Portfolio Reflection

Flipped upside-down.  That is the easiest way for me to describe what happened to my viewpoints as this class progressed.  Often as I got to class, I would feel frustrated and confused about what was happening to my views, but then as I continued through the course that frustration and confusion was able to turn into an open heart and mind.

When we started the portfolio assignments, my mindset was completely different from where it is now. As I created my imagined classroom, my biggest goal was to describe a cute environment that others would be impressed with.  I wasn’t thinking about what would make my students the most comfortable or how I could help encompass the culture of my students in the way I set up the classroom and taught.  As the semester progressed, my mindset changed and I realized the importance of others in my classroom over myself.  When it comes to teaching, I’m not going to be comfortable all the time, but my goal is to make sure that my students are.

The personal cultural artifacts portfolio was a struggle for me.  It took me three tries before I really figured out what I was supposed to learn from that portfolio.  When I first created it, I just found 20 or so items that I felt represented myself.  It was completely self focused and didn’t really represent my community or culture.  As I met with Bailey, I was able to understand how the items that represented me could represent things in American and Mormon culture.  It was interesting to see how my culture differed from other people in the class, even though in general, I think we’re pretty much all LDS, similar age, and similar SES.  What we value is very specific to what we know.  It made me ponder on the importance of making sure all the students in my future classroom have something they can connect from their own culture within the classroom.

The experiences we took outside the classroom helped me to expand my perspective.  When I went to the Utah symphony, I got to experience a little taste of what it would feel like to be someone from a lower SES.  Being around people who had so much more than I did was hard.  It made me think of the video we watched with the family who lived in the motel.  The girl who was going to school must have struggled as she sat surrounded by those who had no idea what need even was, while she lived in poverty.

While the “Can I Kiss You” seminar wasn’t similar to the concert at all, it was also eye opening.  One of the things that was talked about that really tied in to our class was the idea of gender roles in society.  I’ve always seen gender rolls very stereotypically. Men are masculine and strong and women are the weaker helpless ones.  As I thought about our lesson on gender rolls and remembered the video we watched on “tough guys,” it made me think about how society forces specific rolls on specific genders.  When we don’t fit into those stereotypes, we are considered outcasts.

This class has expanded my view immensely.  When I began this class, I didn’t have strong opinions on most controversial issues, I just claimed to have the same ideas as the church.  This class pushed my comfort levels and disrupted my viewpoints.  There were many times when I struggled trying to decide if my religious values could coincide with what we were learning.  It would seem like everyone else had accepted a certain idea and I was stuck trying to figure out if it was something I needed/wanted to support.  An example of this is the issues regarding transgender people.  As I watched the video of the girl talking about how she became a girl and the process she went through, I felt bad and wanted her to fit in, but something inside me still holds back when talking about supporting people to change genders.  I feel strongly that gender is an eternal principle, so choosing what gender you want still causes some contention in my mind.  As I tried to figure out what the church’s standpoint was on this issue I came up with almost nothing.  There are a few articles where general authorities are quoted saying to love everyone, but I couldn’t find specific church doctrine.  It was ideas like these where I didn’t have specific church doctrine to back up my opinions, yet my opinions weren’t as open minded as I wanted them to be, where I struggled.  While there are still these area of struggle for me, the change in my views over the course of the semester has been immense.  

Re-Imagined Classroom

http://teacherpop.org/2015/05/how-to-efficiently-pack-up-your-classroom/

I want my classroom to be colorful and interactive.  I knew in my mind what I wanted my future class to look like and then when I saw this image, it was exactly what I was thinking. Different cultures are represented through the ceiling art, and tables split into small groups will help the children to interact with one another. 

http://ckite.blogspot.com/p/art-centers-in-classroom.html

This art shelf is great.  I want to make sure that the children I teach have the opportunity to draw and create.  Some of my favorite memories from elementary school came from art.  It's an easy way to express yourself, no matter your skill level.

http://booksforthebarrios.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/12-Polo-South-library-reading-section1.jpg

While the set up of this picture is interesting, mostly I love the book shelves.  Having options different books to read in the classroom is important to me.  Having basically grown up in a library, I know how much knowledge can be gained simply by instilling the desire to read in the hearts of children.  I want to make sure I have books of different levels and in different languages.  I’ll avoid books with strong themes that might cause conflict in the classroom.

