#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!"

#3- Class and SES

After spending a week discussing class and socioeconomic with my group my mind has been intrigued with the various classes, feelings and issues that can arise just by the class you "fit" into. It was very eye opening to read about how many people really are homeless. I never thought of a normal everyday person that I see daily in a classroom as a homeless child. How can this be possible? How does a child function on a day to day basis without a bed to sleep in? Growing up is hard enough being comfortable in a home, I can't imagine the feelings one deals with in school knowing they have no home. Each day as a teacher I strive to stop and think before I ask them to relate to a situation that maybe they have never experienced, but yet I fall short at times and it pulls at my heart when I allow a student to feel vulnerable.

I experienced a change in class when I was in middle school. My father was the president of a bank, we owned a Porsche, had a home in St. John's Virgin Island and I went to summer camp every summer. I thought this was all normal for a 6th grader! Well, the 80's came and the whole Savings and Loan industry crashed, leaving my family to pick up the pieces. I never realized the true change of class that came with this crash, as my parents tried to keep day to day life the same. As I look back I see the changes that truly happened and thank goodness for my parents I didn't know exactly the huge changes they made to make my life as "normal" as it had been. Class is such a part of society and is pressured by the media. I do feel that parents influence how children view class and what is "normal." I am thankful that my parents never allowed me to feel the pain, stress and changes that they had to on a daily basis. We all made it through those hard times. My dad never gave up and started his own company which today is a success! Just when you think a change in class can ruin you, it proved to improve our lives! Because of them I attended a university with no student loans and am able to be in graduate school as well.

Money is something we all can't live without but at times can't seem to have enough. When will money not be the focus for children to be successful? Will they ever feel like they "fit" in when bigger and better is always being made?

#2- Ethnicity and Race

After class tonight it really brought back the memory of the race simulation lesson I learned in high school. I went to the Hockaday School in Dallas from 1992-1995. I was a boarding student coming from Greenville, Texas in East Texas. Growing up I was around mostly all white, middle to upper class friends and families. At Hockaday there were many ethnic students. I learned so much about religion and culture, but race was something that wasn't mentioned as freely.

As we walked into school one morning, we were handed a red or blue button. I was handed a blue button and was told to just wear it all day. I proceeded to class not thinking a thought about the button. My first period teacher told the blue students to sit in the front, take off our shoes, enjoy the snacks, while the red buttons were yelled at to get to the back and get to work. We were all giggling and trying to figure this out, but the teachers were very straight forward and made no jokes. The day went on and each period the red buttons were being treated terribly while the blue buttons got so many perks! Through out the day it was honestly odd to me that the blue buttons began to hate the red buttons and vice versa! At the end of the day we had an all school assembly and were told what had gone on all day. The diversity committee had set up this simulation to show us exactly how racism can come between people just because of a color.

I really learned a lot that day. I had always thought I knew what it would be like to live in a time period where segregation happened, but really that experiment proved just how divided our country was at that time period. I truly hope some day we can see past color and religion and truly see the person. I feel that young children today are starting to see past color and truly see the person first. I know my niece has never said that her friend is "black", she will say "darker." Race and religion will always be part of our issues around the world, but hopefully they will lessen over time.

Blog #1 Foundations of Multiculturalism

Growing up in a small East Texas town which was prodominately white, lended itself to little diversity. Most of my classmates were white with a few African American here and there. I never realized the need for multiculturalism in a classroom until going to The Hocakday School in Dallas. My high school peers were very diverse in all aspects of religion, race, and culture. My eyes were opened to the different religions, beliefs, and lifestyles of so many. I always have wondered if the teachers took into account the pluralistic way to teach during the 1990's, but from our readings I am now aware that multicluturaism happened way before those years.
I am very surprised that in 1920's educators were writing about ways to use different cultures in education. That amazes me because it seems at that time humans were not aware of a need for this and were very "white". Education has changed so much since the 20's regarding diversity. We have seen segregation, desegregation, religious changes and now even have specific standards in place to allow for many cultures. I am glad that educators have opended their eyes to the many changes in our world and have allowed for culture to be explored in schools for children. I know that I learned so much from my peers that were Jewish during high school and am thankful that the school educated me on these differences! I know multiculturalism is very important in our education system but many seem to not understand why or how to educate in this way. I hope this class does help me understand differences in children and how to reach the differences in a positive way!
Another topic I enjoyed in class was the discussion of patriotism in a school. I feel that if our government is paying for our classrooms, books etc that it should be part of our daily routine. We need all Americans to understand our countries philosophies! This does not mean they must love it and own it, but respect is very much needed in our nation! I have no problem with patriotism being taught in a classroom! If I was attending school in another country I would hope they would be teaching about that country as I would feel honored to be part of their education system. I feel people that don't want patriotism taught in schools don't understand the purpose for it. It is not to brain wash but to educate children about where they live, what America means and how the country works! This is a hot topic in public schools I know but still not clear why!