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Who is the teacher who has had the strongest impact on your life? Describe your relationship with this teacher and discuss what made your experience with them so powerful.

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Every kid needs a champion | Rita Pierson | TED

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The terms above are just a sampling of the many words educators employ to discuss the rules, routines, procedures, and consequences that they use to maintain a productive classroom environment. Think about the meaning of the terms above, as well as any others you may have heard. In the first paragraph of your response, discuss the differing connotations of these words, and also talk about which ones you feel are more or less appropriate, and why. Then, listen to the episode of This American Life linked here, called "Is This Working?" about discipline in schools. After you've listened to the podcast, add a second paragraph to your response in which you discuss the implications of what you've heard in this episode for how you think you might approach your work with Breakthrough students. You might focus on a particular story that struck you or on the episode as a whole.

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A student at Lyons Community School in New York does an exercise before a student "circle."

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If you enjoyed this episode, you may like these How a stolen library book got one man into his dream school and changed his life forever. Or at least that's the story he tells himself. A story about someone who's desperately trying - against long odds - to make it to the United States and become an American.

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Define what it means to you to be a culturally responsive teacher. Which of the four practice areas resonated with you the most and why? Pick one of the factors and respond to it in detail.

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Click on the "+" symbol to add a post to each column.

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She was my fifth grade teacher, and one of the teachers that inspired me to major in education. Mrs. Phillips was stern, but loving of all her students. My first encounter with Mrs. Phillips is when she called me into to her classroom to discuss why I did not try out for the step team. I started crying and became a blubbering mess because I thought I was not good enough, but she stopped me and said that I am creative and powerful in my own right. She empowered me to be on the step team and so much more. At such a young age, she helped develop my sense of confidence and integrity. Mrs. Phillips made me believe in who I was and who I would potentially become. She listened to me even thought I know I was not making sense. She made me feel heard. I never doubted my abilities while in her class and I have taken all of her wise words with me throughout my educational career.

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I had a phenomenal English teacher in seventh and eighth grade. She was the first teacher who really challenged me in school, the first one who didn't hold our hands in the classroom or when we turned in an essay. She basically single-handedly taught me how to write. She created the perfect balance between joking around with her students and becoming familiar with them, while still holding us to a high standard and demanding respect in everything she taught us. She made the books we read fun, while still making sure we learned a lot. She challenged us in such a positive way, that even though some students did not like her at the time because she refused to baby us, we all graduated from middle school better students because of it. I remember her crying at our graduation and thinking that she was the best, most beloved teacher at my school. She touched so many of our lives, simply because she demanded expectations of us that we should have been living out our whole lives.

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A teacher that has had a significant impact on my life is my after school teach, Ms. Deborah Walton. In the first grade, I moved to a different school, in Buckhead. I did not know anyone there and was one of the only children of color in class, which was new since at my old school, everyone there was black. My parents put me in an after school program to help me make new friends and get to know different people there. Ms. Walton helped me make new friends and adjust to my new environment. She also taught me about how to interact with others, respect other opinions, and ideas, and religions. She is the first person who I would consider as a mentor. Me help build the foundation to the person I am today.

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To be a culturally responsive teacher is to understand the differences in each student and connecting to all the students in a different ways. These teachers help students become more confident in the classroom and outside the classroom. Learning partnerships resonated the most with me because I believe that interacting with students helps the atmosphere of the classroom become more comfortable. Establishing a connection with students that builds mutual trust and respect is important to me because it allows the classroom environment to allow students to be vulnerable. I believe that if students have a good bond with teachers, then the learning and comprehension levels increase and students perform better. Teachers that lack in the human interaction cause students to not work as hard or do minimal amount of work for the class. I think simply asking students how they are doing can establish the beginning of a great relationship, as a result, they become more comfortable with approaching the teacher. Respecting and trusting one another allows great relationships and mentorships begin to grow.

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When I think of a teacher discipling a student. I automatically start to think of suspension, expulsion, or some other extreme punishment. Therefore, I believe the connotation of discipline, is negative. Classroom management takes on a more positive tone. I think of a teacher that has control of the classroom, but connects with her students, hence stems her control. Community norms conveys how the people act and live their daily lives, hence how the students within that community act throughout the school day. Community norms connect to the school culture. The environment of the students’ lives outside the school building is a factor in some of their behavior, hence can control the school culture. Restorative justice also helps with the school culture. If a school attempts to understand the students instead of distributing suspensions, then the school culture could improve. If the school is strict, many students can become unmotivated. All these words together cause and influence the student’s emotions and how they feel about coming to school, negatively or positively.

I have always thought that expulsion and suspension at young ages were unnecessary and had a negative effect on their mentality of school. When JJ and his brother were expelled from school at the ages of 3 and 4, I thought that was very extreme. In the position of the trying to discipline “bad” kids, I would take the approach of the Lyons Community School. I believe that talking about their feelings and how they felt about certain altercations can lead to a great learning partnerships. Jumping straight to punishment instead of trying to understand why they reacted a certain way can lead to students feeling like they are not heard. And I felt like I was not heard in school, so as a future teacher, I want all my students to feel heard.

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I definitely think that any word regarding classroom management has a negative connotation, particularly for students. Classroom management is what turns so many prospective teachers away from education, and discipline is what makes students hate school. School culture has the opportunity to defy community norms, in order to create restorative justice. I’ve seen so many schools that have adopted positive school cultures in order to counteract community norms and encourage their students to succeed and want to understand class material.

I had learned so much about restorative justice before listening to this podcast; I had just never heard someone put the label on it. I think that students really need to understand their punishments. I loved the idea of the teacher who said “let’s have a conversation” about a student’s behavior, rather than just punishing the student without any explanation. I think that’s a really effective way to make sure that students are learning behavioral improvement, while also incorporating their academic skills. Students cannot learn if they’re constantly worrying about getting in trouble for no reason, especially since the statistics show that minority students are punished much more often than white students, for no reason at all. The classroom culture needs to have an atmosphere of respectful discipline, where students are all treated equally and know exactly what they need to do in order to learn and earn respect from their teachers as well. That’s what I want to make sure I establish in my students at Breakthrough, the reasons for discipline and equality in discipline, rather than discipline for the sake of discipline, or as the podcast described, out of fear of losing control.

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Mr. Carlsson was my pre-calc and calculus teacher in high school and he is definitely the reason I want to go into teaching. I remember being scared of him at first, because from the very first day of class he demanded excellence from us. He taught us limits using this archaic paper that was so hard to read and made no sense, but then in class he worked through it with us and gave us the skills to comprehend things we had never seen before by ourselves. Often, he would let the students explain their answers to different questions and then name theorems after them when we figured out something particularly insightful. All of this worked to make me feel like math was approachable and that I could be a part of it. Mr. Carlsson never told us that math was hard, but just that we were all good at it. Also he was just organized and predictable and it was always clear to see why we were learning the things we were learning, and how it could be applicable to everyday life.

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One of my best teachers had to be Mr. Ayres. He was my algebra II and pre-cal teacher. He was always fun to be around and always asked me about my day. I confided in him with my personal struggles of my school and home life. I never really struggled in his class because he was that great of a teacher and of a mentor. He was very excited and supportive of my dreams to go to school out of state. He just always wanted the best for me and for that, am forever grateful.

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The teacher that has had the greatest impact on my life to date was Mrs. Mitchell. Mrs. Mitchell was my pre-K teacher. When I was going to kindergarten we were informed that she would moving to work at another school. My family and I loved her and her teaching style so much that I changed schools to be in her class again that next year. She is one of the main reasons I would like to go into the field of education now. She is also the reason I am interested in teaching kindergarten. Although she only taught me at a very young age whenever I think about school she is the first person that comes to mind. She had a very caring and empathic  personality which made each of the people in my class feel comfortable to learn and explore. We learned many things in that classroom that I can still remember to this day. We learned many things in her class such as caterpillars and their journeys to becoming butterflies. We even wrote our own books at such a young age. I will also never forget how welcoming she was to invite each class she taught to Mt. Baldy and a barbecue at her home each year after school had ended. Mrs. Mitchell was a wonderful teacher and person. I appreciate her for showing me how to love each and every child that steps into my classroom in the way that she did.

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To be a culturally responsive teacher one must first acknowledge but not call out ethnic and cultural differences within the classroom. It is not necessary to literally speak to each group separately but understand that not each group has the same understanding of what may be common knowledge to some. It is also important to bring in resources and information about different races and cultures. Being culturally responsive allows a student to feel comfortable with an educator who relates the lessons to the students multicultural lifestyles. The area that resonated with me the most was community building. Zaretta Hammonds states, “we focus on creating an environment that feels socially and intellectually safe for dependent learners to stretch themselves and take risks”. It is important that students feel safe and comfortable in their classroom. If they are uncomfortable students will be less likely to speak up and ask questions. With community building teachers use cultural practices and ideals to create the intellectually safe space. It is important for students to be surrounded by familiar ideas.

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I had many of great teachers, who I believe helped in the shaping of who I am today. But my Champion was my high school guidance counselor Mrs. Patterson. When I first met her, going into her office was the scariest thing in my life. She had the most serious face, and was always ready to get down to business. The more time I spent going to her office those first two years of high school, the more I realized there was so much more to her than just making sure I was college ready. She wanted the very best for each and every student. My friends and I would then spend our last two years in her office everyday at lunch, just talking about any and everything. And when it came time for college applications she was right there next to me. She was the reason I chose Spelman, hearing her stories and how much fun she had made me want to go no matter how far away from home it was. She had to leave Spelman her sophomore year due to financial problems, but she let me know that wouldn't be the same case for me, constantly sending me scholarship applications, and having me network continuously. And even out of high school she continues to be my champion. When I was looking for a summer opportunity last year, she connected me with the County of San Bernardino Secondary Education department where I was able to work with at risk high school students. We still keep in contact and when I go home, I always make an effort to stop by and see her. She poured so much into me and I cannot wait to be able to do the same.

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When Ms. Johnson first arrived at my school during my sophomore year in high school, I wasn't sure how she was going to help me get to college and make the right choice. I remember being really indecisive about what school I was going to and what sparked my interest. Ms. Johnson constantly talked to me, attended college tours with me and ensured me that everything would be okay. She was more than a teacher to me because she took the time to help me plan out my future. I think that she impacted my life by just being willing to take time out of her schedule to do things with me and to constantly check on me. She proved to be a vital aspect of my college experience due to the fact that she would come visit and make sure that everything was running smoothly. She always tells me how to get more scholarship opportunities and what is next for me as I am moving along in my college career.

