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A Voice from the Field: An Interview with My Mentor


On March 7th, 2012, I sat down with Mrs. S., fifth grade teacher at Tarwater Elementary, for an
interview about her classroom. During her block time, we talked for about 30 minutes about
topics such as cultural diversity, bullying, and how they play into effect in her classroom. Shes
been teaching at Tarwater for six years and had dealt with many different situations before so she
had real-life knowledge about each of the subjects we talked about. She treats diversity in a
genuine, accepting way and prioritizes teaching her students that whats on the inside is more
important than the outside.

What activities do you do to address and embrace diversity?


Mrs. S. talked about one of her favorite lessons which is reading a book called You Are
Special. She has students pick number sticks at random (so they have someone elses name in
the classroom) and they have to think of a compliment about that person. Also, once a year her
class has a buddy day with a special ed student. The special ed teachers come to her classroom
before they go play with the special ed students and the teachers talk to her students about how
everyone is different and everyone is unique, and how the special ed kids have unique challenges
in their life. Mrs. S. said, During buddies, I love seeing the regular ed and special ed kids
interacting and building friendships. It really builds a sense of community on our campus and
dispels fears regarding students that have special needs.

Have you dealt with any bullying or negative behavior as a result of students differences? If
not this year, any previous experiences?
Mrs. S. could not recall any bullying based off of physical differences, but a lot of years shes
had to deal with bullying where kids wouldnt be friends with another kid because he/she doesnt
wear Abercrombie or shop at Justice (those are the two popular stores that are thrown around
the most. Usually, she hears directly from parents about that type of bullying. Just this year, a
parent came to talk to Mrs. S. to tell her that he daughter felt excluded because she (her mom)
wouldnt allow her daughter to wear a feather in her heir, so the popular girls didnt want to
hang around her anymore. Mrs. S. stated about the event, At this point, I have a talk with mom
and daughter (or son, if thats the case) about the importance of standing for who you are, what
you believe, and caring about whats on the inside. I try to talk a lot during community circle
about how the insides of someone matter a lot more than the outsides.

Is there a problem with bullying in your classroom? If not, have you ever had a classroom
where it was a problem and what did you do to address it?

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Last year I had a problem with kids calling a boy gay. It was extremely hurtful, to both the
boy and his parents. I had a community circle and discussed the name calling. We talked about
words that are derogatory and hurtful. Mrs. S. said she used the example about how they have
had buddy days with special ed students and how they would never use the word retard to
describe them. Or how in 4th grade they read books about the Holocaust and how they dont
single people out based upon their religious views. Mrs. S. said she tried to tie it all together with
using the word gay as well. Its a very sensitive subject and I believe I dealt with it
accordingly. Mrs. S. said she saw a change in the students behavior towards the boy they were
picking on and stopped hearing them use the term gay.

How does Tarwater Elementary treat cases dealing with bullying?


Tarwater Elementary has a zero tolerance for bullying, Mrs. S. replied, We, as educators, are
taught that the definition of bullying is a repeated act over time. Mrs. S. said that sometimes
parents and students dont understand that definition and they think that a one-time offense is
bullying. However, Mrs. S. goes on to say that the principal deals directly with the students
involved. Mrs. S. keeps a personal notebook and writes down the offense so that she can
document the repeated acts over time and, since the principal deals with the cases of bullying,
he contacts parents to let them know whats going on and the consequences.

In what ways are the students of your classroom diverse?


Mrs. S. said that the students in her classroom are diverse in several ways. First, she has students
from different ethnic backgrounds and many of her students are first-generation Americans. She
has students from countries in Africa, Mexico, Korea, and other asian countries. Another way she
said theyre diverse is based on socio-economics. Some of her students come from upper-middle
class families, while others are much poorer and barely making ends meet from pay check to pay
check.

Do you have any English Language Learners in your classroom? How do you incorporate
them when youre planning lessons?
I had an ELL student in my classroom, but she just moved back to Korea. She started school at
Tarwater (and the US) 4th quarter of 4th grade. She came to the US having very limited English
skills. Mrs. S. said that when she came into her classroom in 5th grade, she was scheduled to
meet with the ELL teacher for 30 minutes each day. Mrs. S. said that the student was an
exceptional case where she picked up the English language extremely quickly, probably because
she had a real desire to learn it. Mrs. S. told me that during grammar lessons and quizzes, the
students would consistently get the highest grade in the class. Mrs. S. modified her curriculum

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was to shorten assignments (instead of a five paragraph essay, perhaps just three) and outline the
skills she wanted the student to focus on (like topic sentence, main idea, and details.)

Do you have (or have you had) challenges dealing with parents who dont speak English?
How do you handle those situations?
Mrs. S. said that she has a few parents that dont speak English. One parent comes to conferences
with her daughter and the daughter serves as an interpreter. Another family has parents that dont
speak English and when she meets with them, another teacher at Tarwater serves as an
interpreter. Having an interpreter doesnt bother me at all. It takes a little bit of patiences (since
conferences will last a little bit longer) and you want to make sure information isnt lost in
translation. Another important thing to consider is that you need to make eye contact with the
parent, not the interpreter, so that the parent knows you are talking to them. Tarwater also has
important information in both English and Spanish and Mrs. S. says she tries to stay on top of
things that she sends home in both English and Spanish. There are several students at Tarwater
who speak Hebrew, but I have not had one yet. We have a lot of diversity because of Intel being
so close to the school.

Do you have students in your classroom from lower socioeconomic backgrounds? How do you
incorporate them when planning lessons or activities?
Just this year, I read in a students journal that for Christmas, his family couldnt afford to give
presents, so on Christmas Eve they have each other hugs as gifts. It made me cry! Mrs. S. went
on to say that Tarwater is a very affluent school and they ask for a lot of donations (both
materials and fiscally). Mrs. S. said she really tries to stress the fact that donations are optional
only if parents are able. A lot of families are struggling right now, Mrs. S. stated, parents
losing jobs, losing houses, etc. and I in no way want parents or students to think that they are
expected to donate to our classroom.

It was nice to sit down and get to know the classroom that I was in and how there was so much
more to the students and school that I hadnt known. Being that I went to Tarwater when I was in
elementary school, it was interesting to see a side of education that I hadnt thought about back
then. As a future educator, it was good for me to see the reality of diversity and social class and
how it will play a role in my classroom as well. I gained some really good insight into what it
means to be a teacher and how my actions can affect my students and they way that they treat
each other. I know that I will address diversity and differences and, as Mrs. S. has said before,
the importance of whats on the inside matters more than whats on the outside.

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