https://wilnjen.wordpress.com/classroom-rules/

I've always liked the idea of having simple class rules posted in the class room. That way the kids can have a simple reminder about what we do and don't do in the classroom.  I want the kids to come up with the rules themselves at the beginning of the school year, that way they feel more accountable to follow the rules.

http://lambandblonde.blogspot.com/2012/11/room-love-blackboard-walls.html

I've always thought it would be really cool to have a chalkboard wall in a classroom.  If it couldn't be a whole wall, at least a really giant chalkboard that isn't the same as the one I use to teach on.  I loved being able to write on the chalkboard when I was growing up, and that way the kids could write or draw on it whenever they wanted.  This would also be a good way to get the kid’s personal artwork into the classroom.

My classroom will be light and happy.  Studies show that increased light improves moods and productivity.  I want to have bright colors that emphasize the light and mood of the classroom.

We will have a word wall with vocabulary words we are learning each month.  I want to have these words listed not only in English, but in common languages like French, Spanish, German, and any other languages that students in my class may speak. 

 I love having lots of colors and activities.  I like the idea of having a big mat on the floor that kids can sit on instead of being at their desks for some of the lessons.  I want to do the reading type activities on the mat.  I remember in kindergarten we would sit on the mat and our teacher would write words up on the whiteboard and we would practice saying them.  We would also be able to sit and listen as the teacher read to us.  It was fun to know that every day for our reading lessons we would be able to leave our desks.  Desks are great for doing individual work, but I feel like especially when working with younger kids, it's important to be able to move around.  The desks will be better for projects and written assignments.  I want to have different shelves that the students can always access that hold different resources like blocks, paper, books, etc.  During the lessons, I want to have visuals and hopefully incorporate the different resources into what I'm teaching.

For writing and math lessons, I hope to be able to start with the class listening to me and then be able to break apart and work in small groups.  Within their groups, I want to frequently mix up who they’re working with.  Sometimes I want those who understand the concept to teach it to those who aren’t understanding until they’re all on the same page.  Other times, I think it would be beneficial to put the kids who are ahead together and those who are struggling at a different table.  That way I can spend extra time with those who are struggling. 

I want to teach younger elementary children, and at this point in their lives, they are open to learning and those who have difficulties in their lives might be more open to talking to me about it.  Because of this, I feel that the way I interact with them can have a huge influence on their future.

In my class, we don't speak bad about one another.  That is one of the more important rules.  We also don't cheat or take things that don't belong to us.  Instead of punishment, I like the idea of just not rewarding kids who misbehave.  Like if everyone got extra time outside, if kids were misbehaving, they wouldn't get to go out and instead would stay inside to keep working (this as an example, I'm not sure how it would work exactly).  Each week I want to assign homework, but give them the entire week to finish it.  I realize this means that most of the kids will finish it on Thursday night, but as elementary kids, I want them to spend more time outside exploring then doing homework.  This way they do have a homework packet to finish but it won't take all their time.

A typical lesson in my classes will have instruction, then some type of activity to help us learn the topic, then applying it on their own with individual help available to those who need it. I feel that the topics will mostly come from required things that the state education department requires, but the speed and amount of focus placed on each item will be determined by what the kids need help with at the time.  For example if the kids in my class are struggling with subtraction, I won't worry about moving forward until the majority have it down.  The specifics of how I will teach it are unknown to me for the time being, seeing as I haven't studied that yet, but I will teach with love and patience.  During the lessons, I want the kids to know that the subject is important, but not as important as knowing that I'm there to help them if they need it.

During the lesson, I'll start by having the students line up by some topic (birthday, height, number of siblings, etc) and number them off to get them into random groups.  In a simple geometry lesson, I would start by giving each table a huge pile of geometry pattern blocks and ask them to cover the whole table without any gaps.  All the tables would end up with different patterns, so then we could walk around and see the differences between our patterns and those of others.  After that, each table could talk about which shapes fit together nicely and which ones don’t.  Then we could come back together as a group and talk about angles and hopefully through our discussions, they can discover why some angles fit together and others don’t.

