Cultural Reciprocity In Special Education

Many classrooms today are comprised of different children with different learning styles. Observations for this study were conducted at I.S. 72, an urban middle school in Staten Island, New York. I.S 72 is known as the Police Officer Rocco Laurie School, ranging from grades 6-8 with a total of 1,253 students. The classroom that was observed contains 27 children, 14 boys and 13 girls of mixed heritages. The majority of students in this specific class are Hispanic and Asian; however, there are a few students who are Caucasian and African American, too. The number of students enrolled in special education services was not available, however, special education services and a variety of other services are definitely provided. Other services in this …show more content…
Cultural reciprocity is examining and understanding our own beliefs as professionals, but then realizing our beliefs may differ from our students and their families. As educators, we should be able to negotiate our beliefs with parents in a professional, respectful manner. As discussed in class, cultural reciprocity involves self-awareness, communication, and collaboration. The teachers referring M.A could have taken a more generous approach in order to avoid a conflict or harsh feelings towards the parents. Just because M.A was problematic at times, this is not enough of a reason to necessarily put him in a more restrictive environment. However, this can definitely trigger emotions on behalf of the teachers wanting to remove the child from their classroom. In our culture, we have expectations as teachers that it is wrong to disturb other students while learning. No one individual has a right to interrupt and interfere with our lessons and other students learning. We have a sense of what is fair and what is unjust. Other cultures, however, may not feel the same way. Not all parents and teachers agree on cultural expectations, or ways children should be