Reflection #3

I have observed a few different classrooms over the past few years and they have all been very interesting to me. They were all similar in many ways and still so very different in other ways. One classroom that really stuck out to me was a math class that I observed. It was a first grade classroom and the children were so cute and ready to learn. I am from Montana were diversity is lacking, especially in the classroom. When there is any diversity there is only one language. There are/were no students who did not fluently speak English. There was never an issue of a child not understanding because of a language barrier. In the classroom I observed there were at least 5 if not more students that spoke a language other than English. I do not know if that means they were not fluent in English, I did not ask the students, but the teacher was taking that opportunity to teach the students a few words in a different language. This makes the student who is of a different ethnicity not feel left out or out of place. They and their ethnicity is very welcomed in the classroom. I just really found this interesting and the father I have gone in the Education Program the more I hear about the possibility and the likeliness of having a student who does not speak English fluently. Especially if I stay in Washington and teach. Growing up in Montana this was NEVER an issue and honestly never even crossed my mind as an issue.

That being said I think it is very important the as a teacher I am prepared to have students like that in my classroom and be flexible and ready to adjust to anything that comes at me. It was very interesting to observe and I really enjoyed it. I think the teacher was doing a great job with her students. This was a new issue brought to my attention and now I need to make sure I am prepared in my classroom for this type of a situation.