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Throughout my schooling, I have had a lot of good teachers who lectured well, were passionate about their subject matter, and were pleasant to all the students. But, in the seventh and eighth grade, I had my first great teacher. Mrs. Richardson, my seventh and eighth grade science teacher, showed me that a teacher could be and was more than someone who taught you the assigned curriculum and successfully passed you onto the next grade. Mrs. Richardson, unlike all my previous teachers, took a personal interest in the success and wellbeing of her students--each and every one of us. She did not only like the easy students or the smartest students, she did not show who her favorites were if she had any, but she made each and every one of us feel important, loved, and cared for. Mrs. Richardson showed me that a teacher-student relationship could be both professional and personal. She took a personal interest in me and each of my classmates. She took the time to get to know us and learn what was important to us, and she used those things to try to meet us where we were at in the classroom. As a freshman in college now, Mrs. Richardson and I still exchange emails occasionally, and she expresses interest in what I am doing now and what I plan to do in the future. Mrs. Richardson helped show me that I was worth investing in when I did not believe in myself. I entered high school and college, and the rest of my life, more confident and self-aware because of her. Mrs. Richardson is my champion.
-Katherine Collamore

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Culturally responsive teaching involves meeting students where they are at. Additionally, it means being aware of your own implicit biases and combating them. Every student is an individual with different experiences and a different demeanor than yourself or anyone else. Culturally responsive teaching involves recognizing what makes each student unique, especially from a social-political perspective, and integrating those things into your teachings methods and style in order to optimize learning and growth. The factor, community building, stood out to me in that it involves establishing relationships based on respect and trust between the teacher and the students, as well as among the students. Student-teacher interactions are largely important, but as are peer interactions in a learning environment. It is important for students to get to know the other students that are learning beside them in class, and experience intellectually stimulating conversations with each other regarding academic subject matter and personal experiences.
-Katherine Collamore

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Most of the words used to describe classroom management or discipline tend to have a negative connotation. My view is that the behavioral aspect of being in a classroom is learning just as much as learning the curriculum is. Learning how to interact with your peers in a respectful way, learning how to engage with your teachers and administrators appropriately, learning situational cues for appropriate behaviors, etc. are all aspects of one of the kinds of learning schools are tasked with promoting. When I hear the term restorative justice, I think of the justice system, and thus, this term seems a bit too extreme to describe classroom management and discipline. Additionally, community norms and school culture require individual learning on a more micro level in order to arise.

I think that when it comes to interacting with students who are misbehaving, a good plan of action is to have a one-on-one conversation with them. Especially, because the students at Breakthrough are middle and high school age, I think it is important to treat them more like adults. Impersonal and detached methods of discipline tend to be counterproductive, generalizable, and/or produce more distress than necessary. Impersonal measures do not necessarily have a positive result. It is also important to tailor my response to the 'offense.' For example, when the man in the podcast describe how he was suspended for celebrating his achievement on a math quiz, my initial reaction was that the teacher needed to have a conversation with him to explain why he should not do that in the middle of class or with all the other students around, instead of suspending him. Without that explanation and one-on-one conversation after class, the student may think that no one wants him to do well or that his accomplishments are not worth celebrating. It is important to remember and balance both that students cannot read your mind and that they are more grown up than you think they are.
-Katherine Collamore

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To me, culturally responsive teaching means that we acknowledge that not all students come from the same backgrounds, so “standard” methods of teaching are not always sufficient. For instance, I took a class this year on dialect variation and the main message of the class is that there is no “right” or “wrong” way of speaking English because all dialects have underlying rules. So fi you have students who don’t always speak in standard English, that’s something to take into account when teaching.

The area that resonated with me the most was Awareness because, for me, it feels like the least intuitive area in that I will actively have to learn about my students and where they are coming from. I think, especially for this summer, it will be important for me to ask questions and get to know the cultures of my students, as well as be introspective and think about how my upbringing and experiences color the way that I teach. Hammond writes that teachers must “learn to manage their own social-emotional response to student diversity” which to me means actively confronting my own personal biases and not allowing those biases to negatively affect my teaching. I think that’s a really hard thing to do, and something that is not often directly asked of me, but also incredibly important for being a culturally responsive teacher.
- Marissa Sanghvi

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In Middle-School, I was one of those students who are stubborn, yet incredibly opinionated. I used to share my thoughts and views without any regards to my surrounding and wholeheartedly thought that I was courageous until I was introduced to Ms. Camellia. All my teachers before her, used to respond to my – annoying we shall say-- personality with threats such as calling my parents, or asking me to leave the classroom, but this is not what Ms. Camellia did. In my 8th grade Chemistry class, Ms. Camellia asked a question related to a previously taught lesson, but I didn’t notice her question due to my talking. I was called to answer a question that I didn’t know the answer to, but I heard my classmates whispering the answer to me from my right side. I blurted out what I heard but Ms. Camellia said with a slight smile ‘incorrect’. I replied immediately ‘no, it isn’t!’ she said ‘so you think I would be unfair to you? Let’s meet after class young lady’ and that’s where the change in my school years occurred. Ms. Camellia told me that I’m incredibly smart and what’s messing me up is my ‘big mouth’. I loved her and loved her advises, so I began to listen. I started to score very high on all of my finals and became an honor roll student within one year. I needed someone to tell me that I am great and capable not the opposite. Similarly, many students in today’s schools; they’re uncertain of their abilities due to the lack of encouragement around them. Let’s be Ms. Camellia or even better! 

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In Middle-School, I was one of those students who are stubborn, yet incredibly opinionated. I used to share my thoughts and views without any regards to my surrounding and wholeheartedly thought that I was courageous until I was introduced to Ms. Camellia. All my teachers before her, used to respond to my – annoying we shall say-- personality with threats such as calling my parents, or asking me to leave the classroom, but this is not what Ms. Camellia did. In my 8th grade Chemistry class, Ms. Camellia asked a question related to a previously taught lesson, but I didn’t notice her question due to my talking. I was called to answer a question that I didn’t know the answer to, but I heard my classmates whispering the answer to me from my right side. I blurted out what I heard but Ms. Camellia said with a slight smile ‘incorrect’. I replied immediately ‘no, it isn’t!’ she said ‘so you think I would be unfair to you? Let’s meet after class young lady’ and that’s where the change in my school years occurred. Ms. Camellia told me that I’m incredibly smart and what’s messing me up is my ‘big mouth’. I loved her and loved her advises, so I began to listen. I started to score very high on all of my finals and became an honor roll student within one year. I needed someone to tell me that I am great and capable not the opposite. Similarly, many students in today’s schools; they’re uncertain of their abilities due to the lack of encouragement around them. Let’s be Ms. Camellia or even better! 

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- Fatimah Talib

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Mrs. Stephens was my senior year AP calculus teacher and second mother. Even now, years later, I still think back to how much she motivated me to see the potential I have. She saw something in me that I did not see in myself until much later. What makes it even more special to me is how she managed to see this potential in me even when I wasn’t succeeding. Mrs. Stephens saw potential in my failures. When she passed back a test that I failed with a 35%, she looked at me and let me know that she knew I could do better. Her way to motivate me was personal because I could see that she truly cared whether or not I did well. Not simply because she didn’t like failing grades, but because she didn’t like to see me doing less than what I was capable of. I could see how it affected her and that affected me. It was my first time having a class where I struggled so hard to pass, but felt so excited to go to everyday simply because of who was giving the lesson. It felt as though no matter how hard the curriculum was, I had someone in my corner working just as hard as me to help me understand. I could be honest and let her know midway through the lesson that I did not understand a word of it. If I started to fall asleep in class, Mrs. Stephens would have me get up to go wash my face so I could keep up. When I cried over a failed test, she would comfort me and set up time to work with me one on one to do better on the next one. Having someone be there for you while you’re doing fine is one thing, but a teacher who is there when you are truly struggling to help you see that even at your worst you have potential is so much more powerful.

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I have had my share of remarkable teachers throughout my schooling years. The most outstanding was my 12th grade political science teacher. The simple fact that he taught a subject I had no interest in and became my favorite teacher is still so shocking to me. Mr. Brunswick had a way of making his class feel like its own world. Granted, this was the first class of the day and at 7:15 learning about the House of Representatives wasn't something I would have been as interested in if it had not been for Mr. Brunswick. He really knew his materials and presented it in a fun and engaging way. We discussed a lot of current events and he established a welcoming classroom environment in the beginning.

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A culturally responsive teacher is one who acknowledges and understands the connection between culture and education, and takes this into account when teaching. By taking it into account, I mean that the teacher adjusts their techniques so that they are better able to get through to these students of differing cultures, and help these students to avoid having their culture become a disadvantage on their education. The practice area that stood out to me was learning partnerships. I have recently started to readjust my perspective on the relationship between adults and children, and I think it is important to apply this to the classroom since children spend so much of their times at school. I think originally I had this mentality of “a teacher is simply there to teach, and a student is there to learn.” I can tell now that this is an oversimplified and very detached approach to interacting with students, and it can play a large role in a student’s success.  One bullet that stood out to me specifically is being able to balance pushing a student to succeed and caring for them. I think the only way to properly create that balance to create those individualized partnerships with students.

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My sixth grade math teacher, Mr. Kirk, has had a profound impact on my life. I have always been a gifted student, and this class was no exception. Math and science were my strongest subjects and I excelled in Mr. Kirk's class. He quickly recognized this and rather than doing what most teachers did in the past, which was ignore me because I already knew the material and didn't need help, or use me as a TA to help struggling students, he began giving me enrichment work. I loved working logic puzzles once I had finished the class assignments, and reveled in learning advanced math beyond the sixth grade standards. He was a mentor to me, and we had a close relationship.

All of this made my sixth grade experience wonderful and my time in his class meaningful. However, there was one moment in his class that still resonates with me. Being a gifted student, I was used to things coming easily, and always receiving perfect scores. I had never received anything less than an A during my entire school career. Until one day, I received a math test back and I had gotten an 89. A B. I immediately started crying right there in the middle of the class. Mr. Kirk asked me to step into the hall, got the class started on their work, and then stepped out to join me. I will never forget what he told me in that moment. He said, "Becca, you are brilliant. Someday you are going to be at Harvard, and you will get a B on something, and it will be okay, because you will be at Harvard. One grade does not define your intelligence or what you are capable to doing". He sent me to get a drink and I came back in determined to shake the whole thing off. That was the first time anyone had looked me in the eyes and told me I would achieve such bold things. I felt so supported by him in that moment. Mr. Kirk also opened my eyes to the bigger picture that is school in that moment. The lesson I learned in that moment, through my first B, is one that has stuck with me forever.

Just so you know, I did not end up going to Harvard, but Mr. Kirk did. He spent one more year teaching math before leaving to attend Harvard to pursue an advanced degree. I hope this summer I can pay tribute to him, and I am especially excited to be following in his footsteps and teaching math.

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Throughout my college education, being a culturally responsive teacher is something that I have studied closely, even having an entire course dedicated to the subject. The trait that resonates with me the most is that of information processing. I have seen firsthand the impacts that including culturally relevant examples and teaching strategies have on making my practice more effective. In order to learn, students must build on their existing schemas. Giving students a concept that they already have a schema built around as an example when teaching new material scaffolds their learning. Additionally, it makes the material more engaging to students. For example, last semester I taught a unit on poetry. Rather than pulling poems from the textbook, I built on my students' cultural interests and used popular song lyrics to demonstrate different types of poetry as well as figurative language in context. I then created their assessment based on a cultural interest in music videos, brought a green screen into school, and allowed them to write their own songs and record music videos in front of the green screen. Using this method and allowing students to process the information using a variety of mediums in an engaging manner that was culturally relevant to them made my lesson very successful.

