Culturally Diverse Students Essay

Today our classrooms, just corresponding families, are becoming more than unique and blended. teachers are tasked with effectively curriculum line students with disabilities and diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In wander for educators to meet the ask of their students, key strategies must be implemented that will positively locomote their students academic on the wholey and behavior bothy. This paper reflects on the experience of one of these families and identifies key strategies to maximise the potential of cultural and linguistic every last(predicate)y transcendent students. BackgroundI was well-disposed enough to interview a family that I attain endureed with over the old age as a nanny. For the purposes of this paper and the anonymity of the family I am exploitation the names Lucy and Chris (to refer to the mother I interviewed and her husband) and crowd together (to refer to the colossal small fry). Because I bedevil been working in this familys h ome for a number of years I am adequate to(p) to give an close overview of their socioeconomic status. Lucy and Chris self-identify as African-American and live in San Pedro, CA where the macrocosm is 76,415 with 59% identifying as Caucasian and 8% identifying as African American.The t delivership can be classified as predominately middle class as the median phratryhold in amount is $62,422 (City Data, 2011). Lucy completed some college and works full-time as a pieceager of a credit union. She lives in a three-bedroom house with her oldest son, her younger son, James, who is now 15, and her husband. James is a lively young man with autism who is on the moderate/severe side of the spectrum. He is an exceptional swimmer and inscribes in his high school general P. E. syllabus. He struggles with social interactions and has really little expressive language.He has learned to use a GO TALK to communicate functionally. James is very sensitive to his environment and some generati on becomes overwhelmed by loud noises and crowded spaces. Autism affects 188 churlren and the prevalence is on the rise. It is the fastest exploitation developmental disability in the U. S. It is five times more likely for boys to have autism than girls. It is characterized by language delays, social delays, and clamant patterns of behavior (Facts Ab break ASD, 2012). Lucy knows that I am in the process of acquire my supererogatory education credential and that my own family member has DS-ASD. When she wasinterviewing me for the nanny rig years ago she was nervous and unsure close to letting anybody come into her home. After I told her about my background and how much I have learned from my brother she began to open up and become more at rest with me. She has since then told me how thankful she is for me and how nice it is to have someone that understands her son. Discovering and Reacting to Disability It all started in preschool school. The teacher kept telling Lucy, I dont think he can try out. And Lucy kept saying, He can hear just fine The teacher kept saying the same thing so finally she took him to the doctor.This experience supports the research on professionals in betimes education or elementary school programs being the parents initial source of information about their childs special considers (Turnball et. Al, 2011, p. 77). Denial was the archetypal phase in the process of Lucy learnedness to accept her sons autism. Lucy also said other members of her family were in denial, including her husband and father. Her father told them they were not disciplining him enough on multiple occasions. She did not talk about any anger, bargaining, or depression phases before decision acceptance (The Grieving Process ppt, 2013).Lucy has immense inner strength that I truly admire. After a doctor diagnosed James, Lucy and Chris told their family and her mother pushed her to get particular(a) support. Lucy tells me she probably wouldnt have ever done gone(p) for it if it werent for her mother because they have always worked for everything they had and lively comfortably and didnt indispensableness to ask for benefactor. A persons culture may affect treatment decisions and is often associated with true socioeconomic or geographical constraints link to raging care (Mandell & Novak, 2005, p. 113).Reaching out for support was not something the family wanted to do and because they lived in San Pedro, accessing the right services often required traveling gigantic distances. Educators must recognize the relationship between status and our societys symbols of success (holding a job, having a place to live, and being independent). As an better service provider, I am always caught off guard by a familys hesitation about pursuing services (even my own family never sought out extra help). My professional experience has inborn in me the importance of early intervention.Many African-American families seek help from family, friends and church groups before they will get professional help for their child (Dyches et al. , 2004) (Litten, 2008, p. 5). Lucys perspective and her mothers reaction had twain been influenced by her experience with her sister, who was developmentally delayed as well. She said her mother wished she had gone and gotten services for her. But when they were growing up, Lucy said, It wasnt something you did. Our family was poor. We did whatever we did to survive and both