Blog Post #7

While getting ready for, and completing, my first week of volunteer work, I found the introduction to CRP video along with the Kohn chart to be very helpful in knowing how to base my ideals for a classroom. 

The video on culturally relevant teaching emphasized that it’s not just about celebrating diversity when you feel like it, it’s about consistently recognizing and building up the cultural strengths that students already bring with them. This was very recognizable during my visit to Mary Fogarty elementary; the classrooms I visited all had literature, decor, and set ups that encouraged the celebration of each student's heritage. The video gives the idea that part of your teaching identity should have something to do with learning from your students, along with teaching them. This seems like a good mindset to have especially as a preservice teacher. 

Kohn’s chart also gave me a good representation of what a classroom should look like physically. I think that what he wrote in regard to classroom furniture/layout, things on the walls, around the school, and the general classroom environment are all very important things that I have searched for in both the schools I'm volunteering in, and observing. At an elementary level, it is especially important to see Kohn’s ideas at play.

Reading/watching both of these pieces has definitely been beneficial to both building my identity as a teacher, and informing me of what to look for in different classrooms that I may be in throughout the semester.