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"You know you can smile, right?" These were some of the first words Mr. Laskowski had uttered to me. Transitioning middle schools was extremely hard and I was angry about it. I was trying to make sure my 6th grade year was the worst year I'd ever had. I barely talked to people that first week, but somehow, I was always speaking to Mr. Laskowski. Mr. Laskowski was the champion I needed. Not only was I dealing with being at a new school, after 13 years, I'd begun to understand the importance of the father figure I didn't have due to him passing away. Mr. Laskowski not only taught me how to speak about my feelings, but how to deal with what I was feeling. He helped me channel it through basketball, where I could let everything out on the field. Mr. Laskowski came to my sweet 16 and acted like the father I truly wanted. Throughout this program, I hope to change that one students life who never thought they could find that.

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Being a culturally responsive teacher not only includes being aware of the present achievement gaps, but also doing something to make closing the gap seem more attainable for our students. In the text, it states how minority students are sent out the classroom because they are being distracting or are incapable of completing an assignment. I have learned throughout this year alone that is just a cry for help. We make the work easier for the lower end students instead of continuing to challenging them to see positive growth. Learning partnerships was the area that resonated the most with me because without a student's trust and respect there is absolutely nothing you can do to help them in a positive way.

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All of the terms listed above are all terms used within the education system that helps  build and maintain structure. Discipline is defined by me as learning that their are consequences for your actions. Without discipline, you cannot have effective classroom management. Classroom management is any skill, trick, or routine the teacher uses to maintain order within a classroom. Community norms are the behaviors that are considered acceptable within a community. School Culture is things that usually happen within schools such as instruction time, electives, saying the pledge, walking in a straight lines and other things like that. Restorative justices are alternatives to traditional responses to wrong doings. Classroom management is the most important term to me because that is the biggest thing as an educator that I am still trying to navigate and master.

When thinking about this program this summer and the relationships I strive to have with my students, it is important to have one one conversations with students as opposed to calling attention to the misbehavior in front of everyone . By doing this, we could be encouraging the behavior or embarrassing the child to the point where we are unable to build trust

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A learning environment should be a teachable experience for both parties. I think its important to understand what your students can bring to you and how you can take those lessons learned and develop them into skills. Being culturally responsive is always been open-minded and adapting the environment to fit the needs of your students. Its imperative to understand what each students needs but also being able to help them achieve greater goals. The most important aspect that I connected with is taking responsibility to reduce students social-emotional stress from stereotype threat and microaggressions. Many students are intimidated because they don't feel a sense of connection wit the educator hence some don't enjoy going to school. Developing a learning partnership ensures that the students feel comfortable in knowing that this is a opportunity to enrich their minds and learn from others as well

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My kindergarten teacher had the strongest impact on my life. She allowed me to be authentically myself at all times. She recognized that I was more advanced than some of my peers for my age, and she continued to push me past what I felt my limits were. She greeted me every morning with a smile, and she always had a folder full of other work I could do if I finished my regular assignments too quickly. She also encouraged me to not forget about my weaknesses. She understood my perfectionist mindset while allowing me to see the beauty in failure. Once I moved on to the next grade she still checked in on me and encouraged me to never settle for just being good enough. The greatest thing is that even now we maintain contact through social media, and she is able to offer me advice on what it takes to be an educator in today’s society.

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To me, being a culturally responsive teacher means taking my students’ multifaceted identities into consideration when I am instructing them so that they can grow as learners and individuals. The 2nd practice area, learning partnerships, stood out to me most from the reading. I personally feel that when a student trusts you they are more likely to open up to you about external factors that may be hindering their ability to learn. In today’s society, many students are forced to grow up before they have truly experienced being children, so they are too distracted by life decisions to pay attention to the work in front of them. By gaining a student’s trust, I can give them the support that they might not have when they leave the classroom. I can then use that to encourage them to take risks within their education.

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Every Kid Needs a Champion LaTasha Rankine

The teacher who had the strongest impact in my life was my eight-grade math teacher Doctor Stoner. She not only gave me a passion a zeal for learning math, she made me realize I loved teaching also. Dr. Stoner forced me to not only join the tutoring club, she also persuaded me to join the math competition team. I felt that I could trust my teacher not only to guide my learning but to also tell me where I was going wrong and give me constructed feedback. Dr. Stoner not only showed us how to beat Math head on but also how to be respectful to one another and our teachers. Her classroom was like a sanctuary and a neutral ground where students were not judged and expected to be respectful to one another.

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Unfortunately, sometimes it is hard to be a culturally responsive teacher. It can be very awkward to talk to your students about the past of their ancestors. I personally try to create a ground where students understand that their past doesn’t have to dictate their future. I also let them know that just because bad things were done in the past doesn’t mean they have to occur now and that it’s up to us to make sure it doesn’t happen again. I think that it the first step to be a culturally responsive teacher. The second is making sure that the content in your class covers many races and many cultures. The third should be engaging students about why certain actions happen within our country and give students a chance to come up with solutions on their own.

I feel that all four of Hammond’s frameworks are needed to achieve not only a bond between students and teacher but also for students to gain independence in their individual thinking and reasoning. I do think the strongest of the four that have the greatest impact of achieving the goal is awareness and community of learners and learning environment. If that educators and policy makers need to be aware of what our students actually need. Hopefully being aware will allow a change that has been long overdue. I also think it is important for students to be in a space where they not only challenged but also where they feel safe or comfortable. It is up to create a space where there are cultural differences in the work that is taught and, in the conversation, had. It is also important to create a space where students can learn from their mistakes and understand what to do better next time in certain situations. This challenge will be hard for teachers to overcome, but necessary for the growth of all students.

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Discipline is a hard subject to conquer. Unfortunately, we did not all grow up together in an expensive house with parents that enough money and said I love you every day. We all grew up differently where there are unfortunate disadvantages in individual households. As we know the majority of behavior problems stem from home and what that child endures in his or hers environment. As educators we would love for every child to feel safe and wanted at home, but unfortunately we can’t. But, what teachers can do may just reverse this effect of the word discipline. Advocating for students to respect not only their selves but others should be a key norm and if you yourself practice your methods in front of students a change can occur. Words such as classroom management sounds like you are running a business, a business where you have no regard for student’s feelings. Words like Community norms and school culture on the other hand sounds as we are working together to make sure we give it our best effort.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t astonishing hearing about the three-year-old who was repeatedly suspended from school. This has been an epidemic that some people don’t even realize that they are contributing to. The school systems within our country have been slipping down a slope that leads to our children’s lives being devastated in their futures. The hardest part is how to solve a problem that has several levels steaming from the child’s environment to the education teaching ethics to the governmental educational policies. I think it’s important for anyone who is apart of education to take courses in child psychology. I had the opportunity to attend a school that had child psychology classes and gave instruction and information on what the child brain endures when it goes through trauma and how children adapt to the environment they must survive in whether social, emotional, or physical. There are reasons for why students “act out” and it ranges from just trying to get attention to being angry and hurt about something going on in their lives. To create a whole new era of community building it will take the community.

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In kindergarten, I was very shy and anxious. We had moved to the US a year and a half before starting school, my English was not as good as the other students', and I was in an unfamiliar place. Despite being 84 years old, Mrs. McRea was lively and vibrant. She noticed my shyness and quickly took me under her wing to make sure that I was making friends. She invested her time and energy after the school day to practice my English with her. She was so kind-hearted that when the time came for students to begin taking home the stuffed animal classroom "pet" tiger, she let me be the first to take him home. She understood my anxiety without even having to explain it to her. Her investment in my wellbeing has had a long-lasting effect and I learned so much about kindness and compassion that I will never forget.

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The teacher which had the strongest impact in my life was Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas. She was one of my teachers in middle school and has been influencing my life ever since because she is my mom. My mom comes home everyday from school, takes care of her family, and then gets up at four in the morning to do her lesson plans and prepare for a day at work. My mother is always smiling at school. She is so warm, friendly, and since she is hardworking, gives great lessons. Her class structure is fair. She gives plenty of grades some which are participation. I have personally seen the connections my mother makes with her students. She is loving, kind, and encouraging. I know she is many kids' champion. My mom is the reason I want to be a teacher. I want to share the same love, kindness, and knowledge she taught me with my future students!
-Hannah Thomas

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When I hear the words discipline and classroom management, the only connotation that comes to mind is order as it pertains to appropriate behavior and day to day instruction. The words community norms and school culture make me think about the influence of a particular environment on a student. Lastly, restorative justice makes me think about alternative consequences for what is deemed bad behavior. I really have a hard time thinking of other connotations for these words because in my school experience they really only had one meaning. I think that drawing a divide between community norms and school culture can be an interesting idea because often times the school emphasizes the values of the community. With the exception of discipline, I see all of these words on an equal level because in my mind they point towards overall school reform. The reason I exclude discipline is because I think that the word automatically implies punishment instead of the chance for growth.
This entire podcast hit so close to home in ways that I cannot even put into words. This question of how to deal with difficult students has crossed my mind so many times, and it has even come up in family conversations when I tell them about my career choice. However, I think that examples like Lyons Community School gives me hope. When working with youth at Breakthrough, I feel like communication will be extremely important. All the kids are coming into the classroom with differing situations, but they all need to learn. So if something is stopping them from learning, making time to talk to them about that barrier will be a goal of mine. I don't want to necessarily interrupt the class flow, but there should be a set time for students to recap what occurred during the day. I also have heard about the school to prison pipeline a lot within my own readings for school and it is something that is a nationwide issue. However, I think as educators we have to check our biases at all times so that we can remember the realities of the student when dealing with them as individuals. My two biggest takeaways from this podcast are that your own educational experiences will often inform how you respond in difficult situations and that you can’t allow fear to stop you from having the kids best interest in mind. I just need to figure out how to execute these in my methodology.

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My ninth grade American Government teacher Mr. Westmoreland made a huge impact in my academic career. I never was a fan of history and social studies but when I entered his classroom I was so eager and ready to learn. He was the type of teacher who made sure that the lesson plan for the day really connected to each of his students including me. He was the teacher who put his student's learning first. Learning from him was such a pleasure because he would go out his way just to make sure that we are ready for a simple quiz at the end of the week. Mr. Westmoreland cared very deeply about education and his students. He went on and left teacher to be more active in the education of other kids that he became a member of the Board of Education. He is the reason I am pursing a career in education. I hope to build connections with my students just like he did so that I will be able to leave an impact on my students.
- Erika Soriano

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To be a cultural responsible teacher to me means that an educator is aware of the education gap that exists and is dedicated to making classroom decisions that will help close this gap. So often it is easy to see teaching just as another job and go through the motions, but teaching has such a bigger impact on society than others realize. Teachers come in contact with students who need love, support, and encouragement, so to me being culturally responsible means recognizing this and working towards sharing these qualities of yourself with your students. This is why I think learning partnerships is so important to fostering student success in a classroom. Students may not being encouraged to do well in school at home by their parent(s) or guardian(s). Therefore, it should be a teachers responsibility to be a friend and a voice of encouragement a student may have never received.
-Miss Hannah Thomas

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Discipline is seen by many as punishment for bad behavior. To students discipline has a very bad connotation . Those who need discipline in school are automatically labelled as a bad kid. Thus, discipline or better yet needing discipline seen by others as bad. Classroom management is the act of running the classroom in an effective way. Classroom management is often seen by teachers has hard or impossible in areas of high poverty. However, this is a common misconception. Classrooms are very manageable if teachers are willing to teach student in a way that is best for them rather than teach traditionally.   Community norms are stressed traditions for a community of people. To some community norms are seen as very important and necessary and being different is seen as bad. Others understand that being different is okay and hate community norms for making some feel lesser in society. School culture are the customs that exist in the school because of the students. School culture is automatically viewed negatively if the school is low poverty and positively if the school is high poverty, and this wrong mindset contributes to the education gab. Restorative justice is an approach to justice in which the response to a crime is to organize a meeting between the victim and the offender.
After listening to this podcast, I will treat discipline completely differently. I realize that being too strict on rules and harsh on punishments such as sending people home from school for misbehavior is not going to help and might instead hurt the students in the long run. They will as a result feel like a bad kid. I think restorative justice is so important to implement in a classroom. It shows the student that you really care about them and that they do have a voice. This way you can talk to them and connect with them on a personal level. Most of the time kids act out in school because of what is happening at home. Talking to them and resolving the issue shows a form of encouragement that the students may not often receive in their life and I believe this will have a huge positive impact on their behavior.

