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Statement of Informed Beliefs Essay

Amanda Kofoed
Professor Carol Billing
EDUC 204 Families, Communities, & Culture
TR, 11:30-12:45, Fall 2014

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Statement of Informed Beliefs Essay
Teaching is an amazing privilege to be entrusted with by the community and parents to
educate the future young minds of our nation. As teachers we have the opportunity to inspire,
guide, and empower young people to become healthy happy productive citizens that make our
communities and world a better place. For these reasons I am excited to become an educator, and
I recognize the responsibility and commitment it will take to be an exceptional teacher. In this
essay I will discuss ways I will be an effective teacher to a diverse student population in the
following five sections: all students can learn, teachers expectations, students social ecology
theory, cultural diversity instruction, and curriculum for all learners.
All Students Can Learn
There are many different factors that affect a students ability to learn, and as teachers it is our
responsibility to ensure that all students are provided the best opportunities that are available.
Managing the classroom is most successful when high expectations are set, students are engaged
in relevant curriculum, and there is a structured, calm and pleasant classroom environment.
Brofenbrenners bioecelogical theory provides a framework for understanding the socialization
that affects human development. This provides context for teachers when gauging the ability of a
student to learn. For example, one of the four structures of this theory is the Exosystem which
refers to settings that the child is not actively a part of but affect them anyway. In a case where a
student whose parent is unemployed and cannot afford food on a regular basis, and the student
has not eaten since Fridays lunch at school, will likely not be able to focus well on their math
assignment Monday morning. The environment surrounding a student greatly affects their
ability to focus, cooperate, and learn in the classroom. As a teacher it is our responsibility to

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know our students and the circumstances that are impacting their everyday life so that we are
prepared to support, empower, and educate them.
As a teacher I will strive to connect with each of my students, gauge where they are
intellectually and emotionally, and use this information to write developmentally appropriate
curriculum that is intellectually stimulating and exciting. Communicating with fellow teachers
will provide insight and ideas of how to solve problems. Likewise, by communicating with
parents I can gain trust and reinforcement at home, as well as glean insight into a students
microsystem and culture. Family, and more specifically parents, are the socialization agent with
the greatest influence on their children, so having that connection between school and home is
crucial.
Teachers Expectations
As a teacher it is important to recognize yourself as an individual and how your own personal
experience shapes the way you communicate, discipline, learn, are motivated, and what you
value, in order to see your students as individuals so common goals and expectations can be set.
The expectations a teacher sets for how a classroom is organized and run greatly influences
students ability to learn. Poorly organized teachers and classrooms are difficult for students to
follow and maintain interest in, whereas highly organized teachers students have a peaceful
stimulating environment that sets a standard and example for their students. As is often the case,
teachers expectations and styles are determined by their past experience as a child and student.
Communication is greatly influenced by these experiences and effects every aspect of teaching
from how we deliver the actual knowledge being taught to the students to going hand in hand
with the discipline style used in the classroom.

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These experiences and the ability to communication often have a lot to do with a teachers
discipline style. A permissive style teacher may not gain much cooperation from students if the
students do not see the benefit for themselves. This could create an environment of indifference
towards their schooling. An authoritarian style of teacher may have students who submit and
complete work on time and to specific specifications, however may not be reaching their full
potential or even shutting down students who might have taken great interest in their schooling
but have no desire to invest other than doing the bare minimum to get by. Authoritative style
teachers will likely be able to raise the expectations and goals of their students by expecting a
high level of effort and performance but also bring the student into the process of setting those
standards for themselves, their classmates, and their teacher.
Understanding the maturation level of students is also important for teachers to take into
account, especially when teachers move from different grade levels in their career. It is important
to readjust and study up on all the development expectations for the grade level being taught.
When a teacher has evaluated themselves and adjusted their attitude and interest for the grade
level and subject they are teaching, then they can begin to set goals for students as well as
themselves. Part of setting goals is knowing what motivates. A reflective teacher is aware of
what motivates themself, and should have the tools to assess a student, whom they have taken the
time to know, as to what motivates them. Knowing whether a student comes from a high or low
context upbringing will help to find what will motivate and gain cooperation from the student
and caregivers as well. It is equally important for a teacher to set their own personal goals so that
they too are continually inspired and proud of the work they are doing.
Students Social Ecology Theory

