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j. What will you do differently in your own classroom to promote equity and better serve your students? 

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j. What will you do differently in your own classroom to promote equity and better serve your students? 

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To promote a classroom that is fair for all of the students and to make sure that I create a safe learning environment is so important to me. I will try my best to serve my students, by always listening to them and if there is a language barrier than I will try to find someone to help me or either try to learn the language myself. For my classroom to be a safe learning environment the students must feel welcomed and they cannot be afraid to speak up or be have fear of getting picked on either by me or other students.

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i. How does what you learned in this class made you more critical of what people, books are saying and showing about “good literacy”? 

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i. How does what you learned in this class made you more critical of what people, books are saying and showing about “good literacy”? 

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I still believe everyone has a right to their own opinion about what they consider good literacy. I now have things to take away from this semester to help me practice different literacy strategies in my own classroom. But some people might not think that they are the best practices. Good literacy practices are all around us and we have to find what works best for our own students.

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h. Children’s cultural experiences and understanding of literacy and education are sometimes a MISMATCH to the school and teacher’s ways and beliefs.  Where are you as a teacher on that continuum?

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h. Children’s cultural experiences and understanding of literacy and education are sometimes a MISMATCH to the school and teacher’s ways and beliefs.  Where are you as a teacher on that continuum?

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My job when I become a teacher is to help the students find a connection to learning and education. I must work with students individually to find common ground for the students to gain a better understanding of how school works and the rules we have to follow. Each student is different and is going to have different beliefs about things, but I will work hard to help the students see that the school is not against them and the school is set up like this to help them grow.

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g. What are the funds of knowledge that you bring to school with you as a teacher? 

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g. What are the funds of knowledge that you bring to school with you as a teacher? 

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The funds of knowledge I bring into the classroom is the idea of reading aloud to the students. My sister used to read aloud to me, and that is where I developed my love for reading. I do not see this very often in my field placement. The teacher says time is an issue, but I feel like a few minutes a day could really help the students find joy in reading.

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f. How important is the teacher’s understanding of funds of knowledge to promote a culturally responsive classroom? 

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f. How important is the teacher’s understanding of funds of knowledge to promote a culturally responsive classroom? 

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It is very important for the teacher to know the students and their background. By allowing the students to use the funds of knowledge that they bring into the classroom allows the students to learn the way that best works for them. By allowing the funds of knowledge approach in the classroom, students are able to learn from one another and use different practices to help them with their education.

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e. How important is teacher identity in recognizing that children are NOT illiterate and fail at school due to DEFICITS in their culture and in their cognition?

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e. How important is teacher identity in recognizing that children are NOT illiterate and fail at school due to DEFICITS in their culture and in their cognition?

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This is very important, because it is not the students culture or background that makes a student illiterate. It is very important that I remember that no matter where my students come from I have the ability to help them learn and to become the best student possible. Every student is more than their background.

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d. How important is to consider the identity of the teacher and her/his cultural background as part of the teaching process? 

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d. How important is to consider the identity of the teacher and her/his cultural background as part of the teaching process? 

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I think that it is important for the students to know who I am and my culture, so that the students and myself are able to bond. Since I am now more aware of my own culture I might be able to talk about it with the students and this would give the students an opportunity to share some of the their background and culture. I will want to bring some of my culture into the class, but not so much that I am pushing it on to the students.

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c. How does the awareness of who you are culturally impact your teaching? 

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c. How does the awareness of who you are culturally impact your teaching? 

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After this project, I have learned that who I am as a person will greatly affect my teaching and my future classroom. I am now more aware, of all the different literacy practices that students and others come into contact with, and I hope that I can incorporate them into my class. I have thought about my biases and now I am ready to move forward to eliminate them and to become a more culturally responsive teacher.

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b. What are the implications of the knowledge you gained about yourself for your future teaching career?

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b. What are the implications of the knowledge you gained about yourself for your future teaching career?

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What I have gained during this project and this semester is how important everyone culture is to their own learning. I have learned that I need to be more open to different cultures and their learning styles. Everyone is different and I need to be more accepting as I move forward.

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What are your thoughts on literacy as you are doing this project? 

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What are your thoughts on literacy as you are doing this project? 

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My thoughts while doing this project have been the same thoughts that I have had all semester which are, “This is so crazy! I had no idea literacy is all around us!” This entire semester has been so eye opening and such a learning experience that I cannot wait to take with me into the future. Literacy is so important and we are constantly surrounded by it. It is so important that we express this to our students to help them get excited about all the different ways to learn.

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I chose to take a picture of my bible, because it has shaped me into the person that I am today. I have this bible for almost eight years, and it is full of my thoughts and wonders. My faith in God has made an impact on my personally and culturally because it has shaped me and my personality into a giving a caring person. By bible acts as a guide for me to follow to help my character and for me to be closer to God. I think the bible is a book of values and I try to follow them daily. This is the most important book to me. This literacy experience has shaped me into the person I am and has created my morals and beliefs.

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I am sincere, I am concerned.
I wonder what is going to happen to the world in the future.
I hear the voices inside my head.
I see the future.
I want to not stress about the future.
I am sincere, I am concerned.

I pretend not to worry.
I feel sad about the world we live in today.
I touch the hands of my loved ones.
I worry about the stress that is inside of me.
I cry when I think about the future of our world.
I am sincere, I am concerned.

