7/14 Class Reflection- Marilee

I think that Zina's presentation on multicultural education was extremely helpful and informative. I was a little confused about what multicultural education is, and how teachers can put it into practice in their classrooms, but Gloria Ladson Billing's explanation helped resolve some of my confusion. What really stood out to me was what she said about culturally competent teachers teaching as if the future's great leaders and geniuses are in your room. I think its important that teachers understand that every student has the potential for greatness. If a teacher truly believe this, they will view every student as equal and deserving of an education that will provide them with the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in life. In order to create a culture of equality within the classroom, I think it is important that students not only know that their teacher views each one of them as equal, but also that students view their classmates as equals as well. This is not an easy task to achieve. I think it's natural for young children to think that they are better than others or that they are more deserving of certain things than their peers. I think that this comes from the adolescent tendency to be selfish and think that the world revolves around them. I believe that the activity Zina had us do, with much more basic questions, would help students to see that indeed they are not that different at all, that they have all had similar feelings and experienced similar things, so no individual is better than another. I am going to try and incorporate this activity into my class to create unity and foster a community predicated on respect and equality.