Running head: Bechara-Reflective Assignment #1

Samantha Bechara

UC San Diego Extension CLAD through CTEL

EDUC 31217: Culture and Inclusion

Reflective Assignment #1
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As a society, there is a continuous shift in culture, linguistic demands,

demographics, and socioeconomic trends. These shifts impact our children and schools.

As a nation, our immigrant roots of which our nation was founded continues to influence

the United States of America. These roots influence the cultural melting pot that is

America today with a blend of cultures, linguistic backgrounds, and demographic

information. Across the nation, there continue to be new individuals coming to America

for a variety of reasons and these individuals influence the communities, which they live.

Like many individuals starting a new life, they are challenged to learn a new culture,

obtain employment, and secure food and shelter for their families. Individuals coming to

America vary socio-economically and have a variety of educational backgrounds. In

America today, a variety of languages are spoken increasing the primary language spoken

in trade and business. As a society we have a higher unemployment rate than other

countries, these unemployment rates impact where individuals live, thus impacting our

communities.

These influences in the community influence how our states are run,

socioeconomic trends, and demographics. Diversity in linguistic backgrounds bring a

variety of English Language Learners to our states which impact and shift the

community, which these individuals live. The shift in primary languages used in the

community changes the way as a community we communicate and live. For example, in

primarily Spanish community business owners, doctors and stores may need to speak

Spanish to meet the needs of the community. In addition, goods may be printed in

Spanish to appeal to the community, which it serves. Diverse individuals from a variety

of backgrounds have become the norm in California. As a result, Californian schools

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have a wide variety of English Language Learners, which impact the trends in education.

English Language Learners are more prevalent in Californian schools than they were in

Maryland where I recently moved. As a state, there are areas in California that have

higher Hispanic or Asian Pacific demographics increasing the demographics of these

communities as well as the linguistic diversity. As a result, many teachers each year will

have English Language Learners in their classrooms. This CLAD program exists due to

the need for educators to be knowledgeable about educating ELLs in our classrooms. In

Maryland, there was not a strong trend of English Language Learners in our schools and

as such teachers as a whole were not required to obtain additional training in teaching

English Language Learners.

In San Diego, we are very close to the Mexico border, which attracts a variety of

Spanish speakers. In addition, as a major city for business and trade, and a wide variety

of speakers of other languages are often attracted. The changes in demographics in our

communities influence our schools. As such, every year diverse students from a variety

of backgrounds fill our classrooms. Each of these diverse students brings cultural,

linguistic, and socioeconomic differences. As stated by Delpit (2006), teachers should

recognize that the linguist form a student brings to school is intimately connected

with love ones, community, and personal identity(p.53). Language is a large part of a

persons identity, as teachers empowering children to be proud of their primary language

and culture early on is important. As an educator every year I must shift my teaching to

meet the unique diverse needs of each student in the classroom and, they must obtain

training to support students with diverse backgrounds. Teachers who do not share the
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language and culture of their students, or teachers whose students represent a variety of

cultural backgrounds, can also celebrate diversity by making language diversity a part of

the curriculum (Delpit, 2006,p.67). Incorporating my student's primary language and

culture into my classroom will be important to help my students connect to their

classroom environment as well as celebrate the diversity that makes each student unique.

As a Caucasian female, I must be aware of the cultural backgrounds of my student

and aim to celebrate diversity within my classroom. Although I may be Caucasian, I too

add to my classroom culture. As an educator, I bring to my classroom the understanding

of Deaf culture in which I was raised as well as Arab culture. The importance of eye

contact, non-verbal communication, and visual communication is something important to

me, which I infuse into my classroom. In Maryland, 4 out of my 40 students were ELLs.

In addition, I educated a large military demographic, which composed 70% of my

caseload. Being from a military family myself I understood this ever changing,

challenging demographic. In my new classroom here in California 13 out of my 30

students will be English Language Learners in addition to being identified with

developmental delays or identified disabilities. The larger number of English Language

Learners in my classroom reflects the current trends in California.

Education in America is continuously influenced by the ever-changing society,

which we reflect. The continuous changes in our student population require teachers to

remain life long learners to adapt to their ever-changing student populations. Teachers

must remain knowledgeable to support the diverse needs of their students.

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References

Delpit, L (2006). Other peoples children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New

York, NY: The New Press.

Garcia, E (2002). Student cultural diversity: Understanding and meeting the

Challenge (3rd edition). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.