Hopefully my students are actively engaged in the lesson.  I picture some paying close attention, some squirming in their seats, because that's what elementary kids do, and probably a few not paying attention at all.  If I can pick out who struggles to pay attention in the beginning, then hopefully when I give them individual assignments later, I can go check on those students and make sure they understand and give them one on one attention.

I love pretests and post-tests.  That way I can see clearly how much the students have learned.  If I test them at the beginning and end of units, I'll be able to see how much they know before and then focus my teaching to the things that they don't understand.  Then if I give them a similar post-test, I'll be able to see how far they've come.

Book Review: Honky

(1)   Your points of disruption--places in the book that cause you to feel uncomfortable or angry or curious.

This book was full of disruptions for me.  One of the first came from the fact that I was so fascinated by the idea of a family in the 1960’s where no one worried about color or sexual orientation.  They were so open, and the fact that I thought of that as unusual was a disruption.  Why is it that having a family where a white mom will go out and protest for the black people, and where she commonly found herself on dates with homosexual men because she didn’t see them any different, seems so rare to me? Or where a little girl at a birthday party who gets upset because the other girls are talking bad about “niggers” seemed surprising to me.  I thought it was so cool that they could see blacks as equals, where that should be a normal, everyday thing, not a rarity.

I also began to be bothered by the fact that Dalton was discriminated against for being the only white kid in the neighborhood.  When the boy at the baseball field took his glove, I was mad and realized that I blamed part of the theft on the fact that he was black.  It wasn’t until just now as I thought about that instance that I realized that I had been racial profiling. I pictured all these black kids, ganging up on the white kid and that makes me much more upset than the idea of a bunch of white kids picking on the black kid.   The more I think about it and study racial discrimination, the more I realize that I’m not past it, that I still have a sense of superiority to those of other ethnicities, and that realization is a huge disruption.  Just as much so, is the realization that I’m not sure what I can do about it.

(2)   Descriptions of the stories from the book clarify or provide examples of the ideas we have been discussing in class.

An obvious example of an idea we’ve been discussing in class would be the topic of discrimination.  Dalton was treated differently throughout the whole book because he was a white kid in a minority neighborhood.  Institutional racism and discrimination were particularly prominent as he changed from school to school.  At elementary school, he was not necessarily favored, but he was treated better because of his color.  If the teacher would have hit him like she did the rest of the students, there would have been more danger of being turned in and taken to court.  This pattern continued as he moved from school to school, always being treated better than the minority students he hung out with.

Another idea that we talked about that was I read the book was the idea of privilege.  When he was with his friend and caught the house on fire, he talked about how if he had been in a different neighborhood or if his skin was a different color, he would have been in more trouble, but because of where he was and who he was, there was no punishment. 

One thing that I found interesting was his lack of materials at home.  In class, we talked about how often, kids who come from lower income backgrounds will have lower testing levels because of lack of exposure. This was something I recognized when he stole the comic books from the store. Granted they were comic books and it is possible that they had other books in the home, but from what we learned, he had to steal in order to bring literature into his home.

(3) How the stories from the book will influence your thinking about your future work as a teacher.

One of the hardest parts of the book for me to read was when he was in school and the teachers were so prejudice against the black kids.  Dalton was treated so different from his black friends.  When they were in the lunch room and his friend got hit in the head by the supervisor, I was frustrated for him, not only because no child should ever be hurt in school, but because the racism was happening without any punishment towards the supervisor.  As I read this, I realized the importance of making my classroom a safe place for all students.  I never want a student to be afraid, either of me or of the other students.  I want them to feel comfortable and open and not have fears.  When Dalton was afraid to go to the bathroom as a young child, my heart was broken.  No child should ever have to suffer while at school, and I need to make it my goal as a teacher to make sure nothing like that ever happens.

Can I Kiss You?

For my community experience, I went to the seminar "Can I Kiss You" given by Michael Domitrz.  Michael was an engaging speaker who helped to open my eyes to the idea of consent.  Before attending this seminar, I'm not sure I fully understood what consent was and why it is so important when it comes to simple things like kissing.  He also shared his ideas on equality in the ways we view dating and his reasoning as to why we need to not only use consent in our own relationships but also how we need to keep our eyes out for those who may be planning to harm others.

