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wherever they come from they will be an asset and have literacy practices of their own just like myself. 

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I see myself as someone who loves to laugh and smile. I enjoy being out in nature and appreciating the world around me. I am someone who tries to be grateful for every breath I am given. I am a woman with a drive to improve lives around me and do better for the people who will come after me. I am more than my skin tone and my curly hair. Inside my heart is a yearning to reach others and tell them that they matter, because sometimes I need to remind my self of that same thing. From the outside, people don't see the inward battles I have with myself about my self esteem and my importance. Every once in a while I have to remind myself of my purpose and those lives that I have influenced with just my kindness or cheesy jokes. I am someone who sees things abstractly and out-of-the-box. My mom always says she wishes she could be in my head for just a day. I usually laugh, because I know if she ever were, she would go crazy . I am an easy going person but complicated to understand.

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I am Rachel
I am adopted and multi-racial
I wonder if there is life on another planet
I hear laughter
I see smiles
I'm scared of men who want to hurt me
I love seeing children learn
I want to change my community
I am Rachel

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My privilege is my life. I do no mean aspects of my life but literally the breath in my lungs and the beating of my heart. My life and my story gives me the privilege of perspective others do not have. I am a Christian and I do not believe my life is my own however, while I am here on this Earth I will make the most of the minutes I am given.

Almost everyone who observes my physical attributes can correctly assume that I am mixed. However, many do not know that I am adopted and have six other non-blood related siblings mothered by a single (not married) white mom. My siblings and I are of different skin colors and no one would assume that we are family. My life and experiences had awarded me to see other cultures differently than other non-mixed families do. I understand what it is like to walk the halls of a majority white school. I have a perspective that allows me to sympathize with others.
Being adopted allows me to look at life differently, because I know that my mom took a rick/chance by adopting me. By biological mother also gave me the privilege of life by giving birth to me. Unfortunately for her she was a homeless cocaine addict who was sexually assaulted and raped. She got pregnant and instead of getting a abortion or taking a pill, she gave birth to me. I have been blessed or privileged with a life and a chance to express my appreciation and live in a way that spreads positivity and optimism to the people around me. This picture of me and my family is representative of all the colors in my family.

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A book I read in high school called "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz brought on an intellectual experience. The picture is  of  a paper I wrote in high school about one of the five agreements that spoke to me. The agreement that spoke to me most was to "under any circumstance, always do your best, no more and no less" (75). This book taught me so much about not only caring for yourself but how much of life is based on simple things. If we truly only are given one life, then we must live every day to be the best version of ourselves. When we do our best, there are no regrets and we be happy with the successful moments.

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I've always been the type of person who saw a need and wanted to immediately help. My favorite characteristic is my sense of empathy. I have had my share of difficult experiences and can often relate to others in that aspect. I suppose this strong sense of empathy and urge to help others is part of the reason I want to be an educator. As an educator there are an abundance of opportunities to reach out to students and let them know that they are never alone. As an optimistic person, I can easily take a situation that one person may take as a tragedy, as an opportunity to find something positive. I am a "happy go lucky" person, but it does not mean that I do not experience heart ache, disappointment, pain, or sadness. It simply means that because of my experiences and optimism, I can empathize on a level others cannot. I do not like to brush off the events someone may be going through, but I try and let others recognize the positive outcomes that could arise and encourage others to take a path of positivity and hope rather than discouragement. My sense of empathy reflects the cultural outlook of being understanding and having an awareness of others. This picture represents my bright optimistic personality.

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At age two I was gifted a pink teddy bear from the OshKosh store. I named this bear Pinky and promised to always love and to never harm her. I slept with Pinky every night. She kept me safe from storm and scary things that might lurk in the shadows as she laid tucked underneath my arm. When I was sad, Pinky was there for me to hold and wiped my tears with her fuzzy pink paw. She was there when I needed her and felt lonely. Pinky has been through a lot in her years. She has been tucked underneath my shirt as my sister and I played sumo wrestling, washed, sneezed and spit on, thrown into a spinning fan by my sister, and many other tragic events a poor teddy bear should not have to suffer through. I still have Pinky to this day,but she now sits in a chair by my vanity. Looking back, I realize that Pinky's experiences and mine are a lot alike. We've both been through many difficult times but we made out safely each time. Although her experiences may have been rough as a little bear, she did her job as my comfort toy. Pinky is a reminder that I am never alone. I will fall down and get hurt hundreds of times and feel like I am the only one who understands. The truth is that I am not the only one. Like Pinky, there are people around me who love and support me. It seems standard that growing up in a suburban family in the Midwestern United States that I have a teddy bear. Well, I did and its not representative of the American cultural of toys in my case. Rather, it's representative of the loneliness and the feeling of having to do life alone that me and many others in the U.S. feel. Luckily this is not the case and we have each other to look after. Therefore, even after my sock monkey, my stuffed tiger, and stuffed fox get donated or put away for good, Pinky will still be there long after she is not

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My favorite literacy practice is reading books. I love to read books in my free time because it gives me a chance to relax and get away from the stressors of reality. My books are my escape and they can be exciting or scary. My favorite genre of books is mystery but I have come to really enjoy the sub genre of psychological thrillers. The books keep me on my toes in a way other novels do not. Although I love listening to music and writing poetry, reading books is my favorite literacy experience. The picture is of a book I read recently that blew my mind and is now one of my favorites.

