtin, E. M. (2006). Lessons on effective teaching from middle school ESL students. Middle School Journal, 37(3), 38–45.
Many people have a stage in their life when they stop for a moment and think “what am I here to do?”. For me that stage in life had arrived a long time ago. I was about fourteen years old, I felt alone, I felt scared, but most of all I felt useless I didn't know in what direction my life was going. I kept asking the Lord to show me, to lead me to what he wants me do to and to shape me into who he wants me to be. When I say purpose most people think about the career I want to have, while having a career is important to me. I feel like that still doesn't complete my purpose. I want to do more for us, for humanity, for our future. I believe my ultimate purpose in life is to help people in need of attention and affection. I think that the Lord has put me through difficult obstacles in life so that I could help the people that went through or are going through the same things that I have left in my past. My motivation for doing this is first of all is knowing that this is what God wants me to do, and knowing that he is blessing me. And then of course is helping the people, seeing their smiles and telling them that they are not alone and that I understand them. And will help them with whatever I can. What I do to achieve my purpose is that I go to many centers, and meet people, mostly children that have been through any kind of abuse.
Killen, R. (2007). Effective Teaching Strategies, Lessons from Research and Practice. (4th .ed). South Melbourne: Thomson.