Domitrz began by discussing where we would most likely come across a situation where someone was being taken advantage of.  We decided as a group that situation would be a party.  If we see someone at a party who is being given too much to drink, what would stop us from making sure that person got a safe ride home instead of ending up a victim of rape?  Domitrz believes the only thing really holding us back is the fear of confrontation.  So why do we fear confrontation?  The answer is, we don't.  If someone we loved was the person in danger, we wouldn't hesitate to make sure they were okay.  If a friend was about to drive off in their car after having too much to drink, we would all refuse to let them.  So why would we not stop the random strangers at a party or a club? The answer is that they aren't worth it to us.  We assume that everything will be okay and carry on with our lives.  He pointed out that a lot of the times, people hear about rape victims and along with it we hear "think about if that girl was your daughter, how would you feel?" Mike pointed out that this is such an awful way to look at it.  We should care about the person because they are a fellow human being. It shouldn't matter if our daughters or sons are involved, what matters is someone being forced to do things against their will and we have the power to stop it. 

The next point Mike made was to think about the labels we use.  As we talked about the party situation, he pointed out that when he talked about the person being given too much to drink, we all immediately pictured a woman.  When we tried to figure out why we wouldn't have stopped the man from giving her drinks, we pointed out that she was drinking on her own free will and that she probably knew what would happen.  As a group we agreed that she was probably a little skanky and shouldn't have been flirting that much.  When we reversed the situation, so a guy was being given the drinks, we called that just being a guy, maybe a little bit of a player, but not out of the ordinary.  So why do we discriminate against women so much easier than men? He also talked about the Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake fiasco at the Superbowl.  In summary, Justin Timberlake ripped the front of Janet Jackson's shirt off and her nipple was exposed.  After this happened, Janet Jackson's career was wrecked for years.  Justin on the other hand was able to continue on with hardly any grief.  When the blame was equal, why is it that Janet had such a blame placed on her? The standards set for men and women is in nowise equal.  Women are degraded for the same things that men are praised for.

So why ask if you can kiss someone? Consent is ongoing, enthusiastic, and mutual agreement.  If you ask someone if you can kiss them before just going for it, you give them the opportunity to decide if it's what they want.  If they don't want to be kissed, and you kiss them, you take away their agency.  According to Domitrz, we don't ask because we don't want to hear  "no," but that is the exact reason we need to ask.  If they don't want to kiss and you force them to anyways, the situation will be more awkward than it would have been if you asked and they said no.  Consent is so important. I feel like if we aren't getting consent for something as simple as a kiss, then chances of getting consent for something more serious like sex will be lower.  

Domitrz had some excellent points that he made throughout the night.  I hadn't previously thought about what people who suffer through a rape situation go through.  We need to be aware of how others are being treated and make a commitment to stand up for what we know to be right.  If someone we know or don't know is in a dangerous situation where they could be hurt, we need to step in and make a difference.  When rape is on the line, it's always our business to be involved, and we always need to be there for those who are victims of this catastrophe.  

Portfolio IV

THE OPPRESSION OF WOMEN

 

Society would like to tell us that women and men are equal when it comes to their sociodemographic status.  In reality, that’s not true.  According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, while women are the main breadwinner for 4/10 families, in 2015, they made on average .80 for every $1 a man made.  They stated that if the rate of change between men and women’s wages continues at the same rate, it will take about 44 years before the gap is breached.  Because of this gap, women need a higher education status if they want to be paid the same amount.  Legally, women have the same rights, but just because the rights say something, doesn’t mean that’s what actually happens.

*These numbers are representative of 2014

SES

Employment – The 1870 Census was the first to count women in the workforce.  That census placed females as 18% of the total workforce.  The majority of this 18% was found in education, but there were some working in factories and mines.  That census found that 5 women were lawyers, 24 were dentists, and 2000 were doctors. 

When it came to owning property, women gain rights slowly.  Pennsylvania allowed women to own property under their own name during incapacity of their spouse in the year 1718. The next state to allow this was Maine in the year 1821.  Over 100 years later.  Other states follow suite in the next 100 years, but the point is, women couldn't own property on their own until that right was granted.  Men never had stipulations about when they could or couldn't own property, it was just a given right.

