Final Thoughts

This quarter has flown by and has probably been my most difficult. It is interesting that this course centered around the influences of family and culture because this has been a rough time with my family and has taken a toll on my academics. I most connected with the reading from "The Spirit Catches you, and You Fall Down." This story brought to life how difficult it could be for people to understand one another when they do not take the time to understand cultural differences. Leah may not have been able to be saved by doctors, however, there were many times that she went to the clinic and was not given the help that she needed because of cultural ambiguity. 

I was most surprised by some of the findings while completing my course project on foster children. It was always my assumption that all teachers wanted the best for all students. In researching this group of students who may be considered the most at risk, it seems almost as if there is a "good riddance" attitude towards them. Foster children are general delayed in school because they are a transient bunch, but with a proper adult relationship, it has been shown that they may go on to live normal adult lives. Teachers, however, find this group of students difficult to handle due to behavioral issues and delays in academic achievement. I was surprised to find that there was an overwhelming number of foster students who are placed in special education for this very reason.

I would love to further investigate how having social emotional learning in schools may help children from diverse backgrounds perform better. A family member of mine became extremely ill during the course of this quarter and I know that I was unable to focus and perform to the best of my abilities. If a trauma affects me this much as an adult, it is difficult to imagine the affects that culture and trauma have on students' performance.

I would eventually like to be a math coach in the public school setting. There has been a shift in curriculum standards with the adoption of the Common Core and an emphasis has been placed on reading and word problems in mathematics. The takeaways that I have from this course inspire me to include culturally diverse readings for math. I would also encourage fellow teachers to examine the familiar and unfamiliar parts of our own cultures so that we are able to recognize our own biases before interacting with students and families.