Prompt #4, Question 6

In order for me to be a good teacher I have to figure out ways how to communicate and interact to with my students by using a variety of verbal and non-verbal techniques. Teachers want the best for their students and want them to feel like they “fit in” and not left out. No matter what classroom it is your going to have students speak different languages, have different values and different dreams, just like we as teachers. No one person is the same, everyone is different in their own special ways. Teachers come from different backgrounds just like the students and have their own different skills, have their own goals and perspectives and perform and teach differently in the classroom. In my classroom I have students that are Hispanic, African-American and Asians. To be a successful teacher in my classroom I have to teach from a “multicultural viewpoint” What I mean by this is I have to introduce to my students to what culture and language is and that everyone has their own type of customs, and language depending on what their background is like. I also would verbally communicate to my students about what my background is like; I want my students to become culturally and linguistic knowledgeable. I can communicate to my students by supplying books, words, maps, posters, videos and other marital that reflect the different cultures and then have the students’ complete worksheets with questions, and so forth. This could be non-verbal task that helps students to understand the different cultures and that each culture has their own language, values, behaviors, etc. I could also have the students look for the similarities between cultures and languages. This will help the students and including I understand cultural identity. In a classroom it’s a place where everyone feels safe, comfortable and wants to learn in order to set goals and achieve in life.

Allen Johnson article is called Who, Me? What it means to be Involved in Privilege Oppression. He argues that “individuals and system are connected to each other through a dynamic relationship.” This is in fact I think true because even though everyone is different in their own ways there are some ways that we are connected as a system through a lively and dynamic relationship. For example, just because someone is part of a different culture, or a different skin color does not mean they are not part of the system. He brings up the word “monopoly” a lot in his article as well talks about the game too. He argues that a monopoly is a system and how systems work together and participate in them. Just because a student is part of a different culture does not mean they can not work or participate with their peers. There are many individuals part of the system because they are working with others around them that come from a different culture and he or she is part of a different culture but this does not me we can’s work together. Johnson argues that everyone should take the right path just as teachers want their students to take the right path and peruse their dreams. Teachers communicate with their students in order for them to understand and to demonstrate sociocultural and linguistic difference. Johnson argues as well about the issue of privilege and oppression. Teachers must always be aware and on top of things to make sure that their students do not fall behind. A teacher who teaches in a classroom where her/his students are white, Hispanic, African-American, Asian, etc. will realize the for the students who's primary language is English, will succeed with their reading and writing and have higher learning skills than the non-speaking English students. ELL students (English Language Learners) have to not only learn their own language but English as well to understand and learn in the English-speaking classroom. Johnson here proves that alot of people are successful in the system but than there are others who are not.