  

August 18, 1920 women in the US received the right to vote. When the US was founded, women didn’t have all the same rights as men, but this was really the beginning of women’s suffrage.

Freedom of Speech was a right given to everyone with the Bill of rights.  When it first was announced, men still had more control and more power when it came to their speech, but these days there are arguments that women actually have more freedom when it comes to freedom of speech.  Men tend to get in more trouble legally for things they say while women can be verbally abusive towards men and not much is done about it.

When compared to many other countries, women have been treated decently well, but they're also not equal.  They're treated as slightly lesser.  Whether this is purposeful or if it's tradition being carried on, there is still inequality. If you look at the fortune 500 list of CEO's, you'll find the names of 23 women.  This is just one small example of how women may have the ability to reach equality, but it isn't happening. Another is in our US government, women are under represented.  In 2015, 19.4% of congress is comprised of women, 20% of the Senate, and 19.3% the House of Representatives.

Women in the media are portrayed as perfect far too often.  Men tend to have freedom, companies, power, wealth and control. Women on the other hand are often in the home, they're seen out shopping with their perfect bodies and perfect lives.  Occasionally we see them in positions of power, but usually when they're in those positions they're portrayed as power hungry and disliked.  One that immediately comes to mine is the movie "The Proposal" Sandra Bullock plays a company CEO, but no one likes her.  All her employees want her assistant Ryan Reynolds to have more power.  We see classic movies like "Pretty Woman" where the main actor owns multiple companies, and the only reason he wants a woman to be seen with him is for image.

Dove has a set of videos fighting the way women are portrayed in the media.  This is just one example of what is done to women to make them "perfect" for the videos and images we see in the media.  

Media will tell us we need men.  We don't see memes like this about Men needing a woman. There as an inequality between the two.

Oppression of women is leading to all sorts of negative consequences.  One of the biggest consequences comes from a psychological standpoint.  According to the American Psychological Association, because women have a lower socioeconomic status, they are living below the poverty line more frequently.  Living below the poverty line is linked to increased stress and raises the rates of depression and anxiety. They are also more likely to report domestic violence as well as worse eating habits.  

Women all over are speaking out against the inequalities of men and women.  I think that is one of the most effective strategies to cope with the inequality.  As people become aware of the inequalities and fight against them, we see changes.  

Understanding the oppression of women can help me understand natural bias's as a teacher.  I need to make sure to treat the children with equality.  As I teach children equally, I can help them to see the world as an equal world.  It seems like a little thing, but if we all teach people about sexual equality, slowly this problem can be solved.

Can we fix the oppression against women today? No.  But can we teach the next generation to fix this situation that we've gotten ourselves into? Yes.  That's how we can fix this.

Portfolio III

THE UTAH SYMPHONY

For my experience of being the "other" I decided to try going to the symphony.  I'd never been to a symphony, though it was something I've always wanted to do. 

I didn't want to feel underdressed or overdressed so before attending, I actually called the office number and asked what the dress was.  The nice lady told me business casual so that's what I went with. When I arrived, I quickly realized I was extremely underdressed.  I felt like I was attending a high class, 40's and older prom.  I had worn a dress, but my attire paled in comparison to those around me.  I don't own a single item of clothing that could have been elegant enough to compete with the upper class ladies at this event.  I felt like the peasant who crashed the royal ball.  I did see one other girl when I first got there who was wearing jeans.  A lot of people were actually staring at her, like she didn't belong.  Luckily my dress was just enough so that while I didn't look as nice as most everyone else, I didn't draw too much attention to myself.

Even before the concert began, everything was said in whispers.  Maybe it was so as to not interrupt the warming up of the artists, but when I asked the ticket women which way I should go to get to my seat, I said it in a quiet, but not a whispering voice and got some strange stares from the people around.  She whispered back directions, and I continued on my way.  I think being quiet may just be a sign of being in a classy environment, but I'm not sure.

Another observation I made was people don't go to the symphony alone.  There was a sense of social capital there, where everyone seemed to "know someone" and have some kind of connection that I didn't have. Everyone was traveling in groups, and I was the like the lone wolf.  I actually would have imagined I'd see more people alone, because the type of people attending were upper class individuals who seemed to care less about what others thought about them.  Also maybe I assumed that because in the movies, people are often at the symphony alone.

