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I love the diversity of our class. As teachers, we all bring a different perspective along with a wealth of knowledge and experience. Yet, we're all working towards the same goal, giving our students the best education and becoming better teachers. The picture I drew was a flower with different colored petals. All the petals represent us educators coming together to create this "flower of education".

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Even though we may be reading the same book we can each have different thoughts about it and interpretations of what seems similar. This applies to books, assignments, students, music, TV and movies, conversation. Each person brings a unique perspective to everything they encounter and that influences what and how they think of what seems to be the same subject/idea.

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We all leave foot prints everywhere we go. Each one of us leaves a unique "footprint" on this world and has a different story. As we are walking through this school year, teachers and students can be thinking about the kind of footprint they want to leave behind. What is the legacy you want others to remember you for?

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As Forrest Gump said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." Well, I actually didn't choose this analogy because some of us are a little salty, or nutty, or crunchy, or sweet, or fruity, and we're all delicious. I chose this analogy because we're all different. Maybe you're a raspberry filled chocolate who is very blue personality, sweet, and maybe a bit messy (raises hand--that's me!). Maybe you're a dark chocolate that is all business and maybe a little type A and less sweet. Who knows, but what works for you works for you, and what works for me works for me. And to be honest, we try all of them anyway, right? We can all learn from each other no matter our differences in background, teaching styles, personalities, etc. :)
Forgive my goofiness here, it's late!

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Maybe I am ready for it to be fall or maybe it is because I am hungry, but I am thinking about gumbo! We are all in this big pot called teaching, and even though we all teach different grade levels and different subjects, not one is more important than the other. Students need that variety to keep their interests going. It is up to the teachers to add in their own spices and flavors to make their classroom more interesting.

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A good, diverse classroom is like a smoothie. We all bring something important to the recipe, each with a different purpose or reason. Each ingredient is important, and makes the final product unique. The cool thing, is that you can change up your recipe every time and that can ultimately change the flavor or texture. Add blueberries or not to add blueberries? Add in a dab of flaxseed? Sure! Once blended, the final recipe flows smoothly and hopefully, with the perfect amount of sweetness!

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Diversity can be like leaves that are always changing. The leaves change colors as time goes on, just like we change as teachers as the years go on. Leaves are also all different colors, shapes, and sizes. Us as teachers are all different as well. We may do the same thing and have the same purpose, but we all have our own teaching styles and we all have different experiences even though we are all teachers.

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To me diversity is understanding that each of us is different and unique in our own way. Through our discussion board posts we have recognized that although we share some similarities when it comes to teaching and our lives, we also have some very cool differences! I like to think of our class like a pack of Crayola crayons. Crayons can be different sizes, shapes, and colors, just like we shared we all have different experiences when it comes to teaching, but in the end as educators we share a similar goal. Just like the crayons have a goal to bringing color to our student’s drawings, we share the goal of wanting to give our student’s the best education and strive to achieve that.

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Our class is a variety pack of potato chips. We are all the same at the basic level. We all have decided to commit our lives to teaching. Our experiences, personalities, and strengths are the seasonings that make us all different. We meet different needs, work with different age groups, and live across the state. There is just something simple about potato chips. As teachers, we may deal with the complicated lives students come from, but our purpose in loving and educating students is simple.

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Our class is a flower garden, an array of fragrances and hues, blossoming and blooming at various times. We, like flowers, are essentially the same while taking a variety of forms; we require differing amounts of sunshine and water, thriving in different environments, but seeking similar ends. Our interests and experiences may run the gamut, but as teachers, we all value building relationships with our students in order to have a positive impact on their lives.

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To me, the diversity in our class can be reflected in the wonderful place we all call home---earth. All of us contribute to education in diverse ways, similar to how each continent and ocean diversely contribute to the beauty of the earth. One person (or continent) may bring a unique culture or skill set to our field, and by traveling around we can learn so much about how each of us do things differently. We all share a common goal in bringing the best and most personal experience to our respective classrooms, even though we may go about it differently---and most importantly we have so much to learn from each other.

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Diversity, to me, is like the ocean. There are several different organisms that make up the ecosystem and they all serve a purpose. Teachers and Students of different backgrounds all serve different purposes, but have common goals. The goal is to educate kids from various backgrounds and to make them all feel special as they navigate their educational experiences.

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Our diversity as educators reminds me of the stars. It feels like we are far apart, but we have so much in common. However, every star is special in it’s own way. Some of us have been around for awhile, and some of us are new. We may not all shine bright at once. We all have different strengths that will allow us to shine at different times. We all have the same title, but a different story. We all have the same purpose, but our journeys will take us in different directions.

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To me diversity within both teachers and students are similar to snowflakes. Each and every snowflake is unique. Our ages, years of experiences, subject matter and personal experiences all make us very different however, we all come in similar goals in mind and a common theme. From afar snowflakes look the same and are made of the same material but they are very different just like us as educators and individuals. (I sincerely apologize for how my drawing looks, art is not my strong suit)

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We all have a common purpose of producing oxygen and beauty for the world (education and joy for our students), regardless of our age/height (years of experience teaching) or the type of produce/kind of tree that we are (different content areas or age groups that we teach).