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Strength on Teaching Culturally Diverse Students

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Strength on Teaching Culturally Diverse Students

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One thing I would consider a strength is my experience as a culturally diverse student and understanding how that feels. I can use that experience as a teacher going forward. Also my ability to be open and sympathetic is a strength that will help me to try new approaches and tools. As a woman who is a minority I feel like I can relate to many of my students and be an advocate for them. I understand the feeling of being different and having to overcome challenges. I will give those students tool for success that I never received. I want to be a mentor and inspiration for all of my students. I choose my experience as a strength because it is something that empowers me and helps me to make many of my life decisions. After all, we learn by experience. I choose this picture to represent my strength because it is my tattoo I got as a reminder to myself that I can all things. This scripture says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength". I believe that with His guidance I will be able to reach and teach all of my students well.

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Struggles with teaching culturally diverse students

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Struggles with teaching culturally diverse students

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I am looking forward to teaching students who are culturally diverse. I want to give them the best resources and tools to help them in life and not just school. However with the responsibility of being a teacher to students who are culturally diverse, comes nervousness. I have fears that I may exclude students or not implement approaches I have learned correctly. I have been in classrooms as a student where the teacher made me feel left out or called me out because of my cultural (without my permission) and used me as an example. I want to be a culturally aware and culturally responsive teacher. Sometimes I fear that I will be that teacher to a student.

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There was a time I went to visit a temple called BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. I visited this place many years before I moved to Georgia. I remember finding the architecture remarkably breathtaking and would love to go back and visit. Although I thought it was stunning, there was a moment I found myself feeling a bit uncomfortable. It was during one of the Arti ceremonies and even though it was fascinating I felt uncomfortable. It was uncomfortable for a couple reasons. The first reason, was because I was around people who knew what the ceremony was about and I had no idea what kind of ritual was taking place. I felt out of place and almost unwelcome. The second reason was that not only did I not belong to this faith and could not fully participate, but the fact that I did not look like any of the people practicing also made me feel uncomfortable. This experience helped me to realize that many people have these feelings when coming into a new situation. It makes me wonder about people who decide to come visit a Christian church. While music is playing and other are worshiping my God, there may be someone in the pews with their hands in their pockets, lips shut and on the brink of walking out and missing the moment due to how uncomfortable it is in an unfamiliar situation. From that experience, I try to keep an open mind about other's feelings. My picture of my Bible represents my faith, but just because I am a Christian does not mean that I should shut other religions and cultures out. Going to that temple was an awakening that I can enjoy other cultures while maintaining my truth. This horrifically fuzzy picture of my Bible represents my faith,however I can still hold my beliefs while participating, enjoying, an learning about other faiths and religions and their practices.

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My Reading River...

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The picture is of a small wooden jar that holds many of the values and beliefs my family holds. It's a take-what-you-need jar and inside are coins that you can take with you. One cultural value I have inherited from my family is hard work. My grandmother has always told me that no matter what I do in life to be the best at it. My mom has been the biggest example of a hard worker. She is a single mom who raised seven children and worked as a nurse to provide for the family. She works hard to give me and my siblings things we need and want. I try to follow her example of working hard and reaping what I sow.

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Although I am black I am aware that I have cultural biases and struggles towards black males. It probably has a relation to my background in the fact that my biological mother was raped by a black male, which I am the result of. I sometimes fear being around black men and worry about my safety. I shouldn't be that way toward all black men and it isn't necessarily all of them, but especially those who are big and tall. I know that not all black men are dangerous, but I still get nervous when I go outside alone or someone approaches me. This picture of my keys shows to small weapons I carry just in case. The silver object is a flashlight and an alarm. The pink kitty cat key chain is a weapon used to stab between the eyes of the perpetrator. I hope I never have to use these things, but I carry them as a precaution. I never imagine that I would ever use it on a woman either. This is also something I may have bias about. Women can hurt me just as much as men can, yet I do not fear them.

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I am named after my great grandmother. She was known as a great math teacher, mother and grandmother. My middle name comes from my aunt Lynne. My mom wanted to name all of her children after people in the Bible. I am named after the wife of Jacob. The name Rachel means sheep.
Genesis 29:17 says "...Rachel was beautiful and well favored.
I often get my name misspelled which is silly because my name seems so simple. For some reason people like to add that additional "a" before the "el". People often mispronounce it and call me (Ra-kell). Over the years I have had many nicknames such as Rachey, Rachey Roo Kangaroo, Rashell, Rach, Ratch, and Ray Ray.

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Reading, writing, and culture is all around me. This project has allowed me to take a close look around me and at myself. This entire multi modal project is important in respect to literacy education because it teaches student to be creative and allows them to use their funds of knowledge to create the project. Through this project I have been able to access my funds of knowledge too. The images taken for this project are from my life and are evidence of my literacy experiences, language, and culture. The analysis with the images explain who I am and why I am. Being aware of who I am culturally helps me understand that others have a culture and funds of knowledge that influence their every day decisions. It is important that I get to know my students and not just be their culture, but by what interests them, makes them scared, and what community they belong to. As a teacher, I must also be culturally competent and accepting of others. Viewing students and their cultures and funds of knowledge as assets instead of deficits is highly important to me as a teacher and person.
Understanding students' funds of knowledge is important in order to be culturally responsive. Teachers must truly know their students and the student's value to the classroom and society to create a culturally responsive classroom. Knowing my own biases and trying to improve my mindset will help me become a better teacher. I believe that all students have value and wherever they come from they will be an asset and have literacy practices of their own just like myself.