One thing I wouldn't have known prior to attending was that a symphony is not an event for children.  I saw a few young teens with families, but the youngest person I saw was at least 13 or 14 years old.  It may be that it is just a type of event that the cost isn't worth bringing children, but it was unusual to me to not see any at all.

Clapping.  I guess I don't know the proper etiquette for clapping at proper events.  After the final performance, the girl who was the main performer stood up and we all stood and gave her a standing ovation.  She bowed and left the stage.  I thought that would be the moment to leave, but everyone stood and remained clapping, so I kept on with them.  She returned, and was given flowers all the while we continued standing and clapping.  At this point I figured for sure we were done, but after leaving again, she once again returned at third time to the stage.  We clapped some more, and after she left again people finally quite clapping and the lights in the room were turned up and people began to leave.  I stayed caught up following the examples of those around me, but I'm still not sure why she came and went 3 different times.

Parking.  There are different levels of elites who attend symphonies.  Because I didn't want to have to pay for parking since I'm a cheap college student, I parked about 5 blocks away and just walked.  I saw 2 or 3 couples who did the same thing as me, but when I looked at the parking online, you had special underground parking for "permit members only" and then there were paid public parking areas around the concert hall.  When I left, it had started raining, and it appeared there were actually people you could pay to escort you with an umbrella to your car, but I don't think that applied when you have to walk over a mile, so I just went without one.

Overall while attending the symphony I felt like a lower class citizen.  I wasn't exactly discriminated against, but I didn't feel welcome either.  I clearly wasn't older and sophisticated like those who were with me in the concert hall.  The majority of people were white, and everyone appeared wealthy.  While I could get a ticket for $20, the tickets went up to $90 a ticket and some of those seats came with a minimum donation of $2000 per concert season.

Just like my experience at the symphony, for students who are experiencing school as a "foreign" place, we can't just expect them to know how everything works.  They may not understand the rules, especially the unspoken ones, they may not know what kind of clothing is socially acceptable, and they may not feel included. Having never really felt like an outsider this experience was eye opening.  As a teacher, I need to figure out how to make each student feel like they're welcome and wanted every day.  This event would have been much easier to attend if I had been going with someone who had previous experiences there. Likewise, school is probably much easier to attend with a friend or even just a classmate who is willing to sit with you and help you understand everything that is going on.

Portfolio 2

Below are listed some of the artifacts that make up who I am and what my culture looks like:

 

Baptism is something that I believe in.  In my culture as a member of the LDS faith, we believe that baptism is an ordinance performed at the age of 8 that not only is a symbol of your joining the church, but also is an opportunity to be forgiven of all your sins and to start fresh.  Because of this, starting at a young age LDS kids have a sense of responsibility and a desire to be accountable for their decisions.  

The Honor Code is a formal Norm at BYU and something I personally value.  The culture here at BYU is one of living high moral standards and living with honor.  Because of this, students refrain from smoking, drinking, cheating, and even dressing immodestly.

Strong family relationships is something many people in my culture value.  The stereotypical American family has a mother at home, and a father who goes to work.  This leads to close family connections because time is spent with siblings and parents in the home.

Respecting the religious beliefs of others is a formal norm in my culture.  In the United States we agree that everyone has the right to worship and believe however they want.

Spending time outside is something many people in my culture enjoy doing.  When we have free time, it is common to go hiking, ride bikes, go on walks, or enjoy other outdoor activities. 

 American culture tends to value learning about other cultures and countries.  Because America is such a gathering place for so many different cultures, it's important to always be learning about others.

  In American culture, there is a stigma that everyone needs to be physically fit and active if they want to be "beautiful" or look "healthy."  Because of this, physical exercise is a common activity in our culture.

In America, celebrating holidays is something that brings people together.  Halloween (pictured above) is one such holiday that the majority of people in America tend to celebrate.  For Halloween, many people take pumpkins and carve images into them as a decorative display.  Because of this, pumpkins tend to be a symbol of Halloween. 

Watching sports is something that brings people together in America.  It is common to have a team or group of teams that you root for.  Personally I'm a huge Seahawks fan.  Being their fan creates a community of people that I can relate to just because we're all fans of the same team.  Athletics foster a sense of similarity between people who may have nothing in common except the fact that they love the same team.

