Rationale #1: Immigration Students
Date: August 5, 2008
Location: Chilliwack TEP room
Speaker: Satwinder Bains
On August 5, 2008, the director of UFV’s Centre of Indo-Canadian Studies, Satwinder Bains, talked about the diversity within classrooms. This presentation is placed under Standard 1 because the presentation talked about the tools and considerations teachers need to have in order to value and care for all students. Satwinder talked about how the process of adjusting to a new country and classroom situations takes years for immigrant students. One of the issues she said teachers need to be aware of is to start from the strength of the child not their deficit. It is very important that we treat every child with respect and attend to their needs, regardless of their background. Teachers also need to be aware that they help to address and educate students on the various cultures with in the classroom. As Satwinder indicated, it is crucial that all students feel included and are equal members in the classroom. An inclusive classroom is one that all students are active participants. Teachers have to ensure that they are helping students to maintain their cultural identities and not segregating them because of the differences. Satwinder discussed the differences between creating a classroom environment that forces the students to assimilate versus integrate within the rest of the classroom. It is important that students are not forced to believe and follow the majority ways but to remain the individual they came into the classroom as. One of the most important principles Satwinder Bains wanted us all to get from her presentation was that we need to move beyond the three Ds: dinner, dress and dance. Teaching should not just focus on those three aspects when educating on the different cultures. The history and other means of life need to be considered as well.
This presentation has made me more consciously aware on how I address that differences amongst the students and how I educate them on those differences. Her presentation has also had impact on the way I accommodate to the needs of each individual child. It is important to me that I ensure that all my students maintain positive identities and that I create an environment that encourages their learning about their culture. I think it is essential for teachers to provide the students with opportunities to learn about each other's cultures. The idea that all students need to be active participants in a classroom to make it inclusive will always be in the back of my mind when I have a classroom of students from different cultures. Satwinder's main point of going beyond the three ds will resonate with me throughout my entire teaching career and my goal is to provide all my students with the equality of education they deserve.
Rationale #2- Letters From Students
During my long practicum, I learned many valuable things from my students as they did from me. I created a respectful, challenging, stable and inclusive classroom that allowed the students to feel welcome and an important member to the class community. I allowed all students the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas with the rest of the class as much as possible. All my students had the chance to participate in every activity we did if they wanted. I showed my students that I cared and respected them. I wanted them to know that I was there to help them and to foster a positive learning environment for them. My dedication and commitment to fulfilling these hopes and goal was shown in their book of letters the class gave me on the last day of my practicum. The letters indicated what they liked the best about my time with them and suggestions they had for me to provide my future students with the excitement they received from my teachings. This is filed under standard one because it shows that I did foster a caring and positive environment in which my dedication to the students' learning showed through.
This booklet from the students has showed me what the students really valued from my teaching and what they think will make my future classroom successful for other students. It was a very nice gesture and it really made me more aware on how much I touched and motivated the students to learn. This piece of the students' work helped me to be reflective on my entire time spent with them and how I achieved my goal of showing them I cared for them. It also provided me with some things that I will use with my future classroom students.
Rationale #3- Getting To Know The Students
During my practicum, I took some time to get to know the students. My first lesson with 
them was a fun, interactive tool that I used to learn about their interests at school and hobbies. I gave each student a piece of paper that had three questions on it: what is your favourite thing about school? If you have a million dollars, what would you do with it? What are some of your hobbies? The students then were asked to answer the questions the best they could because it was going to help me decide different things we could learn about and do. I actually answered all the questions first for them so they got a sense of who I was too. After they finished the questions, they were encouraged to draw a picture of themselves. This simple activity really helped me build and connect with the students right from the beginning. The two activity sheets are filed under standard 1 because they show that I cared about getting to know each student as an individual. One of the sheets was completed by a girl and the other a boy.
I learned a lot from this activity. I gained so much knowledge about each student in my
practicum class and it set a really nice tone amongst us all as a learning community. The students were excited to do the sheet and to learn about me. This activity really showed that I cared about each of them and that I valued their interests. It also allowed them to ask me questions they wanted to know about me which made them more comfortable with me being their teacher. I will use an activity like this with all my classes as an ice-breaker and a way to connect with each child.
practicum class and it set a really nice tone amongst us all as a learning community. The students were excited to do the sheet and to learn about me. This activity really showed that I cared about each of them and that I valued their interests. It also allowed them to ask me questions they wanted to know about me which made them more comfortable with me being their teacher. I will use an activity like this with all my classes as an ice-breaker and a way to connect with each child.