of my parents worked. Educators request to keep the roles of culture, poverty, and historical perspectives in mind as we work with these families because they have an impact on the attitudes and behaviors of families with exceptional children. In Lucys family growing up, there was a lack of awareness about the availability of services. As educators, we must consider the lack of awareness and the socioeconomic factors that prevent certain families from taking advantage of the services that they are entitled to. We cant expect t hem to advocate if they arent aware of what is available.We must take on this role. Teacher strategy 1 Fairness is When a Child Gets What He/She Needs Over the years, Lucy and James struggled with the schools changing James placements. It wasnt until she came to the school to observe him and found him sitting in a corner of the classroom, on a couch, rocking back and forth for hours with no assist or demands placed on him that she checkd to pull him out of the dominion completely. During their search for a new junior high school they came crossways programs that were solely focused on vocational skills.Lucy and Chris felt their son had more important academic skills to obtain before teachers started teaching him how to get a job. They didnt expect him to be a scholar, further they did want him to have access to general reading, writing, and math curriculum. Education, rather than life skills, was more of a priority for them. They added an inclusion goal in his next IEP. James w ould participate in general P. E. and math or computer class. According to Kathryn Pitten, cultural mores may determine which treatment goals families will accept and which goals they will decide not to work towards.Also, parenting style will determine which goals are viewed as important. (Pitten, 2008, p. 4). Teachers must be responsible for developing a classroom program that fosters the understanding and respect for individual differences and discusses what fairness means to each student. Teacher strategy 2 Develop a Positive Collaboration betwixt Parents and Teachers Lucy admitted that she did not take an aggressive approach to getting James all of the supports he needed.Most of the things she learned she stumbled upon through conversations with other parents, teachers, and paraprofessionals (all of which have worked out in their favor). She believes she has done the best she can for her son. Once again, awareness was lack and because of that this family did not get the supp ort they needed until much later on. This is pursuant(predicate) with literature addressing service accessibility in that ethnic minorities typically access services at a much lower rate than their Caucasian counterparts (Balcazar, Keys, & Balcazar, 2001).Learning how the school system could work for her son was a large stressor for her. If educators embraced the full reality of the students and familys life and committed to supporting emotional and academic needs (Turnball et. Al, 2011, p. 147) this could help to bridge the happy chance between home and school. Letting parents know that you believe in their child is sometimes all it takes to give your familys hope. Teacher strategy 3 Implement Culturally Responsive Teaching Ford (2012) points out that African Americans are the only involuntary minority group.African Americans live in a society where race affects every aspect of their lives. The overrepresentation of Black students in special education has been dissected, discus sed, and debated (Ford, 2012). We need to understand the negative effects racism has on our children and be sensitive to the history of previous schooling of exceptional students. Some Moderate/Severe students, like James, are moved from program to program (several times a year). Teachers need to understand that not all children in their classroom have learned the same things and they cant be taught in the same environment at the same time.We need to differentiate and individualize our instruction by providing a wide unravel of materials and utilizing several learning strategies. School strategy 4 Ensure severally Student Can Identify With Someone One of the best things to run a risk to James in his freshman year of high school was connection the Big Brothers and Sisters program in his local community. Having a role position someone to look up to, relate with, and rely on has do such a meaningful impact on his life.Lucy reflected on the first time James was invited to watch t he local football team His take care lit up. He jumped up and down and couldnt contain his excitement. Teachers need to facilitate healthy inclusive relationships school-wide. It is our job to spread awareness about disability and help all students to become sensitive to the beauty of differences. inference James family hopes that one day he will be able to live in a supported living community with roommates but like many families with exceptional members, the future is uncertain.Teachers need to take an nimble role in the transition planning process and remember that culturally diverse families do not have the same values as those of the dominant culture. (Turnball et. Al, 2011, p. 89). These families deserve our utmost respect and attention. Showing parents that you are arouse in their story can lead to unexpected successes. In order to truly do our jobs we must make our professional story a part of their family story.