I am really excited to learn about my future students. I think it is really important as a teacher to know your students, not only academically, but their cultural, social background as well. As we have discussed in class, teachers need to be assessing their students, and know what levels they’re at. This can be daunting, because that may mean finding a way to challenge all students whether they are low, medium, or high achievers. There can be such diversity in what students know. However, students also come to the classroom with their own unique backgrounds. Learning about the diversity of your students can help create a safe, welcoming learning environment which is vital. Lenske, et. al. discusses ways to evaluate English Language Learners, mentioning that whenever they are assessed, they are not only being assessed on the material, but also the English language. Also, Lenske writes that when assessing ELLs it should be on what they know, and are able to do, not what they don’t know or what they cannot do. I think this applies to all students. Focusing on what they are able to accomplish can give you a clue as to where their next assignments should be. Also, it gives the teacher something positive to tell the student. Other ways to learn about diversity in the classroom is to do predictability logs by speaking with relatives, past teachers, and the student herself.
Students may find a lot they have in common, but what will make a diverse classroom so great are the differences that each student brings. Acknowledging the differences and realizing that everyone comes from different backgrounds and has different ideas to share can be good for students. Celebrating our uniqueness is something I plan to do in my classroom.
I completely agree that embracing diversity is a great way to create a comfortable environment for all students. Lenske's quote that we should assess ELLs on what they know and are able to do and not what they don't know and aren't able to do is incredibly insightful. I like that you plan on celebrating uniqueness in your classroom because there are so many teachers out there that do not do this. I also hope you do this in my classroom but fear that it will not happen like I want it to. I grew up in a town with very little diversity so celebrating diversity was nearly impossible. Looking back at it, we were all basically carbon copies of one another and there was not much diversity to celebrate. If I take a job in a town similar to mine, I often wonder how to incorporate diversity into the classroom.
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