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I believe this project was a fun and interactive way to critically think about my self, my cultural beliefs, and my literacy practices. All of these are connected through the life I have lived. I have though about how this project will help me as a future teacher; I believe understanding my strengths, weaknesses, views on life and culture will help better me as a person and a teacher of diverse populations. Through my discomforts I am able to reflect on why I may have these and preserver through them. I am also able to make sure I do not form judgements on people, students. I believe it is important to know and understand your own cultural beliefs because you need to understand why you may have those beliefs, to understand you may be more privileged than others making life experiences different, and to know that everyone has their own cultural story.

Our students do not all have the same advantages as others. Many of our students are at a disadvantage due to language barriers and community. It is important to us to understand each individual child’s cultural circumstances in order to better serve them. Each student should be given an equal opportunity to learn and grow, some students may need more support than others to achieve this. Our classrooms should be a safe place where students can be themselves in a judge free environment. To do this, classrooms must be culturally responsive. Culturally responsive classrooms have books, resources, friendships, and diverse languages that respect every culture.

In this class I have learned the importance of children’s literature and the effects it can have on them. An example of this is the effects on gender stereotypes in children’s literature. Children read and absorb what they read in texts and as this twenty first century has new world views it is important to provide children with texts that they can form their own opinions with and understand their own identities. In my classroom I will have book groups where students are able to express their cultures and opinions based on culturally responsive texts. In these groups we can discuss diversity, gender, bullying and more. I can also cater these groups based on the class that I have.

I believe it is important for teachers to create a culturally responsive classroom for every culture in your class. Teachers are in the classrooms with students all day, they are their safe place, they are their second home. Teachers should not only teach students academics but real world information. We are there to support students and help them succeed in our society.

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This was a difficult task for me. I love taking pictures to capture memories and I love having my picture taken, but all of my selfies are taken with my loved ones. As I scrolled through my camera roll I noticed in mostly all of my selfies I am making the same face, which has been brought to my attention before, I've just ignored it. People even call it my "selfie face". This is a picture that holds memories of my most recent family vacation. In this picture I see myself as having a fun silly time with my family. This picture shows my love of seafood, my expressive eyes, and my "selfie face". I like this picture because I can see a stress free and worry free Katie.

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I believe I have had many privileges in my life. My mother is a single mom raising two girls...with expensive taste. We always had the brand name clothes for school, tons of presents under the Christmas tree, and took vacations every year. I have been very lucky and grateful. I am able to wake up every morning in a beautiful home on the lake, drink a hot cup of coffee, and drive my car to college everyday. These are privileges I take for granted. By understanding that my mom has given me a life that many (like my students) don't have, I am able to understand the importance of the little things in life and begin to enjoy them more. I chose this picture to represent my privilege because every time I see this image I think about "Gossip Girl". This is a picture of a recent trip to New York and we stopped at a macaroon boutique. It is a privilege to be able to take nice trips to the city, to be able to go to nice restaurants, and to be able to shop for most things I want. These are privileges that I am able to have every day because of the life my mom has given me.

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My favorite literacy experiences are when I am reading to children. I enjoy when we are all sitting together on the floor, looking at the art work on the pages, and becoming joyful from the words in the text. I always want my students to have access to books. I have been building my classroom library for a few years now and storing them in boxes to one day put out on shelves in my own classroom. I want to be able to read new and exciting books to my students everyday. I want them to have access to books that take them on adventures, mysteries, and escapes. I love watching students fall in love with a book.

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My cultural values and beliefs began with my mom and the way she raised me. We are Catholics; I attended Catholic school for my Elementary years; and we go to church every Sunday. But my beliefs are not just going through the motions of church and prayer. My mom raised me to believe in God and over time I have learned more and more about how he can comfort me, relive my stress, and be a rock in my life. In this image you can see my mom and I at mass. We always attend church together as a family, it is a time for us to get together, pray together, and let go of or stress. My mom is the strongest woman I know, and her faith is God has helped her pursue tough times. I look up to the woman she is and use my faith in God to guide me to be strong like my mom.

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Creepy gas stations! My cultural discomfort is unfamiliar creepy places when I'm alone. My mom raised me to always scope out a place, walk with my key between my knuckle, and look over my shoulder. She didn't raise me to be afraid of life, she raised me to be a women who is aware of her environment. This gas station represents a place I would be scared to go to by myself. The smell, the emptiness, the off brand name, and the backwoods of this place makes me standoffish. I took this picture while my fiance was slowly driving by this gas station. I was forced to get gas here one time during the gas shortage, I stayed on the phone with my dad the whole time while I continued to look over my shoulder and watch the numbers slowlyyyyy move up on the pump.

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I engage in literacy practices every day through technology. After a long day I come home, take my shoes off, and sit on the couch to engage in these practices. I catch up on the days Facebook and Instagram posts to see what my friends have been up to. I enjoy reading the BuzzFeed articles on SnapChat daily. These are ways for me to escape the chaos of everyday tasks and relax my brain for the time being.

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My favorite characteristic about myself is my determination. I have always planned my future since I was a young girl. I know now that there are many roads that can lead you to the finish line, some may be windier than others but as long as I keep pursuing my dreams I can make them come true. I have learned hard work and determination from my mother. She is a single mother who supported my sister and I with more than we could have ever asked for. In this picture you can see a quiz I made about 14 years ago. This shows that my dream has always been to be a teacher and no matter what life throws my way I am determined to achieve my dreams and goals that I have set for myself.

