Im Just A Teacher So What Do I Know

These questions are very hard for me. I find it very difficult to imagine myself being any different. I can that life would have been easier if I were a man or that I would have made more money. Honestly, that all would be based on sexist remarks that I have heard during my life. I do not believe my life would have been any different. My gender has never really been something I wanted to change and do not think that one gender has an advantage over another. My husband does make more money than me, however he is often more stressed. I wouldn't want to trade with him for even a second.

How does your personal attitudes and beliefs might influence you as a teacher. How might your identity impact your perceptions, actions, and beliefs in the classroom?
I would be telling a lie if I said my personal attitudes didn't influence my teaching. I have always made a conscience effort to separate my personal feelings from my job. I teach in difficult school where most of my parents live very different life styles than myself. I do not agree with the way most of my students are raised (or neglected). I try my best to create a classroom where my students feel loved and comfortable regardless of where they come from. I do know that while they are in my care I will do all I can to show them love, respect, and encouragement. I know that I do this because of my personal attitudes. I believe all children deserve to be loved and respected and make that known to all of my students. Through doing this I am able to get respect back from some of the most unloving and disrespectful children.

And so my ramblings continue.! Here are the questions I will be addressing today:
What are my assumptions about why some people are affluent and others are poor? Do I think it is fair? Inevitable? I have always been baffled about wealth and how some people have more than others. I do know that I do not look at money as what defines us as "rich" or "poor". I am a middle class citizen but feel that I live a lot better off than some wealthy people. Life is what you make of it and I do feel we hold a lot of power in our own hands. As far as "fair" is concerned I have never really experienced "fair" in any aspect of my life. Fair is a word that doesn't exist and could absolutely drive a person crazy if you dwell on it to long.
Whom or what do I blame for disparities in wealth and opportunity? Poor people? Wealthy people? The system? What do I think needs to be changed? Do I want to be a part of that change? If so, in what ways? I honestly think that the disparities in wealth in opportunity come from a fear of change. People often break free from what holds them back because they are afraid of the unknown. I am able to look at many of my students and predict what their future will be just based on their home life. I know that they will adopt many of their parents behaviors or bad habits and not try to change their life for the better. Since the first day I began teaching I have always taught my students that you have to strive to live better than your parents. You have want a better life for your self and your children. It is hard for me to get them to understand that but that is how I want to be apart of the change. I want the cycle to stop with the students that I have.

Today I am going to continue reflecting on culture...here are some of the questions I will be journaling about:
When do I notice culture? How often do I think about it?
How would I characterize encounters that I have had with people of different cultures? Have they been positive experiences? Negative? Neutral? I would say I notice culture when someone speaks. Our words are often a clue into what culture we come from. Like I had mentioned in a previous post, I don't really think much about culture. I am constantly surrounded by it, at work, home, church, etc. I never really give it much thought. All of my experiences have been positive when dealing with culture. I have at times gotten frustrated at language barriers but completely understand that is a two way street! I am someone who embraces change and differences and try to do the best that I can to instill that into the students that I teach.
How do I feel when I interact with a person who speaks a native language other than English? Do I treat the person differently than when I am speaking to a person whose first language is English? What assumptions do I have about linguistically diverse people?
I gave a speech once in college about how to effectively communicate with international students at my college. I started out my speech by playing this movie clip.

I did this because this how many of us try to speak to others with cultural differences. I think I got the attention of my classmates and hopefully prevented them from ever doing this.
How does my value system relate to my culture? What values do I hold dear? Have I had experiences where my values were in conflict with another person’s values? How did I resolve these differences? I gave this speech because I was dating an international student who I personally witnessed being judged by his accent and limited English abilities. I promised myself I would never be one those people, and to my knowledge I haven't been. I am very patient when speaking to people who have another native language and I try to communicate effectively. I do admit there are times when I get frustrated by I know that it must be equally frustrating for the other person too!.

As far as my value system relating to my culture......Well that is a hard one to reflect on. I think every person develops a set of values based on the way they were brought up by their parents. I was brought up in a christian home and today my faith is very near and dear to me! I have had plenty of experiences where my values and another person's values did not agree. I am a very passive person and often find myself not standing up for what I believe in. I am a person who avoids conflict at all costs so when those situation arise I usually am one who gives in or apologizes even when I don't mean it. That is something that I have tried to change, but no matter how hard I try....I just can't seem to fix. Oh-well that is what makes me who I am!

How do I feel about my racial group? Am I proud? Ambivalent? Do I sometimes wish (or have wished) that I belonged to another group?
For most of my life I have been very content being an average white girl. I have found myself in a couple of situations where I have wanted to be another race. The one most vivid in my mind is when I was going to college. I wasn't able to get many scholarships to attend college, but all of my friends that were "minority" students had their colleges paid for in full. I honestly wished I could have checked any other box on that application form other than the "white" one! I ended up taking out student loans and now owe around 30 thousand dollars. I now can say that I worked hard for my degree and I may not have done as well if I weren't the one paying for it! How do I feel about people from other racial groups? Do I have close friends and neighbors in other racial groups, or is my social network racially homogeneous?
I have grown up with diversity all around me. I can honestly say I don't have different feelings for different races. To me people are people and race just doesn't simply matter to me. I am surrounded by different racial groups and enjoy having the exposure. I am honored to say that my neighbors are all from different ethnic backgrounds and we have great relationships with all of them. I think this is a great place to raise my children. I want them to grow up embracing diversity and being open to differences. I also have several friends and also family members from other racial groups. I have an aunt from the Philippines and also an African American step-father. I feel very privileged to have such a diverse upbringing and to be surrounded by so many races. I know that it has helped to me to be the well-rounded open minded person that I am today. To me every race truly is an amazing race.

For my master's class my assignment was to reflect on a few question in relation to culture. I could either write a paper or create a blog. Being the blog lover I am, and the fact that APA literally makes me sick to my stomach, I have created this blog. Here are a few of the questions that I will be addressing:
How do I feel about my racial group? Am I proud? Ambivalent? Do I sometimes wish (or have wished) that I belonged to another group?
How do I feel about people from other racial groups? Do I have close friends and neighbors in other racial groups, or is my social network racially homogeneous? Would I like to have close friends of racial groups other than my own? Why or why not?
When do I notice culture? How often do I think about it?
How would I characterize encounters that I have had with people of different cultures? Have they been positive experiences? Negative? Neutral?
How does my value system relate to my culture? What values do I hold dear? Have I had experiences where my values were in conflict with another person’s values? How did I resolve these differences?
What are my assumptions about why some people are affluent and others are poor? Do I think it is fair? Inevitable?
Whom or what do I blame for disparities in wealth and opportunity? Poor people? Wealthy people? The system? What do I think needs to be changed? Do I want to be a part of that change? If so, in what ways?
How do I feel when I interact with a person who speaks a native language other than English? Do I treat the person differently than when I am speaking to a person whose first language is English? What assumptions do I have about linguistically diverse people?
How has being a man or a woman influenced my life? How has it limited me? Sustained me? Opened up possibilities?
If I had been a man instead of a woman or vice versa, how would my life have been different?

Stay tuned for my ramblings on these questions!