Kaitlin Steeb September 27, 2013 Mrs.

Tollafield ADED Practice Colloquium Reflection

As a future teacher in a constantly changing and adapting world I truly enjoyed and felt that I benefitted from the colloquium sessions we had the opportunity to experience. My only complaint is that I didnt feel we were given enough time. An hour to go over significant educational topics such as LGBT, students considered at risk, culturally relevant pedagogy, and service learning was simply not enough. These are important topics that are going to affect my career as an educator and while I enjoyed the sessions I feel that the more exposure I can have to such topics, the better I will be as a teacher. Of the four sessions, the topic that intrigued me the most was without a doubt the service learning. As Dr. Borgerding went through her slide show I could only imagine what wonderful outcomes service learning could have on a school and the surrounding community. The first thing that came to mind was the benefits service learning could have at the high school from which I graduated. The biggest problem my alma mater is facing is funding because levies dont pass easily. But rather than reaching out to the community every few years in their time of need, the school should instead be a prevalent force within the town. If students are frequently seen helping out and the good the schools money is doing is obvious around the community, those factors I feel would be better than any awareness campaign the school could ever put together. I also loved the idea of students applying the concepts they learn to the real world. If I have learned one thing in my time at Kent it is that every student learns differently. So as teachers if we were able to incorporate both classroom learning and real life application to our lessons I feel

as if each individual student would benefit significantly. From my perspective service learning is the definition of a win/win in the education world and a great tool for tying students to their community and vice versa. The concept that most surprised me was the discussion of students considered at risk. At risk to me is usually a negative connotation for underachieving students. The typical stereotypes all come to mind when thinking of youth who would be considered in the category of at risk, such as students coming from low income families, one parent households, or essentially any student who is not of a Caucasian background. But what we were taught in this session is that any student, regardless of family status, wealth, or heritage, could at any time be considered at risk. It is our job as teachers to get to know our students well enough to be able to recognize if something is wrong. Students could be struggling from a number of factors from any aspect of their lives, be it home, school, or with their peers. We just need to recognize these possibilities and make ourselves open and available to help our students succeed in our classrooms as well as in their own lives. In our few short sessions I must say that the class that provided me with the most significant sense of enlightenment was the culturally relevant pedagogy. Often we as teachers are given the impression that we must treat each and every student the same and to strive for equality. But that method seems irrelevant when each student is not the same. Each student has their own individual identities that define them as a person and as a learner. We as teachers need to find a way to embrace those differences and celebrate them within our classrooms. Students who are culturally diverse can benefit from each other if we as teachers facilitate classrooms in which we can incorporate the positive influences from each student. Recognizing and using these backgrounds in a positive manner can create optimal student learning environments.

While the culturally relevant pedagogy was the class that provided me with the most enlightenment, it was also the class in which I had my most uncomfortable experience. While discussing our different cultural backgrounds, both in our own high school and the high school in which we were doing our student teaching experiences, one girl in my group brought up the example of how her cooperating teacher tends to label her children as one parent households and two parent households. The one parent household children are what the cooperating teacher perceived as the struggling students or the bad kids. The students who were considered to be in a two parent household were the honors and high achieving students. The discussion arose when a member of our group happened to be a single mother. While it was clear that this was simply an example of bad teaching practices and not our group members own personal opinion, the other group member immediately became defensive and went on the attack. Our biggest challenge was trying to discuss a topic that was obviously one worth looking into, while watching every word that came out of our mouths so as to not offend our fellow group member, which was a challenge when she opted to take everything we said as offensive rather than providing the group with insight from her unique perspective. But while the situation was uncomfortable for all, it was perhaps the best learning technique for me. I learned that in order to become a better teacher you must be able to put your own biases aside in order to partake in necessary discussions such as those involving culture. They may not always be comfortable, but in order to move forward we must face our differences and learn from each other as well as our students. The only other uncomfortable situation I can predict is that one day, like in the example used in the session, I might have to deal with teachers who are closed minded about the LGBT community. Not only do I support the community as a teacher, but in my own personal life as

well. Some of the very best friends Ive ever had are gay, and I wouldnt change them for the world! But my own personal challenge is going to be to not jump down a fellow teachers throat when I hear them making negative comments towards people of the LGBT community. My job as an educator is not to change the minds of my fellow teachers, but rather to look out for students who need me and make sure they are getting proper and equal treatment by all teachers and staff. I hope that I will be able to redirect my anger towards this ignorance by making myself available for education, because I truly believe that a good portion of these negative feelings towards the LGBT community is simply a lack of exposure to it. By using my energy to educate those people, hopefully I will be able to make a safer, more comfortable school environment for those students who do identify as LGBT. What I have learned throughout these colloquium classes is that a teacher is like a dictionary. They must stand strong and solid and be identifiable within the classroom environment. A teacher, like a book, must not be judged by their cover, but rather the tools and resources they have inside that define them.