  It is common for girls throughout America to wear a white dress, but it is especially common among girls in the LDS faith.  In the LDS faith, white is seen as a symbol of virtue and purity.  Wearing white is an ancient symbol that shows that you have saved yourself for marriage.  These days, it's more of a tradition than a symbol.

 Physical affection is a symbol of love in my culture. Specifically within my family, physical affection is a way we communicate with one another.  Giving a hug before saying goodbye shows that you will miss them and can't wait to see them again later.  Kissing, hugging, and holding hands are some of the most common affections you'll see.

Shopping is a symbol of the value of materialistic things in my culture.  People tend to think that if you can afford the nicest things, it shows other your social status.  Because of this, starting at a young age, people (girls especially) like to constantly spend money making themselves look fashionable and put together.  The more expensive an outfit looks, the more wealthy others perceive you.

Smiling is a symbol of happiness in my culture.  In America, it is common to show your excitement or joy about something by smiling and laughing.  When you don't smile, often times people will assume you're angry or unhappy with them.  

Holding up your fingers in this manner is a symbol of peace in American culture.   The peace sign became popular during the hippy movement, and has began resurfacing in today's society as teens and young adults try to act more like "hippies."  Hippies are going to care less about what they wear and have a sort of "go with the flow" type of attitude.

Equality is something my society claims to value.  People in America are constantly fighting for equality among all citizens. As we vote for new laws and leaders, we want to pick those laws and leaders that we believe will help create a better sense of equality among all people.  While we claim to have reached a state of legal equality, when we look closely, we can see that America as a whole doesn't act as though everyone is equal.

Jesus Christ is someone that tends to be at the core of many American religions.  Believing in him is a common religious practice in my culture. While there are hundreds of religions in America, the majority have a christian core, where Christ is the center of their beliefs.

Movies and other forms of entertainment are something that my society holds of high value.  In America, much of our time is spent watching movies.  Terms like "Netflix and chill" are used to describe the evening plans of millennials as they meet up with those of the opposite gender to watch TV and kiss.  American lives are often centered around what movies are playing or what show they should watch next.

Fast Food is of high value in my society.  American's tend to move at a fast pace so having food you can order and receive within minutes goes with that.  Rather than sitting to enjoy a meal, meals are available on the go, to pick up on your way to work or as a quick stop between errands. 

Electronics are highly valued in my culture.  Almost everyone you see will have some form of electronic device on their person at all times.  This is because American culture is focused on fast, instant connections with the technological world.  If a person in America doesn't have a smart phone or a Facebook, we're surprised.  The norm is to have constant connections with the world.

According to E.B. Tylor, culture is "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society."

All of my artifacts help to describe the culture in which I live.  Many of them I feel would actually be an aid in a classroom setting. Some of these consist of equality among all people, peace, smiling, and learning about other cultures.

Some things that might cause conflict or concern in a classroom environment would be electronics, entertainment, and maybe even my religious background.  Electronics are hard because they are so useful, yet can be so distracting.  As part of today's culture, there is almost no way to avoid spending time with electronics, even in the classroom.  Entertainment is much the same way. Movies and music can aid in so many different ways, but if you don't use the right movies and music, they provide and ever bigger distraction to the learning environment.  The one that scares me the most is my religious background.  Being a member of the LDS faith is who I am and I cannot separate it.  I know religion isn't part of public education, and I can respect that, but I also hope to add to my teaching instead of distracting from it by being LDS.

My Future Classroom

http://teacherpop.org/2015/05/how-to-efficiently-pack-up-your-classroom/

I love this classroom.  It seems inviting and colorful and interactive.  I knew in my mind what I wanted my future class to look like and then when I saw this image, it was exactly what I was thinking.  

http://ckite.blogspot.com/p/art-centers-in-classroom.html

This art shelf is great.  I want to make sure that the children I teach have the opportunity to draw and create.  Some of my favorite memories from elementary school came from art.  It's an easy way to express yourself, no matter your skill level.

http://booksforthebarrios.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/12-Polo-South-library-reading-section1.jpg

