Running head: Statement of Informed Beliefs 1

Statement of Informed Beliefs

EDUC 204: Families, Communities & Culture

Melissa Woodland

College of Southern Idaho

STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 2
Statement of Informed Beliefs
Introduction
Caring, listening, and furthering the knowledge of students is what I feel is important to a
community of diverse learners. I can support them by making sure they know I do care and that I
am there for them. I can make strides in showing up at events and being seen. I feel if they see
me out and about, participating in school activities and in the community, they will know that I
care. It is important for me, and for them, to see me more than just in a classroom and behind a
desk.
Students Ability to Learn
I truly believe that every person is able to learn. Even with disabilities, IEPs, family,
cultural influence or other negative factors, everyone can learn if they want to. The key is that
they have a sincere desire to want to learn. I would use the zone of proximal development and
have students grow from each other. My responsibility as their teacher would be to make sure
they have a good foundation of skills. I need to help promote pro-social behaviors. I would
need to be sure to do my best to help them succeed. My expectations would influence their
opportunities by showing them ways to succeed, by helping them jump a hurdle, with different
ways of problem solving. It would influence them by giving them guide lines to stay within-
showing them again and again what would be possible. I would need to show them that the role
of educational goals would be to move towards something better. To reinforce to them that
whatever risks they may can be overcome. I want to give them guidance and help to make them
accountable for the direction their lives go.


STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 3
Students Social Ecology Theory
It is important to connect learning students social ecology because we need to know
where they come from in order to help them gain a perspective on where they want to go. If
teachers cant understand where students come from, how can they help students find their way
forward? Families, communities, and culture impact the students learning because the family is
where children learn the most; they learn what they should expect from life, for better or worse.
Educators need to ignore the desensitizing that comes when families become accustomed to
thinking, this is what I have to do and I cant get out of it.
When I was growing up two of my siblings dropped out of high school, I was the first of
my siblings to graduate. No one had gone to college either and I didnt have anyone to model
after. Instead I told my favorite teacher my plans for being the first in my family to attend
college. She helped me on my journey by providing advice and positive reinforcement. When I
told my family I wanted to go to college, my mom and my grandmother pushed me even harder
to follow that dream. They knew how important education would be in securing my
independence.
Community is important to a school district. When communities rally and support
students and educators all things are possible. Students know they are cared for and educators
know they are supported. My community was no different and I received a local scholarship that
paid my housing for my freshman year of college. I first heard about levys when I moved to
Montana. I remember a tech levy being on the ballot and not understanding what it was. The
principal explained it to me and I was sure it would pass without any issues. He informed me
that hed never seen a levy pass in his almost 10 years of being a principal there. I couldnt
believe it and when the levy failed, I could not come to terms of a community that would not
STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 4
support their education system. In the fall of 2013, Twin Falls School District had a levy on the
ballot. Our community rallied and supported the needs of our school district. A neighboring
town, which also had a school levy on the ballot, was not as fortunate as the levy failed. I have
to wonder how the teachers and students felt to not have the support of their community to fill
the needs of their growing school district.
Cultural Diversity Instruction
We need to acknowledge and build on the life experiences of each students background.
I want to bring life experiences into my class. To do this we need to ask questions, encourage
conversations, and listen. Listen not only to what they are saying, but what they are asking. We
need to know where the students in our classrooms come from in order to better educate them.
My father, who is Hispanic, moved away from El Paso, Texas as soon as he could. He
settled in an area where the community was predominantly white. This is an example of cultural
assimilation. He refused to speak Spanish in our home, encouraged us to blend in, and even
forbade us from taking Spanish in school. We didnt have much Hispanic culture around us
except for summers spent with family in Mexico and El Paso. We were fortunate to live in
Germany for two years when I was in elementary school. Though we were on a large military
base, we were surrounded with people from many different cultural backgrounds. This example
of cultural pluralism meant they had learned to live with each other and to accept their way of
life without losing their own beliefs and ways of life. The difference between cultural
assimilation and cultural pluralism is that one gives up their traditions to become part of the
group and the other lives harmoniously with everyone without losing his own identity.


STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 5
Curriculum for All Learners
I plan on working with students who will be primarily in the Formal Operational Stage
of Jean Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development and giving them chances to problem solve
will be beneficial. I plan on giving pre-tests, post-tests, and have students show their
understanding by doing projects. As I teach, I will constantly look for students understanding. I
plan to teach one idea in different ways, which will ensure that different types of learners will be
able to gain understanding. I need to be open to experimenting with the way I teach so I can help
each student in my classroom to learn. I want to stress to my students what Lev Vygotsky said,
(McLeod, 2007) Learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing
culturally organized, specifically human psychological function.
Conclusion
I believe that caring, listening and bettering yourself is important to a community of
diverse learners. With those three traits I can support the students that come into my classroom.
It will be important not just for students, but also for me, to remember that each person is an
individual and to take time to be a better person and a better educator for them. I know that if I
take the time to listen to them, to care for them, and to help them better themselves I am also
bettering myself for them.






STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 6
References
Berns, R. M. (2010). Child, family, school, community: socialization and suport. Belmont:
Wadsworth.
McLeod, S. (2007). Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved from Simply Psychology:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html