Ashley Bason

February 27th, 2018

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InTASC #2 Reflection

Today, in classrooms throughout the United States, there are students who come from

multiple backgrounds. These students bring different cultures and experiences from their various

communities with them into the classroom. InTASC Standard #2 states, “The teacher uses

understanding of the individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure

inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards” (Council of

Chief State School Officers, 2013, p. 17). In other words, teachers must take into account the

various backgrounds of their students and ensure they are creating an environment in which all

students are challenged academically. Students’ backgrounds can be related to their culture or the

communities in which they reside. Also, teachers must find ways to incorporate the diversity his

or her student brings into the curriculum. However, InTASC Standard #2 can also relate to ELL

students. A teacher would need to be cognizant of ELL’s first language, and how that may affect

their abilities to learn the English language.

Let us consider the following class description: 10 African-American students, 5

Caucasian students, 7 Latino students, and 3 Middle-Eastern students. Although there are 10

African-American students, not all of the students come from the same background. Two of the

students grew up in West Baltimore, one in East Baltimore, and the rest of the students are from

Baltimore County. A teacher would have to be cognizant of the differences among his or her

African-American students as it relates to the diversity within the communities they reside. The

same can apply to the Caucasian students. Two of the Caucasian students can identify as Greek.
By examining these examples we see that students can appear to be the same, but they can be

different once we begin to examine their various cultures and communities in which they reside.

Within an English Language Arts classroom, InTASC Standard #2 can be applied in a

few ways. For instance, Part 2(d) of the InTASC Standard #2 states, “The teacher brings multiple

perspectives to the discussion of content, including attention to learners’ personal, family, and

community experiences and cultural norms” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2013, p.

17). In my classroom, I would attempt to have students relate to text we are reading in order to

help their comprehension. For example, if we were reading To Kill a Mockingbird, I may assign

students an activity in which they relate themselves to either Tom Robinson or Atticus. I would

instruct the students to think about their culture, experiences within their communities, etc. and

relate them to either Tom Robinson or Atticus. This activity would allow for the students to

understand the injustices in the story, and lead to more critical discussions.

InTASC Standard #2 is essential when working with a diverse population of students. It

allows for all students to feel important, and leads to critical thinking when exploring certain

text.