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1. During World War II, the American people left at home were a huge part of the war effort. In order to get the public involved in all aspects of the war, persuasive posters were prevalent. This website from the National Archives called “Power of Persuasion,” explores the various posters, their themes, and strategies used during wartime on the home front. The posters displayed have various purposes, from recruiting men to labor intensive jobs, to encouraging women to find work, to discouraging wastefulness, to instilling fear of a common enemy.
I think primary sources are an invaluable tool in the classroom. Primary sources bring life into the material the class is studying. They allow students to imagine what it would have been like living in that time. Showing a classroom these images of persuasive posters creates a unique learning environment, rather than just reading about them. Primary sources can also reveal a different perspective than our own. For example, it would be interesting to compare this website of American wartime posters to that of German or Japanese wartime posters.

2. Below are the three areas I think I can work on to become a culturally competent educator.
Determine the diverse groups served by your school. Consider cultural, linguistic, racial, and ethnic diversity. Find out the degree to which families and students in these groups are accessing available school services. The first thing I would do is get to know the school that I am working. I can do this step through speaking with the administration and teachers as well as doing my own observations.
Gather and organize resource materials related to culturally diverse groups for use by school staff. This step definitely fits my teaching style. Especially as a history major, I am well versed in researching and gathering information. It is important to do your own research before beginning to teach others. Putting your own research and resources together makes the information readily available for others to access.
Network with parent, family, minority community, and faith-based organizations concerned with the needs of diverse students. Solicit their involvement and input in the design and implementation of initiatives for culturally, linguistically, racially, and ethnically diverse groups. In order to be a culturally competent educator, I feel getting the community involved is invaluable. Schools should not be an isolated institution, but part of a whole body working to understand the cultural diversity of their neighborhood. This step would take time to research, build relationships, start discussions, and design initiatives, but the time spent doing this would impact the community long-term.

3. I was looking for a website of different fairy tales that I could share with my special ed class of K-2. This website I found is on KidSpace, the internet public library. This particular page has three different Mother Goose books, Three Little Kittens, Old Mother Hubbard, and Little Red Riding Hood. What I like about this site is that the kids can choose to either read it listen to the book or read it alone! This is very beneficial in a classroom of children at different reading levels. Those at higher levels also have the option to explore other interesting links from this site.

4. I really like the section under the Teacher’s Helper column, called Gadgets and Podcasting. It has several links to websites on the use of technology in the classroom. One of the most interesting to me was one called “Using iPods in the Early Childhood Classroom.” This site also has links to various websites on the use of digital cameras, camcorders, scanning, projectors, and even Geocaching for kids in the classroom. I would use this site for information about the proper use of technology in a classroom. I have recently been noticing that some teachers allow iPods in classrooms. Now, I can explore this website to see what different teachers have to say about this.

5. I have heard of this theory of multiple intelligences, but have not read about it in this detail. I was really interested in reading about the eight different intelligences, and being able to make initial observations about the students I know as well as my own intelligence! I was also interested in the section about listening to teach. The teacher should listen to know students, to the rhythm of the classroom, to social and cultural contexts, and to silence of the classroom. Through this listening, the teacher will begin to understand how each student learns.

6. The lesson I chose from Teaching Tolerance is called Identity Posters. First, you start a discussion about what the kids know about their own name. Then, you send home sheets to interview the parents about the background and reason for their name. We then discuss what they learned from this in class. Then we create their Identity Posters. Children can bring in pictures of themselves or their families, cut out pictures from magazines, or draw their own. With explanations on the posters, they show who they are and what makes them unique. These posters stay in the classroom and allow each child to remember who they are and where they came from.

7. One question I was shocked by was that Over 52% of physicians report witnessing a colleague giving reduced care or refusing care to lesbian, gay, or bisexual patients. This just seems unacceptable to me. Physicians should be treating their patients with equality and with respect. A second statistic that really just breaks my heart is that although the median annual income of white men with graduate degrees is $80,000, the median annual income for Latina and Native American women with graduate degrees is only $50,000 and $40,000. This is half as much as the while male with the same educational background. Anyone who is not shocked by this quiz has become too used to the idea that it is normal for society to be this way. Hopefully, we as educators are upset enough by these standards and statistics that we will work to change what is acceptable in society.

8. I scored a 90% on this quiz! I missed the question about “Scrolling the screen in a chat room” because I don’t spend time in chat rooms and didn’t know what scrolling was. :.( But now I do, so I know not to do it! I think Netiquette is important to teach in the classroom. In special education classes, we teach social skills and using the web is often a social experience. It is important to know the proper behavior and expectations for using the internet. The lessons about online communication are important because we often do forget that we are interacting with other real people. Knowing who we are interacting with and how we portray ourselves online is a valuable skill to teach. With proper Netiquette, the time the students spend online is productive and positive for everyone involved! %(|:-)