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Case: Uneasiness and Fear Mrs. Clare was well prepared for her culturally diverse first grade students this school year. She was looking forward to learning more about the five different countries and cultures represented in her classroom. She had completed all of the required courses to successfully earn her ESL (English as a Second Language) teaching endorsement. She was very aware of how to enrich her lessons to accommodate second language learners. What Mrs. Clare was not prepared for was the uneasiness and fear that overwhelmed the parents of the students who were not ESL pupils. One parent in particular complained to Mrs. Clare that her child was being harassed by another student in the classroom. When Mrs. Clare inquired about the identity of the "bully," the parent did not know the name of the student who was bothering her child. However, the parent mentioned to Mrs. Clare that the student causing trouble was one of the "foreign" boys with the dark hair and real dark skin. Mrs. Clare did not expect adults to react in this manner about a classroom of typical six year old students. Questions: 1. How can Mrs. Clare prepare herself for the challenges involved in teaching culturally diverse students? 2. Is it possible to convey to parents the importance of being open minded in their outlook of the culturally diverse world? 3. How can Mrs. Clare ease the tensions of the concerned parents? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) 1. Mrs. Clare can prepare herself for the challenges involved in teaching culturally diverse students by getting advice from teachers who have experience in an ESL classroom. Also, observing the teacher and students during lessons in an ESL classroom will help the teacher feel more prepared for situations that may arise and important practices to incorporate for the diverse leaners. 2. Mrs. Clare can convey to parents the importance of being open minded in their outlook of the culturally diverse world by sending a letter home at the beginning of the year. This is a way the teacher can tell parents about their diverse classroom and plans to embrace these diverse cultures. 3. Mrs. Clare can ease the tensions of the concerned parents by explaining her reasons for representing cultural diversity in her classroom and being available for parent conferences. Open communication is important so the parents will know what is going on at school and that she cares about every student. |
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