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While I had some incredible teachers in both Middle School and High School, the first teacher that comes to mind is Mrs. Lanclos. She was my 7th, 8th, and 9th grade English teacher, and I attribute my ability to write to her. She challenged me and believed in me. She made me work hard, but cheered for me the whole way. She was consistent and fair, and she graded you based on your performance how you had improved individually, not compared to the class. She spent time investing in me inside and outside of the classroom, always willing to write recommendations or talk over big decisions. She taught me what it looks like to show up for students on an individual basis.
-Liz Autry

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To me, being a culturally responsive  teacher means connecting with students and learning about them and the various situations and experiences that they bring to the table. It means creating an adaptable environment and learning what works best for my students. It means having an understanding of disadvantages some or all of my students may be at and creating an environment where each student can learn and succeed, even if that means trying different methods of teaching. While each practice area can help you be a culturally responsive teacher, I think learning partnerships is especially helpful in getting to know your students. What I like most about learning partnerships is the creating of trust and respect that then allows you to hold students to higher expectations. This is one of the main things I want to implement in my classroom. Creating a safe space for students where they know that I'm their biggest cheerleader while using that to show them that they are capable of so much is a priority for me.
-Liz Autry

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"Discipline." "Classroom management." "Community norms." "School culture." "Restorative justice." Of these terms, I feel that discipline and restorative justice have more negative connotations in the education profession than the others. Both of these terms I relate more closely to the criminal justice system and seem harsh to apply to an education system that should be focused on the growth and well being of children.  I look at "community norms", "school culture", and "classroom management" all as things that a teacher must collaborate with his or her class to implement in a school setting, and as things that are much more student-centered.

The most poignant portion of the episode for me was the part where the teacher who had grown up in a very strict school setting that he detested had become a teacher, and he was discussing the fear he felt for his students. This is something that I have felt every day in the classroom. I worry about my students and what might happen to them outside of my classroom. It is something that I grappled with every single day of teaching my third grade class this last semester. It is difficult to push past those fears for the sake of your students' experiences within your classroom. One of my goals this summer is to find the balance between having high expectations of my students, but also allowing them to have fun and be children in my classroom.

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The teacher who was had the strongest impact on my life was my  high school English teacher, Mrs. Braxton. In high school, I was in the IB program, and at my school the program consisted mostly of Caucasian and Asian students. In addition, many of my teachers were Caucasian males; Mrs. Braxton was the only African-American woman that taught the IB curriculum at my school. In a program where I was a minority in nearly every way possible, I looked to Mrs. Braxton to be a safe space of sorts for me. In addition to pushing me to be the best writer, reader, and analyzer that I could be, and always making sure to challenge me academically, she was always there for me to talk to, confide in, and share my experiences with. Thanks to her, I didn't feel alone or alienated in high school, and her constant motivation and reassuring words were what kept me going on my worst days. Mrs. Braxton is a teacher that I will forever be grateful for and never forget.

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Being a culturally responsive teacher means understanding and respecting a student’s background in such a way that it will be utilized to help further rather than hinder the student. A culturally responsive teacher must not necessarily share the same background as the student, but must have an open mind and an open heart in order to help the student to the best of his or her ability.
The practice area that resonated the most with me is the learning partnerships. My psychology background has opened my eyes to the importance of forging connections with people, and the classes I have taken in child psychology have shown me that this is even more imperative for children. The component of the learning partnerships area that stood out to me the most was that of self-efficacy. It is important for children to not only have self-efficacy, but also to maintain relationships with peers and mentors that build their self-efficacy.

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My high school years were marked by incredible teachers--and incredible relationships with those teachers, and for that I'm thankful. However, there is one teacher that comes to my mind every time I am asked about impact and that is my high school history teacher, Mrs. Briggs. I met Mrs. Briggs in my first ever AP class, AP World History, my sophomore year of high school. For most of us, it was the first time we had ever been tasked with that kind of work, and I know that I struggled with this increased responsibility and rigor; the first failing grade I ever got was on Briggs' first test, and she asked me to talk to her after class because she noticed that I was holding back tears looking at my exam paper. She comforted me, aided me, reassured me of my ability and reminded me that my worth is not in a grade. Because of that one interaction only a month into knowing her, she became my confidant at school. Throughout the next three years of my high school career, I looked to Briggs when I had doubts or hardships. Even after I graduated, she was at my side during the hardest point of my life during my freshman year of college. In the six years that I have known Mrs. Briggs, she has continued to be a source of encouragement and a champion for my betterment; she takes the time to remind me, even when she doesn't see me, that someone is proud of me and recognizes my worth. And that is something that has been invaluable to me as I've grown and adapted to all different challenges in life.

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The teacher that had the biggest impact on my life, was my high school French teacher Madame Dubrulle. Before I was in her class I wasn’t quite sure what I was good at and I was just passing classes with no real interest in them. However, she was the one that helped me realize the gift I have for learning languages, especially French. She saw it in me so she built a personal relationship with me and it made me want to do better. Once I actually started to apply myself I saw that I was not just good at it, but I was extremely passionate about it. I still speak to her weekly and visit her every time I come home for breaks. What makes our relationship the most impactful is that she allowed me to find my passions and she supported me throughout that entire process.

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To me culturally responsive teaching is recognizing and positively responding to the intellectual culture of the students in the class. Relating to students in this way increases the teachers’ connection with students and gives them the tools necessary to process new information more effectively. The area that resonates with me the most with me is Community of Learners and Learning Environment; because students often can feel discouraged when they are not catching on or they are afraid to ask questions in front of other students, it is important to create an environment in which the students feel it is free to share and grow together. Creating a classroom culture with intellectual and social tolerance is essential in order for students to respond positively to new material. Moreover, it will give the students a different way to redirect negative behavior, making them closer to each other and the teacher as well.

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When considering the differences between discipline, community norms, school culture and restorative justice, it is important to differentiate their meanings and their effect on students. Discipline connotes a more negative meaning because it uses punishment to create obedience. Whereas, community norms, school culture and restorative justice are alternative ways to influence students to behave positively. In particular, restorative justice aims to rehabilitate bad behavior through building relationships with the student, creating a more open dialogue that promotes personal growth inside and outside of the classroom.

One of the most memorable segments from the podcast was when the reporter was interviewing some of the students from a Restorative Justice school in Detroit, particularly Nelson. The part that was most telling about the benefits of utilizing this method was when Nelson and the Dean discussed their history together and how it developed into a strong relationship. The development of Nelson over time showed me that having an open dialogue with my students will be one of my most valuable tools in promoting their academic and personal growth. This podcast also implicated to me that some of the more traditionally stern methods of maintaining control are some of the least effective and detrimental to students. However, another valuable piece of advice from this podcast was to remember what it was like when I was that age in school and to treat the students accordingly.

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"Discipline." "Classroom management." "Community norms." "School culture." "Restorative justice."

Reading these words, especially the word “discipline,” leaves me feeling a bit unsettled. After all, much of my school environment up to this point has taught me to fear discipline, to be on my best behavior so that I would not disrupt the classroom. If the teacher had to resort to classroom management, then that meant we were definitely doing something wrong, and we would definitely be disciplined. I think this can be a really damaging thing—like in my case, it teaches students to fear their teachers, to fear being corrected. I do think this speaks to a greater issue with how we deliver discipline and classroom management, because these are not things that should necessarily be feared or come with a negative connotation. Rather, they’re important, like all of these words are, for ensuring that a classroom is a positive, safe, and productive environment for students; they are necessary in correcting behaviors that disrupt this type of environment, yet they should not be fear tactics. I think, as teachers and students, it is important to have a respectful and positive relationship with these words.

The first story in this episode really stuck out to me because I spent last summer working with preschool students, much like JJ. The idea that we as teachers have the ability to produce these negative behaviors by how we treat students is really striking, in my opinion. It was a story that made me look back on how I approached managing a classroom and how I might have perpetuated—or even produced—the exact behaviors I wanted to prevent; it also forces us to confront the uncomfortable truth of how people of color are even more at risk of these responses from teachers. In my summer at Breakthrough, I want to keep this story of JJ in my mind—he is just a child whose educational experience might be completely changed by reinforcements that he is “bad”. I hope to remember that and to always be gracious with students, even in my attempts to discipline, manage a classroom, and promote a positive culture. It is important to understand the responsibilities that I have and the implications of my actions. I hope that the students I encounter this summer t Breakthrough don’t leave with the negative connotations associated with those words.

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Out of the words listed, discipline has the most negative connotation. Discipline usually infers strict punishment that can often instigate the bad behavior that a teacher is trying to prevent from happening again. Discipline stands out from the other terms because classroom management, community norms, school culture, and restorative justice are things that can be changed to be more positive, but discipline, to me, does not have any positive associations. School culture, classroom management, and community norms are all things that can be changed by adults and children through a collaborative effort, but discipline for wrongdoing lies in the hands of the adult.

The story that struck me the most was towards the beginning of the broadcast about JJ and his mother Tunette Powell. JJ’s suspensions came from racism, and for a mild-mannered kid like JJ to be suspended for far less aggressive acts than what the white children in his class had done only furthered this thought. As Tunette said, she never felt less aggressive or calmer once she went back to school after being suspended. There is an issue with the way that these teachers were choosing to discipline the black children. I want to have open conversations with my students at Breakthrough. The more open dialogue, and the more respect that the children feel from me, the better of a classroom environment and school culture there will be. Similarly, if dialogue is maintained, this sets a precedent for community norms.

