Poverty Rate
The poverty rate of the students at Vale Elementary is about 8% higher than Washington State (OSPI, n.d.). Whether we choose to believe it or not, poverty rate does affect the learning of students, which in turn affects test scores. Students coming into the classroom, that live in poverty, may not have all their needs met. These needs could be food needs, shelter needs, routine needs, etc. In order to teach my students and therefore raise test scores, I must first meet the needs of my students. I would begin by allowing a time for snacks, and by providing snacks for this time. This will meet some of their hunger needs. I obviously can’t control what happens to students when they go home and night, but I can provide a safe place …show more content…
I think the main thing when teaching culturally diverse students is to get to know their culture, their value system and how it differs from my own as well as how it may be similar. In order to fully understand how my student’s culture will play a role in my classroom, I must first understand the rules of the culture. Charles (2014) talked about how we are so accustomed to our way of living and our social rules, that the rules and behavior of another culture can be misinterpreted, proving my point about how in order to avoid these misinterpretations, I need to know my students. Having culturally diverse students will change the way I teach my lessons and even the content I incorporate. I think it’s important for all of my students to feel valued and I think they should all be able to connect with the content I am teaching. If I ask questions that relate only to my culture, then I will be leaving out 43% of my students, according to the OSPI’s student demographics (OSPI, …show more content…
Teachers in the Cashmere school district have been teaching for an average of 16.1 years and 71.4% of them have their Master’s degree, compared to the Washington state average where teachers have been teaching for an average of 13.9 years and 68.2% of them have their Master’s degree (OSPI, n.d.). This shows me that these teachers are experienced and will have a lot of valuable information to offer me. I think it would be a valuable experience to work with a group of teachers who have been perfecting their trade for 16+ years. As a new teacher, I want to use all the resources available to me. I also noticed that 29.3% of the students at Vale Elementary are transitional bilingual, meaning they are in the process of learning their second language (OSPI, n.d.). I have a minor in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) so this information is critical, it would be for any teacher. English language learners (ELL) have a higher need than monolingual students. Knowing that I have ELLs in my classroom greatly effects how I will teach and the tools I will use to teach. For example, I know that if I have ELLs in my classroom that it would be beneficial to have labels around the classroom. These labels should be in English to help ELLs learn new vocabulary, but I would also put up labels in my students’ native language(s) next to the English labels, so that those students have a form of reference. I would also know
The poverty rate of the students at Vale Elementary is about 8% higher than Washington State (OSPI, n.d.). Whether we choose to believe it or not, poverty rate does affect the learning of students, which in turn affects test scores. Students coming into the classroom, that live in poverty, may not have all their needs met. These needs could be food needs, shelter needs, routine needs, etc. In order to teach my students and therefore raise test scores, I must first meet the needs of my students. I would begin by allowing a time for snacks, and by providing snacks for this time. This will meet some of their hunger needs. I obviously can’t control what happens to students when they go home and night, but I can provide a safe place …show more content…
I think the main thing when teaching culturally diverse students is to get to know their culture, their value system and how it differs from my own as well as how it may be similar. In order to fully understand how my student’s culture will play a role in my classroom, I must first understand the rules of the culture. Charles (2014) talked about how we are so accustomed to our way of living and our social rules, that the rules and behavior of another culture can be misinterpreted, proving my point about how in order to avoid these misinterpretations, I need to know my students. Having culturally diverse students will change the way I teach my lessons and even the content I incorporate. I think it’s important for all of my students to feel valued and I think they should all be able to connect with the content I am teaching. If I ask questions that relate only to my culture, then I will be leaving out 43% of my students, according to the OSPI’s student demographics (OSPI, …show more content…
Teachers in the Cashmere school district have been teaching for an average of 16.1 years and 71.4% of them have their Master’s degree, compared to the Washington state average where teachers have been teaching for an average of 13.9 years and 68.2% of them have their Master’s degree (OSPI, n.d.). This shows me that these teachers are experienced and will have a lot of valuable information to offer me. I think it would be a valuable experience to work with a group of teachers who have been perfecting their trade for 16+ years. As a new teacher, I want to use all the resources available to me. I also noticed that 29.3% of the students at Vale Elementary are transitional bilingual, meaning they are in the process of learning their second language (OSPI, n.d.). I have a minor in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) so this information is critical, it would be for any teacher. English language learners (ELL) have a higher need than monolingual students. Knowing that I have ELLs in my classroom greatly effects how I will teach and the tools I will use to teach. For example, I know that if I have ELLs in my classroom that it would be beneficial to have labels around the classroom. These labels should be in English to help ELLs learn new vocabulary, but I would also put up labels in my students’ native language(s) next to the English labels, so that those students have a form of reference. I would also know