Portfolio Summary

I feel like I have come so far in this class and with my portfolios for multicultural education. I have especially come very far in my thinking about social justice and issues going on around the world and how that matters and how it can affect my classroom. I have learned that I really get to decide what kind of teacher I want to be and how committed I want to be to help my students feel loved and accepted and to receive the education that they need. At first, I thought this class would just be about how everyone is different and how we need to respect others' cultures and differences. But there is so much more to it. As we had class discussions, I learned that there isn't always a solution to problems in the classroom. Sometimes, people will have their feelings hurt and I can't always prevent that but it's okay. I have learned that as long as I am committed to finding solutions and trying to make things equitable for everyone, I am doing something right and that is something to be proud of. I feel like so many people out there, and so many teachers I've had, don't realize the kinds of things they do that could have a negative effect on their students and it is hurtful to young kids to not feel safe or not feel valued and accepted. I definitely want all of my students to feel that they are cared about and unique and accepted in my classroom. I want them to feel like they really can be successful, like how in my book I read for the Book Club, "The New Kids", they were able to feel successful because their teachers really pushed them and showed that they cared about them in their relationships to the students. There was inclusive pedagogy that applied to all the students and their diverse backgrounds and cultures. I want to be a teacher like that, who naturally plans things in my classroom that are fair and inclusive of everyone. This can be done with the media I use, the posters I use and how I decorate my classroom, the books and materials available for students to use, my rules and procedures, my discipline plan, and just how I interact with students.

I remember one of the first discussions we had in class really bothered me because I was essentially feeling like this class, the discussions, the readings, etc. were all hinting that I was a terrible human being because I was white, Mormon, straight, and an American citizen. And because of these things, it seemed to me that I couldn't be good enough or really understand others around me and how they feel being the minority or being the groups that are not a part of the hegemonic culture. I was feeling bad for myself that I had to feel bad about myself, but that was silly. The point of this class, I've learned, isn't actually to make me feel bad about myself being privileged, and it's also not about feeling bad for and having a deficit thinking model about those with differences. It's about learning about what makes us feel uncomfortable and realizing problems and issues that may be affecting our future students, and then trying to help with that and make it so my future classroom can avoid those problems as much as possible. It's about caring about all of the individuals in my classroom and really trying to show them that as I teach. And so I've learned that there's nothing wrong with loving people, even if they have differences and even if I don't always agree with others' beliefs or customs. I can still treat everyone with respect and that's what I've decided my number one rule in my classroom will be: respecting others.

It was fun for me doing the Personal Cultural Artifact portfolio because I never really thought of myself of having a culture. I just thought that "cultured people" were ones from exotic or foreign countries that did really different things than I had ever done and dressed in different ways and had certain foods that their culture was known for. But I realize that was a very narrow-minded way of thinking about culture. I've learned that I have culture from what I eat and what I wear. I also have culture from what I say, how I interact with people, what things I do every day, and what things are important and special to me. I've realized my own intersectionality, as well, because I have been involved in many kinds of groups involving school, music, sports, religion, hobbies I like, where I'm from, and what I look like. I feel like I'm a diverse person and like many things and I want people to realize that about me. Many others want people to recognize this about themselves, too, and don't want to be seen as just stereotypes or as just one story. People have many stories to tell and many things you can learn about them. I plan on getting to know my students throughout the school year and really trying to expand my knowledge about them and the cultures they come from.

It was very eye-opening when I got to do the Being the "Other" portfolio. I got to go to a Spanish Catholic mass and be the outsider. I kept feeling weird I was the only white person there, who obviously didn't look Hispanic and couldn't speak Spanish either. It made me so happy, though, when people there smiled at me and reached out and I felt not so awkward and different than them. I want my students to never feel awkward about being different than others, perhaps if they are a minority of some type. I want them to know that even though we all look different and like different things and may even speak differently, we all can feel good and there can be celebratory multicultural education in my classroom.

Going to the Food and Care Coalition was another great experience for me to understand a little more about what the poor and homeless go through, but how there's also hope and good people in the world to help them. I loved working with the volunteers there who came regularly and were so kind and genuine in how they treated the homeless there that we got to help feed.

I've also just really enjoyed the opportunity of watching videos and reading articles about different groups and different social justice issues that are in our world today and are things we can fight to overcome and be advocates of. I loved learning about gender and sexuality differences, and even though it was heartbreaking to hear some of the stories and experiences people have gone through, including Professor Draper with her son, Bennett, I feel like I learned so much and can be more understanding to those with differences in that nature. I also have loved hearing about case studies and discussing with the class how we can make a difference and how we can try to solve problematic situations that deal with students and parents and those that may be treated unfairly. Again, there won't always be a perfect solution or way to teach all students, but I feel like because of the different social issues and discrimination we have among us, we can find hope and find purpose as we try to make a change in our own classrooms and in our own lives with the people we come in contact with. I feel like my views and understanding about others has greatly widened and it will continue to do so if I apply the things I've learned in this class and keep thinking about what makes me feel uncomfortable and analyzing why that is and what I can do about it in the world.