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Typically, discipline has a negative and unhappy connotation associated with it, as it usually means a detention, in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, or another punishment is soon to be enforced. In some worst case scenarios in and outside of school, it can even mean that some form of physical, emotional or mental punishment is on the verge of coming into play. Depending on the communities in which the student lives and the school they attend is located in, community norms and school culture can also have negative associations to them. The enforcement of these norms and cultures also often makes it difficult to encourage and successfully exhibit individuality, personal freedom and decision making, and several other topics. In my opinion, the only two terms in this list that are more or less appropriate are classroom management and restorative justice. Classroom management is a slippery slope, because it can have a drastically different meaning to whoever the teacher enforcing it is. In some instances, it can mean talking with children and working together to solve issues inside the classroom to help education continue smoothly. In other cases, however, teachers can use it as a reason to suspend or give detention to a “trouble-making” student in an effort to force them out of the classroom so that they can “effectively manage and teach their class”. Restorative justice is on the rise in school systems worldwide, and it is widely viewed as a healthy and more successful alternative to disciplinary methods such as suspension, detention, or even expulsion. Restorative justice makes more of an effort to find the root cause of misbehaving in children, and then encourages the school, the student, and the student’s family/support system to all work together in resolving the problem. In my opinion, it’s one of the best methods of “disciplining students” that exists at this time.

This podcast was truly an eye-opener to me about disciplinary systems and methods in school systems worldwide. JJ’s story saddened me deeply, because it showed how the school-to-prison pipeline can be and is enforced on minority students from such a young age. It showed me that his instructors didn’t give him a fair chance to be successful from the very beginning of his academic career, and this mentality and outlook from the people who are meant to encourage and support students of all ages is absolutely unacceptable. The second podcast detailed the negative ramifications of unfair and unnecessary discipline in the school system, and it talked about the long-lasting negative effects that inadequate classroom management can have on students as they matriculate through life. The third discussed restorative justice, and I think it did a great job of touching on the positives and negatives associated with it. However, after considering all of these disciplinary methods, restorative justice is the one that I will be sure to use when dealing with a child who might be acting out. While it does have its downfalls, it also provides students with a chance to turn their behavior around and discuss the reasoning behind their actions with others. Unfortunately, as the podcast mentioned, it doesn’t prepare children for the cruel reality of America’s criminal justice system. Nonetheless, restorative justice is the most productive disciplinary method for students in my opinion.

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Culturally responsive teaching is to both address and utilize students' backgrounds in cultures in the classroom. Doing so in a way that uses the diverse identities of students to create a classroom environment where they are challenged and motivated to learn and engage deeply, rather than withholding opportunities to learn due to cultural differences and perceived constraints.
The practice area that stood out to me the most was the awareness, primarily because in every situation, awareness is the first step to fixing or avoiding a problem. The awareness practice area calls on teachers to acknowledge their own position relative to the students; what is your privilege, your advantage, your position in society that makes you think in such a way? Furthermore, what are your students'? Being aware of these things allows for educators to adapt their teaching style and self-correct their own behaviors which could act as hindrances to student learning and achievement. Awareness allows for educators to realize why they think a certain way, or why they "undervalue" a student's knowledge/skills and take the first necessary step to ensuring each student is offered the opportunity to succeed and grow.

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I think that all of these words now have a negative connotation to them. Often times when I   am asked about my career plans, Im told "wow you must be patient" or "good luck with that." This is the exact thinking that leads us to the various situations that were discussed. In a classroom setting discipline is thought of as detention, suspension and other negative things when it could also mean trying to implement positive reinforcements. As an educator I   believe that you have the opportunity to give each of these words the connotation you would like them to have through the environment you set.

Every student is different and has different needs. As much as an educator would like to be prepared and have the answer to each situation, I  believe that every situation does not deserve the same response but that they should all be appropriate. I  definitely think that JJ's story touched me the most and completely opened my eyes to a system that is built to tear down minorities. His reputation was already set before he begun his educational career.

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To be a culturally responsive teacher means to understand and respect a student’s learning  background  and be aware that not all students learn the same. A culturally responsive teacher responds positively to connect what the student knows to new concepts and content in order to promote the student's learning process. The practice area that resonated with me the most would be the Learning Partnerships because teachers play a vital role in the education of a student. Teachers are more than teachers. It is important for students to know and understand that they have a support system. Teachers are to "support each student to take greater ownership for his/her learning."  This plays a huge factor in the learning partnerships area.
- Erika Soriano

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Each time I come visit GA during my school breaks, I always make sure to visit my old high school to say hello to my AP Literature teacher, Ms. Vax. Even after graduating high school, Ms. Vax has supported and encouraged me to continue obtaining my education. During high school, I was not the most motivated or interested student. There were school years when I missed over 30 days of school and days when I completely zoned out during classes. My experiences of being a part of a family who wasn’t in a position to place high importance on education influenced me to value obtaining a job over obtaining my diploma. I didn’t see a future that placed me in college. I couldn’t understand how someone of my economic class could afford to go to college and, most importantly, I didn’t feel like I was capable or worthy of being granted a scholarship. However, during my sophomore year, I took a class with Ms. Vax. She was very open about accepting everyone and worked hard to create a safe space in the classroom. Ms. Vax, being a white middle class woman who taught at a predominantly latinx school, was always open to learning and listening about the issues our community was plagued with that ultimately didn’t affect her in the same way. I found comfort in her vision to create a classroom where everyone’s voices were valued. Alongside being my teacher, she was also the supervisor of the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), which I sometimes attended after school. Her ability to make others feel accepted and welcomed was something that I really appreciated. She spoke to her students about issues that affected us and made tangible efforts to help in any way she could. Additionally, she motivated me academically. I began writing essays in class (in sophomore and senior year) that she would grade and write really great responses to. She would write long messages responding to what I wrote that helped me begin to critically examine the material I was working with. It was encouraging to see that my writing was worthy of long responses. Little things that Ms. Vax did, alongside always pushing the idea of college to her students, made me realize the importance of education. It was difficult for me to view education as the way out of the cycle my family and I were beginning to get stuck in, but with the help of teachers like Ms. Vax, I began to become exposed to my own potential and how I can help my family through following my dreams.

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"Climbing Out of The Gap" Response - Community Building

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"Climbing Out of The Gap" Response - Community Building

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Culturally responsive teaching is the way an educator is able to acknowledge the ways their students’ culture cultivates their methods of learning and understanding how to effectively respond in order to help students gain the necessary skills to begin to critically and creatively analyze and process information. Additionally, culturally responsive thinking places an emphasis in teacher-student relationships and the importance of classroom safe spaces. Culturally responsive teaching includes four areas of practice: awareness, learning partnerships, information processing, and community building. Community building places an importance on safe spaces. In my own experiences, my participation in classroom discussions was very dependent on whether or not I felt comfortable speaking in class. I believe that community building plays a huge role in allowing students the space to vocally articulate their ideas to others and allowing others to critically respond in a productive manner. Building a safe space reinforces the idea to students that their voices and thoughts are valued. Students need to feel that their opinions and thoughts matter and that they won't feel judged for thinking a certain way. Safe spaces also provide the opportunity for stereotypes to not be perpetuated and encourages. Community building is necessary for providing students the agency to vocalize their thoughts and feel supported in an academic environment.

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The teacher who had the most impact on my life was my high school Spanish teacher. Out of 4 Spanish classes, I had her 3 times out of the four.  I grew up bilingual, and took Spanish to improve my speaking/reading skills, but oftentimes I found myself bored in her classes. She recognized that I wasn't being challenged enough and took her own time to personally enrich me with literature and music. In her, I found an adult in my life that I trusted. I was going through a lot in high school, she took me under her wing and gave me support when I didn't receive it. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be in college. She inspired me and fostered a love for foreign language, and now I am studying to be a high school Spanish teacher as well.

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To be a culturally responsive teacher, is a teacher who engages the WHOLE class. They address and take into account each and every students background and culture and find creative ways to connect to all their students. They find ways to positively promote the learning of each and every diverse individual and use it to create a classroom environment that motivates its students.  Of the four techniques used to create culturally responsive teaching, I think creating an environment that cultivates learning and encourages students to explore their understanding of content.
There is a saying that "Whoever is doing the most talking is doing the most learning," and from my own experience as a student that is very true. in my opinion this is due to how comfortable a student feels in a classroom. If you do not feel as though the space you are in is a safe space to learn and grow without being shamed, you are not going to speak, and in turn are not fully developing your content knowledge.
It is imperative to create a space where students feel they have a voice, and will be heard without judgement. Creating a classroom that does that, will give students the courage to use their voice not only in the classroom, but when it comes to other matters they may face.

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In my opinion, being a culturally responsive teacher means being able to understand the culture of both your students and the ways in which they learn best. In order for a teacher to be considered culturally responsive, they must understand that every child learns differently and that a main part of how much and what children learn comes from their level of comfort within the classroom. Being culturally responsive is also heavily dependent on understanding the culture of your students and being able to use that understanding to improve both your connection to the student and their connection to the material that they're learning.
The practice area that resonated with me the most was Informational Processing. I feel like relating new content and information to cultural events and metaphors is one of the best ways for students to be able to effectively learn and comprehend, but also for them to be able to feel like their classroom is a safe space. Additionally, this process allows students to genuinely connect with and appreciate new material in relation to their cultures, and it makes both teaching and the overall relationship between teachers and students much more effective.

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For me, I believe specific phrases used by teachers or administration can make or break a classroom environment, both for the teacher and the student. Using the terms 'classroom management' or 'discipline' immediately turn a classroom into a tense atmosphere, in my experience. Teachers tend not to like the idea of managing their students, regardless of age. Discipline tends to tell students that they are there to be reprimanded, not to learn, especially when rules are restated multiple times after day one. For me, growing up, discipline is what my mother gave us when we disobeyed, or discipline is what I had when it came to being on time with my work. There was no positive connotation to the word discipline, but I know it's necessary when it comes to establishing good habits such as studying or not breaking the rules. The term school culture came around when I was in high school, talking about behaviors of students and their correspondence with the standards set by the administration. School culture was not only following rules, going to class, and listening to your teachers, but sports, choir, and the like. I don't mind the word discipline or school culture. When it comes to the term 'restorative justice',  most students do not know what restorative justice is because the idea or concept is not explained nor used in schools. This method should be used more often. Being able to talk to a student one-on-one to discuss the problem can help you get to the very root of the problem and potentially fix it instead of merely punishing for the action.  I think this also would prevent unnecessary, unjustified, or unreasonable punishment that would cause students to resent coming to school, especially in terms of minority students. When focusing on minority students, discipline does play an aspect in the school to prison pipeline, and this idea struck too close to home for me this past January with my younger brother. However, the word that sticks out for me like a sore thumb and should not be used is 'community norms.'  The term 'community norms' establishes and assumes that there is a social or societal norm that everyone should know. One cannot expect a child has been taught a specific rule if they come from a background or culture where that rule has not been shown or does not apply.