I understand that you cannot predict the weather.
I say that you can still plan a pretty picnic.
I dream of a brighter future.
I try to stay in the present.
I hope my worries cease.
I am sincere, I am concerened.

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I see myself as someone who tries their hardest. I see myself as someone who always try to be light in the gray. I try to be the person that people can see Jesus radiating through. I see myself as someone who tries to hard to make sure that everyone likes her. I see myself as the person who will always say yes to helping someone. I chose this picture to represent myself, because I always try to be a shining light! The sun is always out and always there to help.

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Strengths on teaching diverse students 12

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Strengths on teaching diverse students 12

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So on a more positive and less scary note I think that my strengths for teaching diverse students are defiantly going to come from my attitude. Yes, teaching students who do not speak English scares me, I know that I can work hard to make sure that the students are given every resource they need to succeed. I know when I am put in a situation with diverse students, I will make the best out of the situation and try my hardest. I chose to take a picture of these hearts, because if your heart isn’t in it then you shouldn’t be in it!

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Struggles with teaching diverse students 11

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Struggles with teaching diverse students 11

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I am still struggling with the thoughts of what is going to happen if I have a student that does not speak English in my class. How am I going to communicate and get to know this student? How can I not let this student slip through the cracks and get left behind? I struggle with these thoughts in my field placement right now, because all of the students do speak English, but we are getting a new student and we do not know if the student speaks English. I chose this image to represent my concerns, because the alphabet is used in our daily language and we need it to speak.

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Some of my favorite literacy practices are from when I was growing up. My sister once read to me all of the Harry Potter books. This is what really peeked my interest into reading and wanting to read to others. After reading all of the books I then watched the series of movies, this help solidify my love of the books. In high school I was very active in the schools theatre program. I learned how to appreciate scripts and the art of it reading and writing them. I chose this picture, because I like reading scripts and this series is one of my favorites.

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Literacy practices of your everyday life 8

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Literacy practices of your everyday life 8

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A few literacy practices that I partake in daily, reading text messages, Facebook post, reading tweets, reading news articles, reading school text books, I make lost of to do list so reading those lists, I spend a lot of time on Pinterest reading blogs and recipes. I chose this picture, because most of my daily communication comes from the phone. Texting can be hard sometimes, because it can be hard to figure out what tone the sender is using. So text messages and emails are interpreted wrong very often.

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From my family I inherited the beliefs hard work and helping the community. I spend a lot of my time volunteering and helping the community including my church. One of my many passions is helping feed the people of the community on various Holidays. My family is very family oriented and by that I mean we spend a lot of time together and we are always there for one another. My sister and her husband live close to my family and we are always helping them out with their daughter whenever they need help. My entire family lives in the same town so I spend a lot of time with my aunts, uncles and cousins. My family has taught me that its very important to work hard and to be very respectful towards everyone we come in contact with.

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A situation that made me have discomfort was when I went to a Seventh Day Adventist Church. I was feeling uncomfortable, because everyone was looking at me strangely, because everyone that attended that church was a regular and I was the only vistor. After the initial greetings I was made to feel very welcomed and my nerves were calmed. I also made myself feel uncomfortable, because I went in with the impression that everyone was going to judge me. I thought people were going to judge me, because I was of different faith.

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This being my third semester in the education program I have learned that by biases are how I assume things about my students. I assume that the Hispanic students in my class are all well mannered. To me in my mind the gender of the student does not play a part, just there Hispanic background. This is my stereotype and I have always had this biases since I was in high school. I have this bias, because of the students I went to High School with. The Hispanic students were always the most well mannered and best behaved students. I also stereotype all Hispanics attending Catholic church.

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I took this picture of this toy horse, because it is the biggest representation of my childhood and how I came to be the person I am today. I have loved horses my entire life. I once ran away from my family at the mall to go set on a fake horse. This horse represents my culture, because everyone in my family used to play with my horses with me: Grandparents, siblings, parents, my uncle once took me to go ride a horse with my cousins. My family supports me and this horse really represents my family, because of the impact they had on me.

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I would like to think that I am not privileged based off the color of my skin but I do not always think that's true. It's sad that we live in a world that just based off the color of my skin I am treated differently. I am treated better than people with a different skin hue as me. I will never have to live in a world where I am afraid of the police, or of being treated poorly or differently. I am privileged because my father has a degree and is always able to have a job, I am privileged that my father supports our family and I was able to live in a home that my mother stayed at during the day and kept up.

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My favorite characteristic about myself is my positive thinking. I believe anything and everything is possible if you just believe. I think this is a good characteristic to have, to always see the positive side in a situation. I think this is a good trait for the people around me to surround themselves with, so the positive vides might rub off on them. I think having a good attitude is a great way to stay away from the negativity and to keep the moral up in a group. I chose to draw a smiley face, because when you have a smile on your face you can achieve anything!

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I was named by both of my parents and I was named after both of their mothers. Nancy Jean is my fraternal grandmother, and Billie Jacquelyn is my maternal grandmothers name. I think this is very significant, because I love both of my Grandmothers and I love that I share their name with them. I have never had anything offered to me, because of my name, but I have also never had any problems because of my name either. I think it is a pretty generic name. I was not able to find anything when I googled my name except  for a town in France is called Nancy, which I thought was pretty cool! A few people have nicknames for me such as: Nanc, Fancy Nancy, and Nanny.