Welcome CUIN 4361 Class!
First, I would like to say hello and welcome you to my blog. My name is Davereon Freeney. I'm currently a senior at the University of Houston, and my major is in Education. I will be graduating with the certification to teach EC-6. I will be graduating this coming May, and I am so excited! I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for me as I begin my journey as a teacher!
Growing up, I wasn't exposed to a lot of diversity (at first), so English was the only language I heard because everyone around me spoke English. It wasn’t until I moved cities in the 6th grade and transferred to a School with diversity. I began to hear people speak Spanish around me so this was a new experience. I took Spanish in middle school and my last two years in high school. All the classes were structured the same way; I just learned a little bit more each year. The teacher would start by having a lesson over some words or a topic for that day. We would start by learning the basic things like numbers, months of the year, vocabulary, and simple phrases in each class. We would get a worksheet and complete it, and that would be it. As I got older and began working at places with people who spoke different languages; I have gain more experience with learning and speaking Spanish by talking to my co-workers and learning from them.
As a future educator, my teaching philosophy will center around ensuring that; I am building positive relationships will each of my students and creating a safe and comfortable learning environment for every student. I am passionate about diversity and equity, so my classroom will reflect that. I can do this by getting to know my students and their background so I can know what their individual needs are so they can be successful (Wright, 2019, p. 25). I know I will have a variety of students, and every student learns differently, so I will have to use various strategies that will benefit every child. Wright stated, “ELLs formulate, reformulate, and negotiate their identities as they deal with and attempt to resolve the conflicts between what they encounter at home, in school, and in the dominant social culture"(2019, p.21). Keeping that in mind as a teacher, I will celebrate my ELLs students' differences and culture and use it as a teaching moment for my students to learn more about diversity and create that comfortable learning space for us all. I will make sure they receive the appropriate accommodations and extra support they may need. They should feel comfortable and should be able to embrace their native language and culture even inside of school.
References:
Wright, W. E. (2019). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice (3rd ed.). Caslon Publishing.