Through this podcast, it resonated with me that as a minority student I did, in fact, worry about being punished more than my classmates. It also made me establish a sense that I needed to have perfect behavior, and maybe I would not get in trouble. Two, it made me think about how effective punishment was in my classes as a middle and high school student and how much the scolded student receiving reprimanding in front of their classmates hated it and the teacher afterward. I think it is always positive to have a one-on-one conversation with students about their behavior because there is no one watching them, and they may even be more honest with you. However, in some instances, I believe there should be an additional teacher; that way, someone can back up what was said in the conversation, should a situation ever arise. I feel as well that the punishment should fit the offense. Whether in a positive or negative case, communication will always be critical with a student. However, as for me as a teacher this summer, I want to be able to personalize the help I give to each of my students that befits them and makes for a positive classroom environment. I want them to be able to have their freedom, but also be willing and happy to learn, share, and discuss with their classmates. I also want them to be able to trust me, both academically and emotionally if an incident occurs. I want to be able to build my students up and establish a healthy community for them to learn, feel safe, and be happy to participate.

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Mr. Coates was my 11th grade AP Economics teacher. At the time I was his student, my classmates and I had begun our IB Diploma course sequence. As one of the only black people, let alone black woman, in a majority white space, I typically found that my voice, my importance, and my presence were overlooked by most of my teachers.  However, in Mr. Coates' Economics class, where I sat myself in the back of the room on the first day of classes, I was seen and I was heard. The very first day of classes, when everybody was introducing themselves with their name, and a fun fact about them, Mr. Coates listened to and remember everything that each students said. I mentioned that I was in the band and he loved to hear that. From that day forth, he never forgot my name, and always remembered that I was in band. Having shown this attention to my life, in later conversations, I talked with him more about my other classes, and sports, and college plans. The relationship that was fostered between Mr. Coates and I translated easily into the actual course, as I was one of the top performers in the class, despite the rigor. Typically, in the social sciences/humanities aspects of school, I tend to perform at an average level. But with Econ, and with Mr. Coates, I excelled. I got an A in the class and high scores on my Econ AP exams as well. I can attribute both to Mr. Coates seeing me as a person rather than a beacon to spew facts into.

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A culturally responsive teacher, to me, is a teacher that understands all of the differing cultural, social, and ethnic values and patterns of each individual student that they instruct. Once a teacher has an understanding of these things, they then construct their lesson and instruction to cater to these values. By doing this, teachers are able to reach students in a way that they are already comfortable with, and getting through to students is one of, if not the most, important thing that teachers should do. Among the 4 Practice Areas described in the article, the 3rd area, Information Processing, stood out to me the most. This practice area emphasizes that teachers know how to strengthen and expand students' intellective capacity, using their understanding of the students' cultural backgrounds to mediate students learning based on what they know, so that they can engage in deeper, more complex learning. This Practice Area combines getting through to the students personally and delivering content to the students, and this combination is most ideal for having a productive learning environment.

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To me, both “discipline” and “classroom management” have more negative connotations, in that they involve some sort of punishment (e.g. suspension, expulsion, etc.), although maybe classroom management is more broad in that it encompasses things that you do to avoid suspending or expelling students. Also I think classroom management is about setting expectations from the beginning in order to keep control of the class. Then on the opposite side of “discipline” is “restorative justice” which to me, means not punishing kids, but instead trying to help them learn from mistakes and come to positive conclusions. While I think this idea is nice is theory, it also feels really time intensive, in a way that most teachers don’t have. “Community norms” and “school culture” are about how the entire school approaches disciplining students, and it is something that stems more from the administration rather than the teachers.

The part of the podcast that made the biggest impact on me, was the discussion of restorative justice at Lyon. I think they perfectly brought up the issue with restorative justice which is that while it may work in the context of a school, it doesn’t usually in real life. That being said, I think the idea of talking through issues and trying to get to the root of it, instead of just punishing kids and moving on, is really important, and something that I want to try to do in my own classroom. However, I think there’s a fine line between doing that, and being taken advantage or losing learning time. So it’s definitely something I will think about this summer, as I try to find a good balance.

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My twelfth-grade high school teacher, Ms. Montooth had the strongest impact on me. Her method of teaching was unlike any other. It was evident that she was passionate about her job and cared about her students. She only taught general level courses even though she was qualified to teach higher level course because she knew students who did not perform well academically just needed an extra boost. She always spoke to the class and not at the class. She always showed respect and made the class feel like we were capable of anything. She always called us scholars and encouraged us to do better if we didn’t perform well. She made the class enjoyable by having student participation and allowed student input on the lessons. The most notable thing that she did was that she always treated us with respect and reminded us that we were capable of succeeding. The way she carried herself and her interactions with students was a new experience but definitely a life changing one.

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To me, a culturally responsive teacher is someone who makes an effort to understand the complexity of each student, whether it's ethnical, cultural, social, and etc. From this understanding, the teacher is able to meet the student half way and curate a learning style that the student can most identify with. Out of the four practice areas, learning partnership resonated the most with me. I believe that being a teacher isn't about being in a position where you are above/superior to your students. Rather, I believe the teacher can learn from the students as often as the students can learn from the teacher. I look up to Chicago-based educator, Valencia D. Clay, as an example of successfully creating a learning partnership. She's vulnerable with her students in a professional way that also let's them know she understand what they are going through. From here, she pushes them to be better for themselves, while offering the supportive environment to do so. Learning partnerships are important for a student's long term success in school, because they know someone is always rooting for them.
-Susana R. L.

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The teacher that had the most impact on me was my AP Environmental Science teacher. His name is Mr. Sheffield, and he was also my coach for Science Olympiad, which I participated in for the latter three years of my high school career. He was a hard grader, gave intense work, and five question-random quizzes on a list of 350 words.  However, it was through him that taught me endurance for other AP classes and my current college courses. He also taught me to stick to commitments and try new things, regardless of how afraid I was of them. He helped me reassure my integrity and confidence as I was going against partner teams by myself. Most students did not like him because he pushed his students out of his comfort zone, but I was glad I had him. To my surprise, when I graduated, he told me the only reason why he stuck around at my high school was for me and my constant dedication to Science Olympiad, and he was waiting for me to graduate. He is like a second dad to me, and he's taught me lessons that I will never forget and always use.

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One teacher that has made the biggest impact on my life was my former AP Lang/IB Lang teacher, Mrs. Hernandez. I took Mrs. Hernandez as a sophomore for AP Language and took her again for IB Lang for two years my final two years at Westlake High School. When I first enrolled in  her class, she had the reputation at Westlake for being one of the hardest teachers at Westlake High School. While I was in her class, she assigned an essay to write each class period at the beginning of class. This alone made her class really difficult as it forced me to improve my writing skills. As my sophomore year progressed , I understood the method behind her madness. In fact, Mrs. Hernandez pushed her students to their limits because she wanted us to be better writers and be prepared for the struggles of college. One time she explained how oftentimes students of color become overwhelmed with their first year of college because of the difficulties of adjusting to different academic expectations and the social adjustment. All in all, she pushed us to become better writers, better leaders, better advocates of ourselves and others. Through all the ten page essays, all the group project assignments, and rigorous writing assignments, she pushed us to see our world from a different perspective and create a better world. Because of Mrs. Hernandez’s investment into me, I was able to get accepted into The George Washington University as a Posse Scholar. Because of Mrs. Hernandez, I have completely changed from my shy 10th grade self into a confident college sophomore.

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Culturally- Responsive Teaching is an inclusive approach that embraces each student’s cultural and social background and uses constructive teaching strategies to connect students to new ideas and concepts through their unique background. In broader terms, it means having an understanding of each student in your class and knowing that each student will come from different socioeconomic statuses and different cultures. Instead of focusing on the differences in this diverse class, this approach would use the diversity of the class to its advantage to create an enriching classroom.

One practice area  that really stood out to me was the Community of Learners and Learning Environment. To me, this particular practice area allows students’ voices to be heard and allows for a partnership between the students and the teacher. The teacher serves as the moderator by establishing a classroom culture of respect and as a safe space for all students. All in all, the culture drives the learning in the classroom and allows it to flourish.

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“Discipline”, “Classroom Management”, “Community Norms”, “School Culture”, “Restorative Justice” are just few of the trendy catch phrases that are thrown around by educators. Depending on the context of the situation, these phrases can have very different meanings. For instance, phrases like “Discipline”, “Restorative Justice”, and  “Classroom Management” could have negative connotations that could imply a classroom environment that is not conducive to learning or allows students to express themselves. On the other hand, phrases like Community Norms and School Culture could imply environments that are productive, conducive to learning, and are safe spaces for children.

One episode that really struck me was the Talking Cure. This episode really struck me because the idea was really innovative and introduced the idea of avoiding traditional norms of punishment such as detentions and suspensions. Through my time with Breakthrough, I will try to use some of the methods mentioned in the Talking Cure.

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A culturally responsive teacher is one that is able to recognize disparities (whether it be cultural, racial, or economic) and is able to work as a team with the student to surpass any impediments that result. They do so by building a relationship with the student to the point where they feel comfortable being academically challenged. The practice area about learning partnership resonated the most with me because as a student myself I have realized that this part is vital to learning. In the classes where I was intimidated by the teacher, I didn’t feel comfortable participating or asking questions, and I struggled in silence. I performed the best academically when I felt comfortable with the teacher. So, I know firsthand how beneficial it is to have a teacher that helps you overcome the fears of self-doubt and failing that often times is associated with learning and critical thinking.

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Mr. Zamora was my middle school social studies teacher in 7th and 8th grade. I prayed for a teacher who would help me grow as a person the summer before the 7th grade. Mr. Zamora was my homeroom teacher that year. He was the second Latin American-descendant teacher I had. For me, this was important, because he represented a future for me to also become college educated. I asked a lot of questions during class and he would never make fun of me for asking so many questions. One day, we were talking about a topic and I asked a question that puzzled everyone. Instead of making up an answer, he chose to honestly respond by saying "I don't know the answer." This made me realize that teachers are also humans who are learning alongside us. On a different day in class, a fellow classmate addressed me with a derogatory term. I became an emotional wreck; Mr. Zamora quickly noticed and professionally stood up for me when I was too afraid to do so. My last memory of him was on a different day in class when we were talking casually. He told me I would be the future president of the United States. He truly made me grow as a person and realize the potential I have to become who I want to be for myself and others. He was my champion.

-Susana R. L.

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The terms mentioned above all have the issue of meaning different things to different people. Many people confuse the word “discipline” with the word punishment. They misunderstand the idea of discipline and instead of seeing it as how to correct or guide behavior, many assume it is about implementing negative consequences. Disciple has an especially negative connotation for children and adolescents, because in their eyes it is about being restricted or controlled in some way. “Classroom management” is a phrase that may differ between adults as far as what the definition of management is. For some, management may simply be making sure all the children are in one piece. Another person may see management as having a certain level of control over the children. “Community norms” stood out to me as a phrase because it is not something I hear about very often. At first glance it seems self-explanatory, but after further consideration it seems like a phrase that would really emphasize the subjectiveness of “norms” in general. It would seem obvious that one community’s norms could greatly differ from others, but I think having this term helps to bring that to the attention of educators. “School culture” seemed like an awkward phrase to me, and difficult to really define. I would think school culture would depend more on the culture of the surrounding community and the people inside the school. I personally find it difficult to really place what a “school culture” would be. “Restorative justice” is a term that I would consider helpful in guiding a school’s discipline standards because it seems to give a sort of guideline as to what the goal of any discipline is. I do think it would be important to discuss exactly what this term would mean and look like within the classroom.

