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I am Camille Small – Wong

Like a phoenix I shall rise to sing my song

I am from humble beginnings that has made me strong

To impart knowledge on these youths,

To be selfless

How could I be wrong?

I am dance

I am reggae

I am from curried goat and jerk chicken

I am from okras, green bananas and yellow yam

From Blue Mountains and Dunns River Falls

From "Mi likkle but mi talawah" and "one love"

Like a phoenix I shall rise to sing my song

I am Camille Small-Wong

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My best character trait is my personality and my drive. I believe I have true grit and determination to be successful in life. I believe that nothing beats a failure but a try. My dad taught me to never say I can't but instead to say I will try. I never give up on anything or anyone. Anything is possible.I chose the phoenix because of the characteristics of a phoenix in regards to rising from the ashes.I have been through some challenging experiences and I have always risen above them. I always encourage myself by saying," like a phoenix I shall rise again".

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My important book is my bible. It is special because my mother gave it to. It is the only book that is constant in my life since childhood. I turn to this book for comfort and guidance. I use this book to keep me grounded. Next to the bible my other book are my family albums.I love looking  at pictures and reliving the memories that goes along with them.

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My cultural values and beliefs are deeply rooted in the scriptures. I believe in faith, hope and love. Even though I am not actively a member of a congregation I believe in the practices of Christianity. My cultural values and beliefs was also shaped from my native country.
In Jamaica, we love to dance, and be happy. Its a fun loving laid back society and I miss that being here. I still listen to my reggae music and dance.

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Struggles with teaching diverse students

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Struggles with teaching diverse students

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The struggles with teaching diverse students that I have experienced relates to language. I see this as a barrier because I am not fluent in any other language other than English. The students are coming to the classroom speaking languages from all over the world. As a teacher, it can be a challenge to relate to these students. Presently I am placed in a school with many Hispanic students. These students tend to converse in Spanish more so than English. Even though I can speak some Spanish it is difficult for me to follow along.

Personally, I also speak a dialect and tend to code switch. Often time this will result in a conversation with me reminding the students that I am originally from Jamaica.

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Being literate and literacy is important in my household.Usually everything we do has a learning experience to be gained from it. Apart from watching television and reading the headlines, helping with home work, playing games or simply just assembling a piece of furniture our favorite literacy practice occurs in the kitchen.This could be reading the recipe during baking or checking for expiration dates.Literacy occurs unintentionally, simply by reading the buttons on the microwave.
My favorite literacy practice is to read from the recipe book that my grandmother  used when she was alive. It brings back memories of her baking and me helping her by reading the recipe. Now I bake and my children read the recipe.
(This is a picture from my grandmothers recipe book, its old but its filled with a lot of memories)

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I chose this picture because it reflects the person I am at present. The fake smile on my face says it all. I am at a point in my life where I have to do what is required of me instead of what I really want to do . I am always expected to behave a certain way but is that the real me? "They" don't want me to be different but I am.
Behind this fake smile is the "me" that is struggling to balance everything that life throws at her. With a smile always.

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I learned that the name Camille meant a servant of God and the name Antoinette was derived from the male name Anthony for which there was not a meaning but he was said to be a great warrior. After learning this I started feeling a sense of pride and welcomed my name.

The name Camille originated in France and also means virginal. I also found out that Antoinette was also of French origin and means flourishing or praiseworthy. (Meaning-of-Names.com, 2017) . Growing up I wanted to be called Amber, Susanne or Esther.

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My cultural discomfort lies in the the way other percieve me.I believe that I am always the center of attention or conversation.I have noticed that people will stare at me and then they might ask is that your hair? Then when I answer they will then ask where are you from?Apart from that I try to cover my access (for dialysis) because that is another area of curiosity for the public. What is wrong with you? Is the question that I get a lot. While I dont mind talking about my condition I hate being treated as if I am different.I always feel like I am being watched.

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These are a pair of earrings that belonged to my grandmother.They are important to me because my grandmother died 20 years ago and this is the only thing that I have apart from memories and pictures of her. It is very special to me. I always remember her wearing them to church to compliment her blue dress that she loved so much.

