Stereotypes

              On Bet, every Tuesday night a show called, "The Game" airs with a character named Kira who is a child-star with the famous lines, "And why wasn't I invited?" All throughout the show, she's asked to recite the lines of her childhood that made her famous. As people look at her on the show, many assumptions are made.

1. She's rich! She has money from her childhood role.
2. She likes to recite that famous line. 
3. Blue and her are an item.

The downfall to assumptions is they are not always TRUE.

         As teachers, it is necessary get to know the students in an attempt to limit the number of assumptions. Most assumptions come from the culture which is the "values, behaviors and traditions that guide behaviors" of the students.  It is crucial to address the boundaries of each culture, refrain from adapting prejudices and producing stereotypes based on the diversity of students. Unfortunately, students come in the classroom, appearing to fit the assumptions, which create stereotypes.
        Stereotypes can be the greatest assassin to kill a multicultural atmosphere in the classroom.  Stereotypes are general views about certain groups of people. The school district, I am completing my observation hours in is stereotyped as being VIOLENT, not only are students fighting but the teachers too. During my observation, this week, the teacher kept emphasizing the prescence of the stereotype threat. Stereotype threat is an emotional burden that a person's actions will confirm the negative stereotype. As the students read the passage for the day, an expert about immigrants coming to Ellis Islands, the teacher pointed out the characters anxiety about fitting the stereotypes by his appearance; his speech and his actions. The students were given a chnace to reflect on some stereotypes they know and how it impacts them as individuals.
      It is easy to assume that the 8th grades of 2013 are conscious of such  impacts but the vital role of teachers is to create a classroom fitting for multicural education. Multicultural education is learning that is made equal for students across the board. Published are Banks's Five Dimensions of Multicutural Education which are:

1. Content integration: various material that includes all cultures to define key concepts;
• In the classroom, I have witnessed this as using materials from Hispanic, African, Jamaican and  American cultures to teach the key concept of immigration, language and the idea of home.

2.  The Knowledge of  Construction Process: how culture assumptions in certain areas influence our personal  "knowledge" of the culture
3. Prejudice Reduction: finding what the prejudices in the class and using teaching to dispell them

• While reading the text, the teacher would ask the students what they "knew" about immigrants which is knowledge construction. While the students spoke, the teacher put the "knowledge" on the board. Some students replied: they marry for green cards; if they don't know English they refuse to learn it out of fear of being turned American; Immigrant parents rather leave their children in their homelands out of fear of their children not having the culture embedded in them. The teacher asked them to also think about what influenced this "knowledge"? The teacher held a respectful 10 minute discussion during which she fill out a chart that looked similar to this:

4. An Empowering School Culture and Social Structure: examination the interaction of the school as a whole with culture and ethnic and creating a school atmosphere that the various cultures of students and staff.

• During spirit week, there is now a culture day, in which students can wear school appropriate attire that represents and embodies their cultures. Many students who may not participate in "twin day" or "hat day" wore a scarf with the flag of their homeland or something. The building principle at the end of the day announcements admitted to being surprise at the turnout and applauded the students for being unashamed to boldly show "what culture they are?" 

5. An Ethnic Pedagogy: using teaching styles that are preferred by students so it doesn't appear one spefic learning style is used to help a certain group/ethnicity

• The teacher is constantly using a variety of graphics, pictures, bringing in souvenirs from travels to different places, food that is appropriate to make the connection stronger, different text. This teacher is displays various teaching styles to keep all learners engaged in the learning processes which supports my personal teaching style philosophy.