Erin Percacciolo

June 11, 2014

Dr. Nicholson
EDUG 733
Final Growth Statement
This graduate class has been by far one of my most memorable experiences here
at Manhattan College. I could not have surrounded myself by a more accepting group of
people. As future educators we are taught in a variety of our education courses, the
essentials of building a stable, supportive, and inviting classroom community. You, the
professor, advocated for the ideal classroom community by encouraging us, the students,
to open up and share with our peers information about our personal lives, educational
experiences, opinions, and perspectives. You modeled and we followed.
Through the Cultural Autobiography assignment I was able to discuss the factors
that have influenced my individual perceptions and expectations as both a student and a
teacher. Within the written assignment I was able to express why I developed certain
perceptions throughout my upbringing and specific individuals that influenced those
decisions. For example, my family is Irish Catholic and my mother was raised Roman
Catholic therefore I was raised Roman Catholic. Many of those principals and practices
of that religion were taught to me through religious instruction and have now become a
part of my life.
Another thing that we are often encouraged to do as future educators is reflect on
our teaching and practices. Throughout the course of this summer session we have read
several articles centered on the focuses of multicultural education. We discussed and

reflected upon concepts, issues, and dilemmas related to a multicultural society from both
historical and contemporary perspectives. By doing so it exposed us to the realities of the
issues we can expect to face as we enter the field of education.
Through these reflections, readings, videos, and Special Interest Group
PowerPoint Presentations we also examined and analyzed the implications of cultural
pluralism and diversity for education and schooling. Students were assigned a group in
which they were given a topic to present on. Those topics included: race and ethnicity,
gender, sexual orientation, and religion. Presentations included theories supporting the
topic and the impact on curriculum and strategies for reducing the negative impact on
instruction. Each group also included how the impact of poverty/social class affected the
variable that was being studied. These presentations were extremely informative
accompanied by handouts, articles, and workshop activities related to each topic.
Through these activities we were then able to further discuss the impact of race,
ethnicity, gender, social class, disability, language differences and sexual orientation on
behavior and actions in the classroom. Our classroom discussions were some of my
favorite moments from class. People never hesitated to give their opinion or relate the
discussion back to a personal experience. Everyone remained respectful of what was said
and more importantly built on what was previously said. The collaborative discussion
that was had on a weekly basis really added to the depth of the class. I learned just as
much from the Power Point Presentations as I did from engaging in class discussion.
When creating the Special Interest Group Power Point Presentations, each group
not only incorporated a plethora of information but developed an engaging workshop for
the group to complete as well. These workshop activities allowed for us to zero in on the

specific points of the presentation. For example, in the presentation on Religion, the
presenters split us into four different groups of four. Each group was given a chart that
divided the five major religions into different subject categories.
The group that I was in was given a chart that was titled, Views on
Homosexuality. The chart broke down the religions into percentages based on Should
be excepted, Should be discouraged, Neither/Equal, and Dont Know/Refused.
We were to discuss the information on the variety of charts and elaborate on how we felt
about the data recorded. It was interesting to see how the percentages measured out and
which religions felt a certain away about a specific issue.
The final learning outcome was addressed through all aspects of this course. At
its conclusion, I was able to identify strategies and design activities to be used in
classrooms that support equity. These activities and strategies were directly related to the
appropriate NYS Learning Standards.
As we discussed on the last day of class, if there were one thing I would take
away from this course, it would be to remember that as a teacher, you dont know what
your students are dealing with at home. Sometimes students act out in an effort to receive
the attention that they fail to receive at home. In many cases parents who work constantly
in an effort to support their families neglect students at home. Although this neglect isnt
always intentional, it affects the students behavior, which can often times further affect a
students ability to learn.
Whether its culture, ethnicity, gender, race, or religion, all our students are
different in their own unique ways. If we dont ask as their teacher, in many cases we will

never know. Multicultural education is becoming an essential part of how we teach our
students. It must be implemented.