The podcast really opened my eyes to another level that teachers have to work through when teaching. It is more than a lesson plan or educating them to help them make it into college. As the podcast mentioned, teachers are preparing these children for the world. The world is not fair, easy or simple. This podcast illustrates how guidance and discipline goes beyond the classroom, and that there are real world implications when implementing a certain “school culture”.  Personally, I think an important factor emphasized in this podcast is communication, and effective communication is a strong value of mine as well. It is important to be able to talk so that people will listen and listen so that people will talk. My goal for this fellowship is to help the students participating in Breakthrough Atlanta learn better communication skills, through direct teaching and by making myself a personal example.

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To me, both discipline and classroom management seem to have negative connotations in our current classrooms. Discipline is often equated with a punishment or being in trouble, and classroom management seems to often include discipline. Depending on the context, I think restorative justice, community norms, and school culture can have positive connotations, but you have to use them appropriately. I think restorative justice, community norms, and school culture can be used to positively influence behavior in students. Rather than punishing students, you can have conversations with them about the kind of culture you want to create at the school and whether their current behavior is appropriate given that culture. All of these words/phrases can be used in both positive or negative ways depending on the context.

I really enjoyed listening to the segment of the podcast called "The Talking Cure." Over the past few years, I've worked with students from a variety of different backgrounds, but generally speaking, majority of them were from low-income, minority backgrounds and were in a school system where they were severely underserved. "The Talking Cure" put into words something that I tried to use in every classroom I was in. I like that it talked about viewing students through a long-term lens, and that it's not going to be just one conversation with students. Students will have bad days, and they may hate being in class everyday; however, I hope that this summer I'm able to provide an environment for each of my students where they feel heard, even if they hate the subject I teach. I also love the idea of conflict resolution involving conversations and sharing feelings, and I plan to implement both of those things as a Breakthrough teacher. I think making students feel heard is an important part of conflict resolution, and I want each of my students to feel heard generally speaking, but especially when conflict arises.

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To me, being a culturally responsive teacher means being aware of any disadvantages my students face, how that can affect them in the classroom. I need to be aware and work to help my disadvantaged students in any way that I can. The area that resonated with me the most was learning partnerships because, in order to create independent learners and positively affect students, it is important to build trust and hold students to high standards.

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Discipline tends to have a negative connotation. It is typically used when students have done something wrong or disobeyed a rule. Because it has a negative connotation, I do not think it is very appropriate to use. When a student has done something wrong, I think time to reflect about their actions is important and a proactive action should be done to identify the reason behind the behavior to prevent a re-occurrence. Classroom management has a positive connotation. It sounds like an umbrella term for how a classroom is structured. Community norms doesn’t seem to have a negative or positive connotation. I think it is appropriate to use to be educated about one’s environment. School culture seems to have a negative connotation. The education system often times appears intimidating to students. However, school culture is an important topic to discuss for continuous improvements. Restorative justice appears to have a positive connotation because it sounds like wrongs are being corrected.
Something that resonated was that we are producing “bad kids” through our disciplinary system. It is often thought that if the “bad kids” were removed, the “good kids” could learn. However, through consistent punishment for breaking rules, like no hats in the classroom, kids begin to believe they are bad. Reinforcing that mind set doesn’t resolve the issue; it only makes the situation worse. Listening to the long-term implications that ineffective approaches can have reinforces the importance of effective communication with students to be proactive with their learning. This also reminded me to be considerate because often times students can act out because of their personal life. School alone can be stressful, so teachers shouldn’t be an additional impediment to learning. I am aware that students will deflect their emotions and may misbehave. So, at Breakthrough I intend on focusing on communication so that there is mutual respect to promote effective learning.

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A teacher who had a great impact on my life is my high school chemistry teacher Mr. Berryman. I was struggling in his class at the beginning of the year and he went out of his way to meet with me to create a plan of how to succeed. He spent countless hours with me after school to go over concepts that I didn’t understand. He never made me feel discouraged, he only focused on the improvements I was making in his class. If I didn’t understand something in class that day, he would think of creative ways to teach the topic differently. His positive energy and patience had a lasting impact on me. He truly believed in understanding the material being more important than the grade in the class. Even though I struggled in that class I felt like I learned more and took ownership of my education.

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When I think about the connotations of words like "discipline" and "classroom management," to me, there is a negative connotation, especially words like "restorative justice." In a classroom environment, a student who is acting out or misbehaving is likely experiencing something negative in their personal life. By punishing a student for misbehaving without any considerations for what the student may be experiencing outside the classroom, or without considering that perhaps they feel stressed or too challenged in the classroom and to avoid work they misbehave, we teach the student that the adults they are supposed to trust don't truly care, in my opinion. I do feel that the term "classroom management" is much more appropriate than words like "restorative justice," because it implies that the educator is attempting to keep order in a classroom, unlike the other term, which to me implies that the student is punished only in the name of justice.
After listening to the episode, I realize that I assumed the meaning of "restorative justice," and I was wrong. Like the TED talk Rita Pierson gave, it's important to recognize when you have made a mistake. However, in my opinion, the name itself implies to me that the "restoring" that was happening was restoring peace in the classroom by punishing a student, not a conversation with the student about the implications, what is going on, what can be done differently, like I suggested in my prior paragraph. It was not surprising to me that students of color are punished more often and disproportionately compared to white students, however, I was shocked when listening to act three and hearing about what happened to Nelson and Kamani, being arrested unfairly at such a young age for something so minor, and the rest of the students NOT being shocked.  If any situation arises during my time at Breakthrough, I would try restorative justice and get to the bottom of the situation before getting upset or frustrated with a student before I know what is going on.

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After listening to Rita Pierson’s TED talk about the importance of building relationships with your students, I immediately thought of my college professor, Dr. Ventura. Dr. Ventura was one of my English professors during my sophomore year at Spelman College. Within the first two weeks of her class, I immediately knew that this course was going to be a challenging one for me. Within our first few days, Dr. Ventura emphasized the importance of students actively participating in class discussion which occurred during every class session. I challenged with the material which hindered my participation in class discussions. Once Dr. Ventura realized this, she reached out to me expressing her concerns and urging me to set up a meeting with her.

Her reaching out meant a lot to me; it was refreshing to know that I wasn’t just a number and that she actually valued my growth as a student. After attending this first meeting with Dr. Ventura, her and I immediately began to bond. She expressed genuine care for her students and their well-being, which was made evident not only through my relationship with her, but also through her relationships with other students. Throughout the semester, Dr. Ventura became an important point of reference for me in the English department.
-Destiny Reese

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Being a culturally responsive teacher to me means using culture as agency within the classroom. I’m not referring to agency as “power” in this sense, but instead as instrumentality, or serving as a means to an end. Employing cultural sensitivity, teachers can more effectively teach students. Relatability, an important aspect of being a culturally responsive teacher, allows for students to better understand and master material, helping to create independent learners. Like mentioned in the text, being a culturally responsive teacher also means creating a safe space for students and their learning. In order to for a safe space to be created, teachers must be aware of the spaces they occupy and the needs of students within those spaces, which is why I believe awareness to be the most crucial practice of culturally responsive teaching. Awareness, in the text, is referred to as placing instruction within the larger sociopolitical context. I think that this is important as it allows teachers to understand the injustices faced by certain groups of students and how systemic practices act to keep these injustices in place. As today’s education system plays a vital role in upholding these injustices, strategic classroom practices are necessary in bridging the gap amongst students, which can only be done through educators who are well-aware larger sociopolitical contexts and their role in our education system.

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All of the above terms are related as they are all important aspects of productive classroom environments. Discipline, as it relates to classroom management, is appropriate as it establishes a code of behavior in the classroom. With this code of behavior, students should know and understand that they are being held to certain behavioral standard when in the classroom. It is the teacher’s responsibility to effectively enforce the code. It is important to understand that discipline does not always mean punishing students for their misbehavior, but it should entail both open communication and redirection. Restorative justice is also another term that I feel is very appropriate when it comes to classroom management. Restorative justice should be implemented in the classroom, but to a certain extent. Students and teachers should be given the opportunity to understand and access the circumstances that contributed to students’ misconduct, but this effort should not negate the fact that students must be held accountable for their actions.

As far as my approach to working with Breakthrough students, I will make a conscious effort to implement aspects of restorative justice while still holding students accountable for their actions. I believe that communication is often times lost when disciplining students, so I will be sure to implement open communication with my students. One thing that really stood out to me in the podcast was the idea of power vs. purpose. Whenever exerting power, it is important to access my purpose in doing so.

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Being a culturally responsive teacher means that we acknowledge that everyone in the classroom comes from a different background. Each students brings their own strengths and areas of improvement to the table. It also means that the way that material is taught may need be modified in order to better reach the students in the classroom. It’s important to appreciate differences in the classroom. One of the practice areas that resonated most with me was community building. Education is essential and it should not feel like an independent chore. I think that building a community of learners allow students to bring their own unique background to the table and learn from each other. Creating a safe space is allowing students to speak up and share questions or suggestions. In the “real world” it is important that everyone feels comfortable working together and sharing ideas. By giving students that confidence and skills to take charge of their education will help them in the future.

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From seventh to ninth grade, my English teacher, Mr. Hammond was always the person I went to talk to when I had a problem. He always gave me great advice and would have my back when it came to extra help on assignments and even took me home when my mom was unable to come get me when she was working. He was always the teacher that no matter what the situation was or how busy he was, he always found time to sit with me and help me through any problem. It left a powerful impact because it helped me understand that teachers do care about our well being even in our personal lives. He made me wanna grow up and help others around me like he helped me.
-BreAnna Malone

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My first encounter with Mrs. Crater was ninth grade on the first day of school. It was Dance 1A and being that dance is my passion I knew I had to make a good first impression. We were playing the name game and it was finally my turn to show my personality so of course I did the funniest move I could think of. As people say it was love a first sight, lol. We instantly bonded through our love of dance and goofiness. Mrs. Crater literally become my second mom on campus. I knew if I needed someone to talk to she would also be there. In person and through text. Her little red couch in her office became the highlight of my day besides being in the dance studio and until this day I know if I ever need anything I can shoot her a text! I choreographed for my dance company this past semester and she was the first person I thought to send my choreography to. What made my relationship with her so powerful is she took the time to get to know me outside of the classroom. Often so many teachers get caught up in defining a student by their actions in the classroom they miss who the student truly is. So as a future educator, I know it is my duty and I owe it to my students to know the REAL them not who they present to me in the classroom because learning extends beyond.

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All of the words provided have different connotations for me. Discipline has a negative connotation; to me, it implies that the person disciplining believes their way is the only way/the right to achieve a goal. Discipline can also get out of hand; I think a lot of the experiences of Native American children in boarding schools who were abused in the name of discipline to adopt to Anglo-Saxon/white culture. These methods of discipline prohibited a pathway to understanding Native American culture and caused life long trauma. Classroom management has a neutral connotation; to me, it refers to how well a teacher manages their classroom in order to best induce productivity and learning. School culture also has a neutral connotation to me. School culture, for me, refers to the codes and morals the school upholds in its curriculum, programming, and human body. Restorative justice has a positive connotation; for me, it implies justice through forgiveness and compassion. Restorative justice isn't about who wins and who loses, but, rather, finding common ground and acknowledging where both (or more) parties went wrong.

