#10 AGE

Does age really matter? As you age do people respect you more or less? These are all questions I wonder about as my age grows higher! At 33, I feel very young but so many feel I am OLD! Yes I am just now getting married at 34.....but I feel that age has only helped me grow as a person! I would not be ready for the path ahead of me if I had married at an earlier age. I would not have gone back to graduate school if I had married earlier. Do I feel like an "old bride?" Sometimes but each person has to live the life they are given. I couldn't be happier about my future and am PROUD about my past even if I am "old!"

On another note, are children growing up quicker than they should? It seems that after eleven years of teaching 4th grade, I have seen my students behave, know, and understand WAY more than they should at nine years old. Who is to blame? I recently had a student tell me that they had just seen THE HANGOVER! What? Seriously?! He told me that his dad was watching it and he sat with him and it was their "quality time." It makes me sad how fast children are growing up. What happened to Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, The Electric Company? Now it is Yo Gabba Gabba, or Miley Cyrus. Our children are being exposed to too much too soon. Let's keep kids young, they will have enough to deal with as they age. Eleven years ago most of my students thought "stupid" was the worst word someone could call them, but now they are numb to the word and use HORRIBLE language and think nothing of it. As a teacher now, I have to discuss hormones, puberty, suicide, pregnancy. When I first started my biggest "issue" was who liked whom! It scares me to think about raising children in a society that wants children to grow up immediately! I hope the pendulum will swing back to sheltering our children!

Bullying is another topic that touches my heart. At our school we do RACHEL'S CHALLENGE. It is an amazing bullying program dedicated to Rachel Scott, the first student shot at Columbine High School. If you aren't aware of Rachel Scott's program I highly advise you reading about her and her program. The website is: http://www.rachelschallenge.org/

It has changed our school district to find the good in people instead of the negative. Here legacy has changed many of my student's attitudes regarding others in the classroom. I feel that bullying was a part of schools when I was younger but did we have tougher skin? Or did we just hide our feelings? I ponder these questions!

Age to me is a part of life and it is full of bumps in the road and without age we would have no life, no wisdom, and no history!!! AGE IS NUMBER....not the definition of who we are!

#9 Geography

Where are you from?

Growing up in Greenville, Texas I was introduced to so many different geographical differences. Greenville was a town with high income businesses such as banks, oil, and real estate. The town also had very rural areas that thrived on ranching, car racing, and cow roping. The two different geographical cultures were brought together at one middle school and one high school. When I went to middle school I was so shocked at how different my peers were while living in the same town! My impressions of the "country folk," as my grandfather called them, was one of low income, tight wrangler jeans, long stringy hair, and poor grammar. This impression stuck with me through all my years in school. It is amazing how one town can have some many geographical differences based on the street name you live on.

Our "surface and hidden" behavior exercise was very entertaining, but more than that very real life! It is very true that different regions greet people in so many different ways. Imma made some wonderful points about how just shopping in Dallas is so very different than in Spain. One must learn the body language to understand how to react or reply. When you travel you must observe and evaluate the "natives" to understand what is acceptable. When teaching I must truly understand my students and where they come from to understand their reactions and responses to me. I grew up saying, "excuse me" when I didn't hear someone, but most of my students say, "HUH?" This gets under my skin, but if they are not taught what is expected I can not be upset with their reactions. What is polite to one region may be considered rude to another. I have recognized that in the South men still open doors, help you carry bags etc; but when traveling in the North I have not seen chivalry to still be around. Some women do not like men to open doors etc., but I feel that it is still important.

In our nation today there are so many different geographic regions, cultures, and expectations we must be sensitive to others first and understand where they come from before we pass judgement. It does matter where you came from, but you must be able to adapt to the places you visit, live, or encounter.

#8 RELIGION

After presenting tonight, a lot of thoughts were swimming in my head; especially the idea of religion being a lot like politics. Isn't being a democrat or a republican a choice? Different view points? Ideas? Thoughts? etc? How is it okay for us to discuss politics and the different views but not religion? I never had thought of this before, but with our discussions I feel that religion is a lot like a choice of political parties. Of course there are the extremist on each point which ruin a lot of what needs to be taught in school. I feel that students are more open to hearing about religion than adults. Some children want to find a place to belong, feel loved and supported...so wouldn't being taught about religion help? Maybe some of the "lost" students in our society would benefit from being taught religion. We need to think about all the good things that teaching religion could bring. Maybe new friendships, a smarter path for some, a feeling of belonging? I feel that so many people find the worst parts of teaching religion, but can't most subjects being taught argued and found to be negative?

Religion is such a hot topic and continues to grow. Public schools are becoming SO diverse that it is almost not PC to be white, Christian, and middle class! I wish we could be proud to be an American that is "typical." Sometimes I feel that being "typical" is wrong. Will we ever go back to a time where being religious is okay and not looked at as "how wrong" to accept God and celebrate what was created for us and around us!!!??