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My cultural biases lie with the holiday celebration or lack thereof.I still struggle with the holidays' festivities here in America. I am from a culture where the holiday is celebrated with much fanfare, and begins in December, and ends in January. I am usually sad on December 26 because everything is usually tucked away and valentines items are displayed.Back home Christmas runs until after the new year.Another holiday that I struggle with is Easter. I am used to celebrating good Friday and Easter Monday here in America they are not really celebrated.

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The literacy practices that I participate in apart from reading and watching the television includes checking my emails,  monitoring my go-fund-me account and communicating on Facebook.I am not a fan of social media, I guess because I enjoy my privacy and its scares me to have too much out there about me.
Another literacy practice that consume a lot of my time is using the computer. I find myself on the computer continuously whether to complete class assignment or just to respond to a email.

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Strength in teaching culturally diverse students

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Strength in teaching culturally diverse students

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The strength that I have as it relates to teaching diverse students lies primarily in the fact that I too am culturally diverse and so being can relate to being culturally different. I can relate to students from a different socio economical background because I have experienced the best of times and the worst of times. Another area of strength is having different beliefs, cultural practices, and using these attributes to enrich my classroom.

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My privilege is to have been born in poverty.I grew up knowing what it was like to want and to do without. It taught me how to be satisfied with what I have but to also work hard to achieve what is destined for me.Hard work and determination lead to success.
This is a picture from my childhood, it reminds me of my humble upbringing.I have been belssed to have been lifted from the "ghetto" with a great education. I am priviledge to live the life that I live and to be able to help others.
My priviledge has taught me to be humble and to be selfless.

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My thoughts on literacy supports the belief that literacy exists in everything that we engage in. Every thing has a literacy aspect attached to it. My thoughts were also of the various aspect of my life that has contributed to developing my funds of knowledge. These fund of knowledge has lead to implication such as knowing myself from a cultural perspective and being aware of what I bring with me to the classroom each day.

My cultural awareness will be impactful on my teaching in that I have to be culturally responsive not only for my student but also for my self. As a teacher it is important to know and identify a teacher’s cultural background. This allows us to foster the benefits that the teacher has to offer from a cultural perspective and also to be aware of the possibility that he might have difference in the way that he teaches .It is important to understand that students are not illiterate and fail  at school due to  deficits in their culture. In an article by Mui and Anderson, the writers writes that in the home there are different pathways to literacy for children, not just storybook reading. Family members play an important role as they believe that it is important to recognize, value, and build on the different ways that families are constituted. This shows that a students culture contributes to their literacy in a positive way.

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There are different ways that literacy is learned, practiced and taught across cultural and linguistic groups. They also believe that minority homes family value and support school literacy while also engaging creative play. (Mui & Anderson, 2008)

It is important for a teacher to recognize the funds of knowledge that the student bring to the classroom because they can use those experiences to enhance the lesson that they are teaching.   In an article titled, Collaborative Translation: Negotiating Student Investment in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, by Cole et al culturally responsive pedagogy is described as using the cultural knowledge, prior experience, the frames of references and the performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them. (Cole, David, & Jimenez, 2016) This section of the article tells us that students are culturally diverse and it is important that we tap into that diversity and use their uniqueness and cultural heritage to make learning interesting for them.

The funds of knowledge that I bring to the classroom as a teacher is a combination of my heritage, my culture, my lifestyle, my language and the way in which I do things. There are time that the student is not appropriately placed. As a culturally responsive teacher it is for me to welcome that student as best as I can and offer the support necessary for them to succeed. In regards to good literature it does not only takes place in the classroom but also occurs in our environments , in our everyday life.It is not limited to books. I believe in being fair firm and consistent and that is how I plan to operate in my classroom. To not be biased and hold each student accountable according to the expectations.

Cole, M. W., David, S. S., & Jimenez, R. t. (2016). Collaborative Translation: Negotiating Student Investment in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. Language Arts, 430-432.

Mui, & Anderson. (2008). The Reading Teacher. At Home with the Johars-Home Literacy and Culture and Practices (p), 240.