The American Life episode taught me that there is no way to disciple or classroom management. I'm more aware of how bias and racial bias plays into disciple, and as a teaching fellow, I want to make sure I'm being fair and equal in my approach. I really appreciated the power versus purpose comment made in the second segment. I want to be more aware of why I'm going to ask for something before I do it. I appreciated the restorative justice approach behind Lyons. It is a very important skill to resolve things in a mature manner while also being able to explain yourself. I would like to pursue this approach with my Breakthrough Atlanta students, while also adding in compassion (Be kind to everyone, because you don't know what they may be going through).

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When thinking about traditional terms to describe how to control the classroom, they typically all bring up negative connotations. The word “discipline” is seen as another word for punishment. It doesn’t help teach a lesson or promote positive change. “Classroom Management” makes it seem as though the teacher is the ultimate power in the classroom and that the students are underneath. I think it’s more important to see the classroom as being a community where students and teachers can learn from each other. “School culture” and “restorative justice” have positive connotations. Restorative justice is a positive way to help solve problems in a way that benefits all parties. Punishment is not simply just given out. There is a reason and learning opportunity in each lesson. “School culture” is important because both students and teachers are able to work to create the values and vision that they want to see. The choices and decisions all parties make will be to uphold that values and culture of the school. It gives everyone ownership in their education and their community.

When listening to the American Life podcast I was most interested in the part where they talked about “circle” at the Lyons school. It’s important to talk through problems to create a stronger, more trustworthy community. There should not be punishment just for the sake of punishment. There should be conversation and brainstorming solutions to help fix what went wrong and how to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future. By talking through problems it gives students the tools to advocate for themselves and to create solutions for the future. Communication is essential at all levels in order to build a strong community and to promote trust.

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One teacher who has left a long-lasting impact on me is my former 11th grade English teacher, Mrs.Blair. Upon entering her class, I was both scared and nervous due to the comments I heard from students who took her class before me. However,  after actually being in the class, I realized that the things I've heard about her as a teacher were completely false. In the TED Talk, Pierson discusses the importance of building and cultivating positive relationships within the classroom environment. This is a concept that Mrs.Blair lived by as an educator, and it was extremely evident in her work. I have always had a love for English and writing. Mrs.Blair not only encouraged this, but she helped to develop my skills further while coincidingly fostering my passion for education. As I advanced to the 12th grade, I still maintained a positive relationship with Mrs.Blair. During my college application process, Mrs.Blair helped me along the way by writing one of my recommendations and aiding in the writing process for my college essay. Ultimately, Mrs.Blair's guidance led me to where I am today, attending my dream school majoring in the two things I love-- English and Education.
-Tempe Stewart

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In my mind, discipline is referrals, parent calls, silent lunch, suspension, expelling a child, and having a conference with child and their parent. Classroom management is being able to understand your students and keeping them calm and happy. Classroom management is able keeping the students focus and on the right track with minor interruptions. Community noms are the unwritten laws that everyone follows like respect your elders or don't interrupt someone when they are talking or a simple one with treat others like you want to be treated. School culture is built by the teachers to make an environment that the students will be able to adapt to. The culture of the school is the usual actions and reactions of the students and teachers. Restorative justice is bring opposing sides together ( victim and offender) come to peace with each other and try to settle things. I feel all though all of these words are appropriate because they are all related to each other because restorative justice, community noms, and discipline keeps classroom management and school culture in order. All of things work together to keep a peaceful community.

One story that really caught my attention was the "Time Out" because I have read an article about test scores being recorded to match how many prisons are needed in the future. This act was very similar yo the article because it shows how the system was keeping colored children behind leading to those jail ceils because they were never given a chance to actually try and succeed. I would never discriminate against any students because I believe that everyone should have an equal opportunity to succeed and follow their dreams. I would treat all the students the same no matter what they classify as because they are getting an education for a reason.
-BreAnna Malone

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Rita Pierson's TED Talk perfectly illustrates why I have an awesome relationship with Ms. Gilliam. In middle school, I was apart of the Girls Leadership Academy which at first I thought to be a mistake; however, I had the pleasure of having an awesome group of teachers that have influenced my life heavily. Ms. Shelia Gilliam was an English teacher in the academy who was known for her toughness. That toughness however demanded the absolute best from me in every aspect and taught me "hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard." Ms. G made being a black girl feel extremely important through the exposure to other black girl magic, never stifling our opinions and always allowing our voices to be heard and respected. Unknowingly to me at the time, Ms. G was honing the advocate in me. The dedication and effort Ms. G put into developing me beyond the curricula is essentially what made our relationship so powerful. Ms. G saw me and who and what I was capable of, and continuously pushed me to obtain it. Although we live in different countries now our relationship is still active, and I know that Ms. G is a phone call away to give advice, scold and correct, laugh, recommend opportunities, and more.

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The teacher, who had the strongest impact on my life is Ms. Swafford. She was my 9th grade Literature teacher, 10th grade Acting teacher, and 12th grade Literature teacher. Before I share what made my experience so powerful, it is worth noting that from a purely teaching standpoint, she was great at teaching the material. However, it is more than that, which made my experience as her student so amazing. She always was helpful. Anytime I struggled then she struggled with me instead of merely regurgitating the same thing. She had unlimited time to help her students. I was always a very introverted student, but because of her, she made it inclusive for me to speak up and share my ideas with the class. She was always joyful and happy which made it easy to approach her. Lastly, she actually had conversations with me that challenged me. Because of her, she made my high school experience with other teachers easier because she uplifted me and really made a difference on my scholastic life.

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The teacher who has had the strongest impact on my life was my 10th and 11th grade English teacher, Mrs. Kearney. Mrs. Kearney not only taught me sophomore English Literature and AP English Language and Composition, but she was also my first introduction to advocacy. This woman was a quiet force. When I first met her while turning in a form for National English Honor Society, I was actually intimidated by her. She had this colorful room filled with different rubber ducks, but she seemed like such a serious woman. When I was her student, I learned that she was one of the sweetest women that I would ever encounter. She encouraged us to have a voice, and to speak up for injustices that we noticed as students. She was not afraid to be controversial, and often raised sensitive topics of discussion in class. Whenever I needed to talk, she was there to listen. She always provided me with the encouragement I needed to overcome whatever issue I was going through. One thing I loved about Mrs. Kearney was that she hated the idea that the school system conditioned its students to take a test. That is why her teaching style was so effective. She did not want us to learn how to take a test. She wanted us to actually learn English and how to write. Due to her belief in teaching us the fundamentals of how to write compositions and read literature, I was able to become a strong writer.
-Morgan Street

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To be culturally responsive teacher, it means understanding other cultures. If one does not understand, then ask. Seek to learn. it is always interesting to learn about people’s background and culture. In addition, learn from the student. Students love speaking about things that interest them. Learn about their culture through that student. Also, it means to understand the mindset that not race, genders, class distinctions, etc learn the same. There is no code to teach just Black kids. Students shouldn't be categorized by their differences and thus taught differently based on mere race, gender, or class.

The particular practice area that resonated with me was the learning partnerships. In order to really achieve success with a student, the teacher has to understand that it is a two way street; however, you are both equally responsible. If the student fails, the teacher fails. The teacher and student are a team trying to accomplish this goal of getting the student to understand the material. Many teachers merely teach without keeping this in mind which is why they fail. They see a student fail and blame him or her when it is equally the teacher’s fault too.

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Discipline, classroom management, community norms, school culture, and restorative justice are all words that are very well-known. First, discipline is a way of getting people to obey certain commands using reinforcement or punishment. I do not like the word because it is always seen as negative and associated with punishment. Punishment is one way of disciplining by giving them something they hate (a phone call home to their parents, demerit) or taking away something they like (phone, social time during breaks). Discipline can also be reinforced positively by offering rewards for behaving a certain way. Classroom management is the ability to make sure class runs as smoothly as possible. For example, if a child wants to speak, they raise their hand. This is important to ensure everything is operating efficiently, so the material is taught with no distractions. Community norms and school culture apply together. Community norms are ensuring students and teachers know what should be valued, emphasized, and expected. School culture is the ability for the school to have the teachers and students actually execute the community norms. I personally like the connotation of the word because it has norm in it, which means it is nothing out of character and how you should act normally. Restorative justice is a new approach that offers intervention between the wrongdoer and victim. This helps both the wrongdoer’s psychology, view on crime, relationship with victim positively if done correctly. It does have a large risk factor because one is not directly punishing the wrongdoer, but instead allowing them to understand what they did was wrong. If they do not truly understand it, then it does not work.

Is this working offered a lot of different viewpoints and ideas that are very interesting. First, it educated me that there are many ways to discipline. For example, in the prologue, the situation was a kid walks in and has a hat on. The teacher says take it off. The student says no. According to the podcast, the teacher can either yell at him, have a conversation with him, merely give him a demerit or report, or outrageously assault the kid by throwing a shoe at him. All four are very different, and there is no right answer but I think having a conversation is the best way that can be applied to Breakthrough. If you yell at them, they might yell back, and that will turn into pointless banter to accomplish nothing. If you give him a demerit or report, he or she may not care and continue to protest, and throwing a shoe is never acceptable at all. If you have a conversation with him, he will understand why it is wrong. I would take him aside. Most kids challenge the teachers because they are in front of their friends, and do not want a certain image projected if they do what they teacher said. Therefore, I would take him aside and say something along the lines of, “We have a policy here at Breakthrough to get you ready for school, college, and life. A millionaire doctor might walk in and say I want three kids to work for me. You might be the most qualified, but you have a hat on. Wearing a hat in the building is not professional. He assumes you aren’t professional all because you did not want to take it off, and you miss out on a great opportunity. Appearance matters because its the first impression we get to see.” I would go on until he understands why we do not wear hats, so he gets why it is wrong and does not do it again. This connects to restorative justice, which is making sure that the children genuinely understand what they did was wrong and how to correct it without giving out the same old punishments.

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To be a culturally responsive teacher means to be aware of differences or discrepancies that would render a specific response from a student. Example, children raised in specific religions may add the teachings from said religion to their answer, or these teachings may influence their response. It also helps students make connections to their subject content to their every day lives.

Out of the four practice areas, the area that resonated most with me is awareness, because as a minority student, especially in specific subjects like sociology or economics, being a minority affects my answers. In economics, it affects how I believe money should be spent, and in sociology, it affects how I see politics or the concept of race fluidity. A teacher has to be aware or at least willing to understand how culture influences a child and their learning, whether it is household-taught behaviors or a common stereotype that is associated with their race. A student's cultural differences also affect how they learn specific material. I think for me that with this in consideration, I feel more open-minded to learning about my students, with my own experiences with mixing culture with classroom answers at the back of my mind. I would want to establish an environment in my classroom so that students of different cultures, even if there is only a slight difference, would feel safe in sharing how their lifestyle makes them come to a specific conclusion in their learning. Of course, awareness also involves me placing aside my own societal biases so they do not influence my interactions. I think with this in mind; I can be a more effective teacher.