Blog #1: Foundations

      The class session, Foundations, really got me thinking about diversity, culture, and the role they play in my classroom. As a Deaf Education teacher, my class is small but very diverse. In the past two years I've had students from many different backgrounds and lifestyles, each with their own unique culture. The students have come from African-American, Hispanic, Native American and Indian families. Their families have come from different countries, they have grown up in different socioeconomic statuses, and gone to churches of different religions. Yet, as different as they may be, they have one common characteristic among them- deafness. Working with these students and their families has introduced me to and made me aware of an entire subculture, that of Deaf Culture.
      The textbook described that culture provides a "blueprint that determines the way an individual thinks, feels, and behaves in society." For my students, it seems that their deafness affects them more than any other aspect of their culture (race/ethnicity, class, religion, or otherwise). Only a few of my students come from Deaf families, so I have taken on the responsibility of educating all of them about the history, traditions, and ongoing changes in Deaf culture. I feel it's very important for them to know that although they are "different" than most of the other students in their school, that does not have to be a bad thing! There are many successful people in the world who did not let their deafness hold them back.
      Something interesting that I have discovered about my students is that they don't really seem to understand prejudice. To them, the color of a person's skin is just something they see, but it means nothing more. Various topics that have come up in class that involved race such as slavery, affirmative action, and studying Martin Luther King, Jr were puzzling to them. They didn't understand why people were treated differently just because of the color of their skin. Likewise, one of my students this year has been very interested in World War II, especially the Nazis and the persecution of the Jewish people. He constantly asks me questions about why the Nazis wanted to kill those people, just because of their religion. Ironically, although they may not understand prejudice, they are constantly treated differently based on the sole fact that they cannot hear.
      I am looking forward to the rest of the semester in Diverse Learners. I hope to learn more about different aspects of culture, multicultural education, and maybe even learn a little something about myself. After class this week, I looked over the PowerPoint, "Strategies for Culturally Responsible Teaching," and it gave me some ideas to use in my classroom. I strive daily to build a "classroom-as-a-community," and I think this class will give me tools and strategies to be successful in doing so.