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Students social ecology greatly influences their ability to learn in the classroom. The greatest
impact comes from the relationships within the family, where values are often determined based
on the familys culture. Compounded with this is whether or not the familys culture is in the
minority vs majority of the societys culture. The community that a student or school comes from
also has a great impact on the value placed on schooling, as well as the resources and
opportunities available to enrich learning.
Understanding all the parts of the chronosystem a student operates from, which includes all the
different systems in place that influence that student, is fundamental in the success of their
education. An example of the influence that the microsystem has on a students learning is a
student who starts school while living in an abusive home. This student is more likely to be
focused on daily survival and less interested in academic achievement than a student who comes
from a loving supportive home. The first student faces many obstacles including potential
handicaps, possibly needing an IEP or other interventions in order to be successful, whereas the
second student is getting their fundamental needs met, therefore is able to put energy and focus
into their schooling. Teachers will have diverse student family dynamics in their classrooms and
taking time to develop individual relationships with all their students will allow a teacher to
enhance the learning environment of their classroom.
The relationship a student has with their family is the single most influential force in their
education, and family life is complicated by the many factors. The comradery of sharing life
experience, passing on cultural and religious values, and weathering personal and economic
storms creates a bond of love, social acceptance, and purpose. These are needs that are central to
human experience and the presence, or lack of, can make all the difference in a students
preparedness and ability to learn. Divorce has a major impact in a students life. Often times

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routines and standards that are set in home life vary depending on which parent they are with.
School has a unique ability to provide structure, belonging, and safety while students are
readjusting to new family roles.
Whether a family has a collectivist or individualistic orientation will bring great insight into
what needs improvement and what motivates students and families. Also the style of parenting
will greatly influence how students respond and react to the teacher and their expectations.
Students with permissive parents may need help finding value in doing their work where students
from authoritarian parents may need help taking initiative and being creative.
Culture is affected by many influencers such as politics, religion, size of city, etc; which all play
a huge role in the lives of students and therefore can greatly affect learning. It is important to
know when you have students whose culture is not in the majority because they could feel or be
isolated from their peers and have insecurities that prevent them from making an effort for fear
of failure and further isolation. Feeling the freedom to make mistakes, without being perceived
as foolish, is imperative to learning because it is through mistakes that understanding and
learning takes place. Another thing to look out for with students in the minority culturally is
whether they are being bullied or treated poorly by others. Standing up and speaking out against
mistreatment of others goes a long way in the confidence of the student being bullied as well as
the conscience of the person who is bullying. Recognizing the challenges and strengths students
receive from their culture and learning what motivates them will make all the difference in
enhancing or inhibiting the learning process.
Communities are influenced by many different variables that determine the value placed on
education, as well as how much citizens and businesses are willing to pay for and/or donate to
schooling. In these communities the shared values of religion and politics contain different

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beliefs of what the most effective and responsible way to spend money on education is. For
example, a religious conservative community may value the responsibility and right of an
individual family to educate their children, and therefore may not enforce the same curriculum
that an agnostic liberal community who believes it is a social responsibility to educate children,
might require. Community is also affected by its size and population, such as a rural small town
or big city. Most school district funding comes from local taxes which means that community
politics play a huge role in how much money is available and designated for schools. The impact
that funding has on learning reaches as far as the ability to supply the classroom with resources
and current curriculum, whether or not transportation is provided for students, and the quality of
pay for teachers which directly affects the quality and consistency of the teachers in a district.
Funding also impacts the technology available that classrooms use that open so many doors to
assessing and meeting the needs of a diverse student demographic. Consistency is necessary to
providing a classroom atmosphere that is conducive for learning, which is extremely difficult to
provide when there is high turnover from teachers leaving for better paying jobs.
Each of these factors are influenced by so many others. They are interlinked to each other and
are incredibly complex. As teachers we cannot always be experts in social ecology but we can
hone in on our own students, do our best to recognize where they are coming from, and then
determine the best way to educate and empower them.
Cultural Diversity
To build on the life histories and experience of my students ethnic backgrounds I will research
their histories as students, then create assignments that have them share about themselves and
their values as well as those of other cultures, and finally by educating myself about the
communities surrounding my school district. I will use this knowledge to adapt my lesson plans