While the set up of this picture is interesting, mostly I love the book shelves.  Having options different books to read in the classroom is important to me.  Having basically grown up in a library, I know how much knowledge can be gained simply by instilling the desire to read in the hearts of children.

https://wilnjen.wordpress.com/classroom-rules/

I've always liked the idea of having simple class rules posted in the class room. That way the kids can have a simple reminder about what we do and don't do in the classroom.

http://lambandblonde.blogspot.com/2012/11/room-love-blackboard-walls.html

I've always thought it would be really cool to have a chalkboard wall in a classroom.  If it couldn't be a whole wall, at least a really giant chalkboard that isn't the same as the one I use to teach on.  I loved being able to write on the chalkboard when I was growing up, and that way the kids could write or draw on it whenever they wanted.

My classroom will be bright and happy. I love having lots of colors and activities.  I like the idea of having a big mat on the floor that kids can sit on instead of being at their desks for some of the lessons.  I want to do the reading type activities on the mat.  I remember in kindergarten we would sit on the mat and our teacher would write words up on the whiteboard and we would practice saying them.  We would also be able to sit and listen as the teacher read to us.  It was fun to know that every day for our reading lessons we would be able to leave our desks.  Desks are great for doing individual work, but I feel like especially when working with younger kids, it's important to be able to move around.  The desks will be better for projects and written assignments.  I want to have different shelves that the students can always access that hold different resources like blocks, paper, books, etc.  During the lessons I want to have visuals and hopefully incorporate the different resources into what I'm teaching.

For writing and math lessons, I hope to be able to start with the class listening to me and then be able to break apart and work in small groups or individually. I like the idea of starting with instruction and moving to worksheets, so I can answer any questions from the start and then get an idea of where they are at based on how they do on worksheets. 

I imagine the students in my class being sweet and innocent. I want to teach younger elementary children, and at this point in their lives, even the ones who are misbehaving, aren't misbehaving because of some deep desire to make me mad, but out of a lack of knowledge of the correct way to behave.  Because of this, I feel that the way I interact with them can have a huge influence on their future.

In my class, we don't speak bad about one another.  That is one of the more important rules.  We also don't cheat or take things that don't belong to us.  Instead of punishment, I like the idea of just not rewarding kids who misbehave.  Like if everyone got extra time outside, if kids were misbehaving, they wouldn't get to go out and instead would stay inside to keep working (this as an example, I'm not sure how it would work exactly).  Each week I want to assign homework, but give them the entire week to finish it.  I realize this means that most of the kids will finish it on Thursday night, but as elementary kids, I want them to spend more time outside exploring then doing homework.  This way they do have a homework packet to finish but it won't take all their time.

A typical lesson in my classes will have instruction, then some type of activity to help us learn the topic, then applying it on their own with individual help available to those who need it. I feel that the topics will mostly come from required things that the state education department requires, but the speed and amount of focus placed on each item will be determined by what the kids need help with at the time.  For example if the kids in my class are struggling with subtraction, I won't worry about moving forward until the majority have it down.  The specifics of how I will teach it are unknown to me for the time being, seeing as I haven't studied that yet, but I will teach with love and patience.  During the lessons, I want the kids to know that the subject is important, but not as important as knowing that I'm there to help them if they need it.

During the lesson, I'll start by teaching the basics of the lesson at the front of the class.  In a simple math lesson, I imagine I would be writing on a projector or on the chalkboard while also asking questions and getting the children involved.  I can write a problem on the board, then ask them to solve it, then come back together so that they can share their answers.  We can solve it together and we can find out what the best way to find the solution might be. Hopefully I can not spend too much time with a lesson and can find games or songs or activities that teach the lesson also.  That way the kids learn it from multiple sources, one of which is fun and interesting to them.  

Hopefully my students are actively engaged in the lesson.  I picture some paying close attention, some squirming in their seats, because that's what elementary kids do, and probably a few not paying attention at all.  If I can pick out who struggles to pay attention in the beginning, then hopefully when I give them individual assignments later, I can go check on those students and make sure they understand and give them one on one attention.

I love pretests and post-tests.  That way I can see clearly how much the students have learned.  If I test them at the beginning and end of units, I'll be able to see how much they know before and then focus my teaching to the things that they don't understand.  Then if I give them a similar post-test, I'll be able to see how far they've come.