Cultural and Ethnic Differences

What?
Classrooms are growing more diverse than ever here in the United States. These means that there is an abundance of cultural differences that may exist in the classroom. Some of these differences include; language & dialect, talking v.s. silence, eye contact, personal space, waiting v.s. interrupting, public v.s. private performance, cooperation v.s. competition, and world views. Often times, these cultural differences lead us to assume things about a student just upon looking at them, without ever getting to know them at all.

So What?
There are many reasons students may struggle in school and have a difficult time learning. Sometimes the struggles may have to do with a cultural difference. As a future teacher it is important to become familiar with cultural differences and how they may affect a student's learning in order to be an affective teacher. It is also important as a teacher to create a more multi-cultural classroom that fosters learning and growth for everyone.

Now What?
I am determined as a future teacher of a very diverse classroom to learn about the cultures of future students that I am not aware of so I can better teach and be more successful at making the classroom one that is welcoming and inviting to all of my students. I am also determined to not allow myself to stereotype or make assumptions on any student that comes into my class before getting to know them. When we allow ourselves to assume, it is usually damaging to the student