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to enhance my students appreciation and respect for each others differences as well as make
connections with each other that cross cultural boundaries. By doing these things I hope to create
a socialization environment of cultural pluralism instead of cultural assimilation, where
students take pride and have confidence in who they are instead of having to redefine themselves
with a common culture to be valued.
By assigning projects, research, and tasks where students are required to share about themselves
and their own experiences as well as research other cultures can help create an environment of
social pluralism. When a student shares about their own personal experience they are in some
ways putting themselves and their feelings in a vulnerable position to the classroom community.
This does two things: it allows their classmates the opportunity to know one another and at the
same time show respect for each other.
It is important to research and take interest in the different cultural and ethnic communities that
feed into the district and area that I am teaching in order to recognize the influences that the
chronosystem has on the students. There are so many things that complicate issues such as
racism, gangs and gender inequality. As a teacher knowing the values and beliefs that my
students hold as well as what struggles their families may be facing outside of school will allow
me to educate them in meaningful ways that break down mistrust and barriers. An example
would be celebrating important holidays in class of local immigrant communities as a way to
draw immigrant students in by making the classroom familiar, as well as, provide an opportunity
for other students to participate and value other cultures. By creating a feeling of ownership and
pride as a class based on the importance and value of each members contribution then hopefully
an environment of cultural pluralism will flourish.
Curriculum for all Learners

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As a teacher I will assess my students strengths and weaknesses to adapt my lesson plans to meet
their needs and ensure that they are improving from their original level of learning. It is
important to constantly assess students abilities in order to determine both progress and barriers
to progress. Creating carefully planned lessons that cater specifically to the dynamics of the class
and the learning styles of individual students is key to improving students growth.
To be a successful instructor it is important to know your students, be prepared, accurately assess
comprehension, and be flexible. I will take the time to invest in getting to know my students
learning styles according to Howard Gardners learning intelligences (logical-mathematical,
linguistic, body-kinesthetic, musical, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, or naturalist). By
recognizing individual students zone of proximal development along with personality traits I
will arrange work groups that give students the opportunity to elevate their understanding of the
concepts being taught. Being familiar and engaged with the growth of my students will also
allow me to create lesson plans that provide scaffolding for students who need more tools to be
successful and opportunities to challenge advanced students.
Accurate assessment is critical to teach effective lessons to students. While authentic
assessment and standardized tests will both be helpful for me to track my students progress, I
will depend more on authentic assessment when creating my lesson plans and delivery. I will use
standardized tests to track progress and to assess the entire classs level of understanding in
comparison to each other as a way to determine what level to begin building lessons on. I will
use authentic assessment by observing students throughout instruction time in order to make
adjustments as I go, journaling those observations in my free time for later reflection, and
considering them when creating lesson plans. Due to the bidirectional relationship between
teaching and learning styles, if I am a diligent teacher I will recognize the different learning

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styles of my students and come up with lessons that ignite understanding which will in turn elicit
positive experiences and responses.
I look forward to meeting the challenge of teaching to a diverse student population and
experiencing the intrinsic rewards of watching students mature and grow in my classroom. It will
take hard work and dedication to become an exceptional teacher, as well as an open mind that is
continually reflecting and learning. It is a vocation I will thrive in because I am passionate about
learning and people, and I will bring that passion into every lesson of every class I teach.
References
Berns, R.M. (2013). Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support (9 Edition).
th

Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.