STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 1

Statement of Informed Beliefs

Amnber Phipps

Instructor: Professor Etheridge

EDUC-220 - 002W - Diversity in the Schools

Spring 2019
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Statement of Informed Beliefs

Throughout this course and my hours of observation, I have discovered many interesting

details about the education field. From figuring out how students learn, to cultural diversity, to

planning an efficient curriculum for my future students. All of which have encouraged my

passion to teach. With the knowledge I have gained through my experiences, I hope to soon be a

teacher who will impact the lives of many young minds.

All Students Can Learn

There are a variety of ways students retain information and learn from their teachers. For a

student to learn in any fashion, they must have the desire to do so. But the learning process is not

all up to just the student. For a successful education, both teachers and students require an open

perception of information. Meaning, the teacher must accommodate for all types of learning and

the student must put forth effort to learn. Those who are driven when it comes to their education,

are likely to succeed academically.

Socialization plays a large role in the adaptation of children's learning development (Berns,

2016 pg. 6). Social skills are typically developed in classroom settings. Teachers often help

students establish these skills by setting standards for the class and expecting good behavior from

them. This, along with implementing developmental tasks, will provide a good ground for

ensuring students gain knowledge. By creating a small society within the classroom, and helping

students deal with real world problems they can better prepare themselves for future endeavors.

A productive learning environment is also key when helping students learn. When they are

comfortable and know they are supported, students simply learn better. The main factors that go
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into creating a positive environment are providing relevant content, feedback, the chance to build

social skills, and clear learning goals.

As a future educator myself, there are a few ideas I will specifically use to ensure my students

are learning. The first being, whenever I get a new group of children, I will observe their

temperament as a class. Once I get a feel for how they act most of the time, I can get a better

idea of what learning style will best suit them. I will have a meticulous grading system that

requires me to check up on any students who may fall behind or just needs extra help. Another

way to establish a good learning system for my students is to have good communication with

their parent/guardian. Whether it be through e-mails or meetings, I intend on reaching out to

them throughout the school year so they are aware of what is going on with their child at school.

Providing the students with consistency will create a healthy classroom dynamic. A

schedule will always be lined up not only for myself, but for the class as well. That way, there

are rarely ever surprises and the children know what to expect on a daily to weekly basis.

Flexibility with the schedule also must be expected on my part because not everything I have

planned will work out for all classes. Each class will have different learning processes as well as

different “personalities” so to speak. As a teacher, I will have to compensate for those

differences.

Teacher’s expectations

Teacher’s expectations can heavily influence a student's ability to learn. Research

conducted by Robert Rosenthal suggests pupils who are expected to succeed excel more rapidly

in academics than their peers (Berns, 2016 pg. 244). The results of this investigation make

researchers believe that the standards set by the teachers has a large effect on how the students
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perform. The attitudes and faith the teachers have, should be projected positively towards the

students for them to flourish.

The achievement of a student can also heavily influence a teacher’s expectations. When a

teacher sets standards for their class, most of the time they are expecting these standards to be

met by the students who are already succeeding in school. Because of this, teachers also tend to

pay more attention to the flourishing students and give them acclamation often. Whereas the

pupils who are not doing as well as the others, generally get overlooked.

There are many factors that come into play when it comes to why teacher’s form their

expectations. Usually, these reasons surround the student’s demographics. Although it may be

difficult to disregard the background of a student when setting standards, it is important to

remember that teachers act as a socializing agent (Berns, 2016 pg. 239). Meaning, despite their

personal feeling's teachers are obligated to present themselves as an effective role model. This

can be done by changing certain behaviors they have obtained while teaching. Educators are

taught many things before becoming certified teachers and this creates a realm of beliefs that are

not always adequate. A good example of this is when teachers are told that boy students tend to

be more disruptive than girl students and this may affect how they see a boy student’s actions.

Educational goals are an important aspect of generating thriving learners. These objectives

should be based on a student's performance over their years of schooling. By setting goals, a

teacher is helping their student develop proficiency in teamwork, leadership skills, problem-

solving skills, and responsibility. Students can not only use these techniques in school, but in the

real world as well.

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Educators should make these goals known to both the students and the parents in order to give

the child the best possible chance at achieving a goal set for them. By setting targets for students

to hit, their academic performance, motivation, satisfaction, and self-confidence all improve over

time. It is especially helpful when students can visually see their advancement, so any type of

visual encouragement should be used in the classroom to increase the students drive for success.

This will establish positive reinforcement (Berns, 2016 pg. 320) and help students want to stay

on the right track.

School’s Social Ecology

As a teacher, it is important to know your student’s background. It is equally important to not

make any judgments once you have that information. When a student has their teacher’s full

support, they can improve in their academics. Being aware of why students behave a certain way

can often be helpful when dealing with specific situations and creating a lesson plan that best

suits your class as whole. You must also keep in mind that you will have to have a backup plan

and other resources to help ensure you are benefiting all students. This can all be done by

becoming familiar with a student’s social ecology.

By connecting learning to students’ social ecology, you are ensuring that you are covering all

factors that go into how a student's mind works. Knowing this, helps create a solid curriculum. A

student’s experiences shape who they are as a person which in turn displays how they interpret

new things introduced to them. Being unaware of something such as a student’s culture can

create a block. Teachers can prevent this block by getting to know their students well. Whether it

be by having them do projects based on their framework and past experiences or having them

take “get to know you” tests.

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Families and culture have immense ties to how a student performs in school. For example, in

the Mexican culture, families tend to put work on a higher pedestal than education. In their eyes,

it is of upmost importance to have a secure job to provide for your family. Graduating high

school or going to college puts a hold on being able to make money and therefore is a waste of

time to them in most cases. For a student to have this message instilled in them from a young age

can make it difficult for them to see the importance of education. They may not put forth their

best effort in school and because of this, teachers may not think they have the potential to do

better.