#7- LANGUAGE

Language always seems to be a topic when related to diversity! There are so many opinions, ideas, prejudices, and jokes related to language. Who is right? What is wrong? Is the quote, "when in Rome do as the Romans do" still exist?

I grew up in a small east Texas town and I had and still have the "twang." Once I moved to Dallas and attended Hockaday I made many people laugh with my inability to say mail, ice, and oil "correctly." I worked hard to sound educated and make my language more "real English." It is hard to not speak correctly but still sound "smart." I only had an accent and it created a hardship with me, I can't imagine what people from another country feel like that get transfered here without any help learning English.

Aren't we the melting pot? Shouldn't we want all sorts of languages flowing through our schools? Aren't Americans the only country that lacks bilingualism? I regret not knowing another language, but yet we judge and discriminate those that can't speak OUR language. When I have visited Europe and Mexico they made every effort to speak English to me. In schools we should be open to diversifying our curriculum to educate our students in other languages way before middle school. Children at young ages are sponges and we should be using that as an opportunity to educate them in vast languages beyond their first.

ON the flip side.....should those that move to our country at least try to learn English? Should we be catering to their first language or just helping them grasp our language? This is a constant question and conflict we as educators have!

SEE YALL LATOR! :)

# 6 HOME OF THE BRAVE by Katherine Applegate

I love my diversity book, Home of the Brave! It is an amazing book full of rich language, diverse topics, and a young boys struggle to make it in his "new world."

Kek is a young African boy that has lost his father, brother, mother, and now his homeland. He is shipped to Minnesota in the middle of winter to live with his aunt and cousin. He has no clue what snow, an airplane, or even a washing machine is used for, but through a new friendship with a "white" girl he finds his heart still is alive. I love how he calls an airplane a "flying boat", and snow "frozen milk". This book is full of laughs, tears, and thought provoking pages.

The book focuses closely on how African culture differs from American culture. Kek describes the wars in Africa in intense ways that makes all readers feel sadness. The diversity covered in this book relate to: ethnicity, race, SES, and education.

My students loved this book and allowed many deep discussions in our classroom about wars and death. I recommend this book as a read aloud as it has many tough topics. After reading this book to my children, I went out to buy it immediately!

#5 Exceptionality

When many people hear the word EXCEPTIONALITY they think of: exceptional, awesome, different, wonderful, etc....but in the world of education it means learning difference. A learning difference is EXCEPTIONAL! It allows the learner to learn in a way that works for them, but may not work for others!

Each year I get a list of all my students that have BIP, IEP's, 504 accommodations, so on and so on....it is a lot to weed through and remember, but in reality it allows me to grow as a teacher. Each year I find a new meaning for difference. Last year I learned it could mean awesome! A student came to 4th grade with failing TAKS scores, a list of "problems", and all the red ink of why he couldn't learn. I tried a new approach....I followed the law, but also included lots of love, positive words, and lots of "please redo!" At first he resisted. He was use to being a loser, a failure, but after a couple of grumbles and missed recesses he began to "like" learning! TAKS test came around and ....HE PASSED ALL THREE!!! Not only that, he got COMMENDED in MATH!!! I cried, and he actually did too (though he will never admit it)! For once his exceptionalities didn't cause him failure, they gave him success!

Sometimes being exceptional can cause labels, negativity, and heartache, but once an exceptional student is held accountable for what they CAN do instead of what they CANNOT do....we see success!!! This student will always hold a special place in my heart and hope he will continue to be exceptional in a positive way!

#4- Gender and Sexuality

The discussion of single sex education sparked my blog! I attended a co-ed school from kindergarten to eighth grade, then left to become a boarding student at an all girls school: The Hockaday School in Dallas. This transition was not that big a deal to me. I didn't mind having only girls around; in fact it made school much more relaxed! I never had to put on make-up, pick out my outfits or care about my hair! School became all about the education, not about the boys! During classes I felt empowered to be the dominant gender. While in class we could truly debate tough issues without being embarrassed. I do feel that some of my classmates that started their education in an all girls school and continued all the way found it more difficult to "fit-in" in college. Do I believe in single sex education? I believe that it depends on the child and only the child. There is no blanket right or wrong answer. The child needs to feel best in their environment. My sister would not have had the confidence to speak out amongst girls and be a dominate role in school. She loved being more subtle and in the background.

Another topic that seems to come up when anyone discusses sexuality is if being homo-sexual is a choice or genetic. I feel that it is genetic. Why would anyone want to be discriminated against? Do people want or pick to be picked on, made fun of and shunned? I feel they do not, that it happens because something in their genetic make-up is different than others in their gender. I know this is a hot topic but something that I hope one day we can "figure out!"