Craig Williamson

ADED 42292
Prof. Swarts
October 7, 2015
Assignment #5 ADED Colloquia Reflection
The first thing I found both surprising and also enlightening was the sheer
number of different cultural subgroups that my class came up with during the culturally
relevant pedagogy session. Obviously I was aware that there were many different
cultures I would have to navigate in the classroom, but to actually be able turn 360
degrees in the classroom and see hundreds of groups listed on the boards visually
drove the point home with simplistic effectiveness.
The second thing I found interesting was the way in which poverty is translated to
an issue of the people trapped in impoverished cycles as opposed to an issue of our
own educational system. I found it interesting reading how educators in many ways use
poverty as a crutch to justify underperforming scores of their students. These teachers
seem to expect less due to these students situations instead of coming up with creative
and aggressive ways to provide these students with demanding and exciting content
and skills to help them eventually break out of their impoverished cycle.
The third thing which I found amazingly interesting and enlightening was the
entire session on teaching tolerance and creating safe classrooms as it pertains to the
LGBT community. For me this was by far the most compelling and effective section of
the four. With the help of the resources from GLSEN the professor was able to not only
delve into many of the theoretical issues a teacher may face, but she was able to really

give concrete methods to help teachers deal with this issues. The additional resource
package was also jam-packed with fantastic tools which we as educators can look to
when these issues present themselves down the road.
The first thing that challenged me was the session on poverty. I now realize that
my role as a teacher cant be to merely ensure an equitable classroom, but I need to
work on methods and incorporate skills into my lessons specifically crafted to help
students who may come from economically challenged families. These skills which will
be beneficial for all students could be life changing tools for students from impoverished
families. It is important to not leave thinking about how to accommodate special need of
students as an afterthought in my planning, but to have it front and center and fully
integrated into my planning from the beginning.
The second issue I found slightly uncomfortable was how many examples we
were given during our session on LGBT students where teacher expressed reluctance
to stand up for the rights of students in their classroom. Other future teachers also
surprised me when they expressed a reluctance or unsureness in standing up to other
faculty over issues associated with LGBT students. In a time were issues associated
with bullying are front and center in schools I dont think its ever been more important
for a teacher to do anything they can to provide all of their students with a safe
classroom that promotes equality and understanding.
What I have learned about myself as a teacher through the social justice
colloquium is that a teacher is like a guard at the entrance to a building. In order for
students to enter the building and gain the knowledge in the building they first must feel
safe in the building. I as a classroom teacher am charged with creating a safe learning

environment for my students, because if students dont feel safe in our classrooms no
amount of creative methodology will matter.