Whereas in Asian culture, families typically set very high standards for their child’s

education and feel it crucial to get good grades. This can often cause a great deal of stress for the

student. Teachers may unintentionally add to this stress by challenging the student and increasing

their work load. I feel that it is essential for families to find a good balance to help their child

succeed in school. If I run into either case, I think I would implement less homework in my class

and more time discussing lessons and completing assignments during school time. That way,

students can focus on work ethic or extracurricular activities without having to stress about

homework.

Communities also play a large role in a student’s learning. I strongly believe that when a

community is consistently involved in a student’s education, the student benefits greatly and so

does the community ecology (Berns, 2016 pg. 375). They are more likely to have good

attendance, stay in school, and earn better grades than students who do not have community

support (Berns, 2016 pg. 375). This does not only mean when they are providing formal

support by raising money through public services. It also includes when neighbors share

resources or offer to watch your children and provide informal support (Berns, 2016 pg. 389).
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Providing a safe, efficient environment for students is a key factor when it comes to

administering education. A student's social ecology and their surroundings are what determine

whether a student can be successful. Recognizing the needs of your students and supporting them

is essential in order for them to succeed. Teachers must take all this into account when

conducting their class.

Cultural Diversity Instruction

Remembering that students have lives outside of school is necessary to build on the life

histories and experiences of students’ ethnic backgrounds. Those lives make up who the student

is and how they will perform academically in most cases. With the diversity of the United States

only increasing as the years go by, it is important to note that being culturally sensitive as a

teacher is essential. As an educator, I will be sure to implement efficient communication with the

parents and guardians of all my students. In doing so, I will leave little room for

misunderstandings that involve the student backgrounds.

The main component for success in these circumstances is respect. Equitable treatment for

all students should be a given. Respect puts everything into motion for interconnectedness in the

classroom. Once this is accomplished, it is time to begin the process of intellectual development.

Being familiar with a student’s culture can be beneficial here. Staying mindful of this when

conducting lessons is especially important. Simply being appreciative of the diversity in a

classroom can take an educator a long way. Ignoring stereotypes and classism, plus encouraging

the use of different languages and learning strategies is something every teacher can do. When I

become a teacher, I will dedicate a few weeks out of the school year to acknowledging heritage

by having students create presentations based on their own culture and sharing it with the class.
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Then, I will choose important people in history from each culture and apply that to lessons

throughout the year.

This brings me to the topics of cultural pluralism and cultural assimilation. In the context of

education, cultural assimilation should be every school’s goal. Horace Kallen composed this

term to mean diversity can be merged and acknowledged in a positive way (Berns, 2016 pg.

211). This does not go to say that cultural pluralism is negative. In fact, both assimilation and

pluralism are critical and affect the lives of many minorities. The difference between the two is

that one (assimilation) is more of a “melting pot” situation whereas the other (pluralism) is

distinct and separate. I feel it is necessary to understand that whichever one of these categories a

student may fall under, there are appropriate cultural and linguistic responses teachers must

adhere to.

Cultural diversity will be around from now until the end of time. Acknowledging and

accepting that fact will make room for improvement in the education system. This is a topic that

should be talked about much more often. Efforts to make new ways for ethnicities to be included

should be happening constantly, there is always room for growth. All it takes is some

understanding, a little research, and respect.

Curriculum for all Learners

With understanding in mind, teachers should know that more often than not lesson plans will

need some adjusting. There will be students with disabilities as well as those who are gifted and

talented and such students will likely call for minor modifications of a curriculum. Once I assess

all my students, I will be able to tell which level everyone is at academically. From there, I can
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come up with strategies to implement into my lesson plan. Because each student is one of a kind,

it can be difficult to establish a curriculum that best suits the entire class.

This is where differentiating instruction comes into play. Efficient groupwork is said to be

imperative when teaching a class that benefits all students needs and I agree. Having whole

group discussions can help students get a better understanding of the material at hand. Especially

when everyone gets a chance to voice their answers and opinions. Group and partner work are

also beneficial because students can see their peers' strategies for assignments and pick up what

works best for them. Differentiating instruction is one of the main strategies I intend on using in

my curriculum in order to ensure each learner I am responsible for gains knowledge.

For students with special needs, I would focus on their abilities rather than their disabilities. I

would also make sure all outside resources are being used as needed. All students will have small

challenges within their assignments to help them improve and this will help prevent the gifted

and talented students from getting bored. Setting learning targets for the entire class is another

strategy I would use in my classroom. Although everyone would have the same target, I would

be sure to allow an appropriate amount of time for each student to meet their goal.

Adjusting my planning, delivery, and assessment is something that will vary over the course

of my teaching career. Because it is not likely that I will have the same class twice, I must

prepare myself for the fact that I will have to revise my curriculum each year. I feel that it will be

extremely difficult to cater to the needs of every student in the beginning, but I am confident that

I will excel in the process with each class. It is simply not realistic to think that my lesson plans

will be perfect, but I know that it is important to strive for the best strategies to benefit my

students.
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I can now utilize all the insight I have attained into my future curriculum. The most important

aspect of my experience with this course and the education field is familiarizing myself with my

students. To construct an adequate lesson plan, I must be aware of my student’s social ecology,

learning style, expectations, and many other elements that make the student. Provided I use these

in my future classroom, I believe I can help students grow and succeed.

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Works Cited

Berns, R. (2016). Child, family, school, community: Socialization and support. Stamford, CT:

Cengage Learning.