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Crank and the Crank series are some of my favorite books. The way these books are written and told drew in my attention. The story captivated me and made me feel for each character as if they were my friends. I am always drawn to books and movies that have you feeling for the "bad guy" and these books do just that. Crank is a book about addiction and the toll it can take on a persons life and the effect of people around them. This book holds a place in my heart because of the way I can connect to it. Addiction runs in my family and I have been affected from addictions backlash in many ways.

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My Nana's ring is an object I hold close to my heart. Everyone will tell you that I was my Nana's favorite. My Nana pushed me to do my best in school, she taught me the importance in being a strong independent woman, and she gave the best back scratches while watching the Price is Right together. December of 2015 my Nana passed away with me, my mom, and my aunt by her side. We express our love and joy we shared with her. My Nana left me her sapphire jewelry because I was her first grandchild and shared the birth stone with her. I wear this ring everyday and it reminds me that she is my guardian angel.

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Kathryn
Caring, Independent, Thoughtful, Organized
Daughter of Michele
Lover of  beaches, Amazon, family
Who feels compassion, love,
Who fears goodbyes, weakness, change
Who would like to see equality, happiness, the world
Resident of Flowery Branch, Gaines Ferry Rd.
Egan

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My cultural bias is on "southerners". Before I moved to Georgia I had thought people who lived in the south were "rednecks" who hunted, wore camo, and talked funny. When I moved here...well, I learned this was true. Somewhat. Not everyone is like this in the south.
The pace down here is a lot slower, which has taught me to take my time to enjoy things and not let life pass by so quickly. I have let myself enjoy bonfires after football games which has helped me learn the importance of spending time with friends and making new friends, relaxing, and enjoying the outdoors. Now camo, that's another story.
This is a photo of my first (and only) pair of boots. I wore these boots around Nashville, while listening to country music all night. Breaking in these boots represents breaking this bias.

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My favorite physical feature is my eyes. My blue eyes are one set of many in my family. They connect me to my families Irish heritage. I love being connected to my family in this way because I am proud and grateful for all of them. I am proud to have this connection to my heritage because I believe it is important to know where you came from. My eyes are also connect me to the beauty in the world. With my eyes I am able to see the beauty in diversity, geography, youth, and culture. My eyes are very expressive, they can be a give away to what I am thinking or feeling. Blue eyes can be sensitive to light which can cause me to put on sunglasses. This is a representation of how I turn a blind eye to some of the negative aspects of our beautiful world. I like to focus on the purity of the world and sometimes avoid negative views.

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The beach is my favorite place to pick up a book, read, and escape. The sound of the breeze, waves crashing, seagulls chirping is the perfect amount of background noise for reading. The serenity of the beach helps me enjoy the company of a books characters, adventures, and emotions. Whenever I travel to the beach I pack atleast 3 books because I can spend hours and hours reading and listening to the waves crash. The books and beach are my favorite escape. I believe this picture is a perfect depiction of the feeling I get when I walk onto the beach. The beauty of the sky, the nice weather, the crashing of the waves. This image is similar to the tattoo I have, to me it represents my favorite escape, peacefulness, and flowing with changes.

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My name is Kathryn. Kathryn Mary. My name is pure and feminine. This Irish and Catholic name was agreed to be given to me by my parents. From the popular television show “Who’s the Boss” Mary Katherine. Mary has significance from both of my grandfathers mothers names and my mother has always wanted a Katie. Then Kathryn Mary became. While religiously my name may be virginal “Urban Dictionary” claims Kathryn as “quiet but crazy, a little spastic, and a whole lot of amazing”.

In Catholic school I was one Kathryn among many. My name provided me with the disadvantage of innocence. I was always correcting people with my nickname that I proffered. Katie. As I have grown older I have grown to appreciate my name and all that it stands for. This name that has been around for centuries, ranked 318 in the US, and gives me a life long connection to my great grandmothers has made me who I am. Me.

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Weakness on teaching culturally diverse students

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Weakness on teaching culturally diverse students

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I believe my weakness in teaching culturally diverse students is incorporating and learning about multiple cultures. I have had experience mostly with students of hispanic backgrounds. Bringing in texts and culturally diverse connections to the hispanic culture is more fluent to me than incorporating knowledge in other cultures. Some questions I still ponder are, how can I communicate with complete non English speaking students? How can I incorporate each students beliefs, cultures, and differences in the classroom? How can I make each culture feel special in and out of the classroom?
This picture represents the multiple cultures of the world that can be found in classrooms all over.

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My Strength in Teaching Culturally Diverse Students

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My Strength in Teaching Culturally Diverse Students

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This is a picture of me looking from a students point of view. I believe this represents my strength in teaching in a culturally diverse classroom because I believe teachers can learn from their students as much as students can learn from their teachers. It is important to remember that our students all come from different homes and backgrounds and they all should be treated equal. As a teacher it is important to take the time to get to know your students and understand their beliefs and backgrounds in order to learn, respect, and understand where they come from. Students have pure innocent eyes and see the world in a different way from adults. We should all take the time to see the world through a child's eyes.