Culturally Reflective Essay: I Am From Poem

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Introduction While thinking about my identities and ways to describe myself, I refer back to my “I Am From” poem. In my poem I listed all the things that first came to mind about my life and myself. I talked about the small town I am from, Sunday rituals, family life, high school, and relationships. All of these things have shaped me and made me the person I am today. I am a born and raised southern, Christian, white female. I am from a small town where everyone is pretty much related and always knows your business. My parents, who are still happily married today, were Homecoming King and Queen of the same school I, too, was Homecoming Queen of and graduated from. I was in class with children of adults my parents were also in class …show more content…
I felt compelled to discuss this identity factor being that I attended an all-white private school, and as a future teacher I need to be aware of different racial groups and their school experiences that differ from mine. As Geneva Gay states in her book, Culturally Responsive Teaching, “…Cultural diversity is a strength- a persistent, vitalizing force in our personal and civic lives.” Not only will learning about races that differ from mine make me a better teacher, but also a better …show more content…
Britanny touched on how her teachers would find activities that required her and her peers to think critically, but for some students that seemed far-fetched because they were only doing what they had to do to get by with the minimal grade. In the book, Why Race and Culture Matter in Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap in America’s Classroom, author Tyrone Howard writes about how race and culture affect student achievement in the classroom. He states, “For low income African American students, academic struggles are often attributable to the disconnect between their personal and cultural knowledge and the type of knowledge that is highly valued in schools.”(Howard, 2010 pp. 55). What Brittany witnessed in the classroom with her peers is a direct example of what Howard was discussing in his

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