Journal 3 February 19, 2010

Hello Journal!  I was updating my assignments and found that I need to discuss my own cultural background and the connections I see with my decision to teach and the results I see in my teaching.


I am a student who went back to school after my own children were in school.  Which is so unlike the parents of today.  The younger parents that I come into contact with at my school are parents who are working one or two jobs and some of the parents are in school.  The majority of parents are not thinking about college for themselves but do look forward to the success' of their students.

I am a white born middle class girl who grew up in Missouri away from the extended family with two brothers and a mother who stayed home and a father who drove trucks for a living.  I would say that due to the area I grew up in I led a rather sheltered life, unlike those I teach.  My grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles all lived in Iowa.  My grandmother on my father's side was a one room schoolhouse teacher and taught my father and uncles the majority of their education.  My mother and father graduated high school but neither went on to college.  My mother did go back to get her CNA and CMT certification after I moved out.  I married young and had my children young.  I married into a very strong black family.  When I say strong I mean that the family does everything together and there are connections to all family members within the same city.  This experience has also shaped my culture and I value the experience.

The connections this short synopsis of my education has on my decision to teach I would have to say I do not have an idea why I became a teacher.  I do know that I went back to school intending to get certified so I could teach in the Head start schools my own children attended.  In the process of taking classes at the Junior college I fell into Recreation Therapy and became Certified as a therapist.  I worked for three years in nursing homes as an Activity Coordinator and I loved the job until the residents began to die in mass numbers one year.  I had to give up the job, I couldn't handle the deaths and I felt my children needed me at home.  My youngest were in fourth grade when I made the change.  I found a job working in the school district as a para professional and loved the work.  I was then offered a job in my children's school working with a child with autism and decided to go back to school.  I saw the work the teacher's took home and swore I would not be a teacher, there was too much work involved.  Long story short, I began teaching when my oldest child started his senior year at Wyandotte High School.
Although the journey has been long and uncertain I do know that the experiences I had living in the same community as the students helped tremendously with my ability to touch base with the parents I served.  I believe the best thing a teacher can do is to develop those relationships with the parents and make connections in any way possible.
As I look back, I realize that many of the things my students parents are going through, I went through with my own children.  I can make those connections and I empathize with the  struggle.  I can see many of the teachers I work with do not have an understanding of choices during times of struggle.  As a parent who worked a job and went to school I understand that homework was not a priority at times in our home.  Times my children were taken out of school on a Friday to spend the weekend with grandparents who lived out of town.  Teachers without children who have not made choices between their job and food on the table do not always have the understanding of the struggle these parents must make.  The surrounding conditions that people live in are not by choice but by needs.  The people may have immaculate homes, inside, but they do not control the outer portions of their communities and we must live the way we live.  I believe that the biggest thing my background has given me in connection to teaching, is an empathy towards the parent condition.  If I had not married my husband and moved to the areas around Quindaro, I would be just like some of the younger teachers in our buildings who do not understand why this child will not follow directions when asked to sit down. My experience has led me to understand the differences, accept the differences and build upon the differences.  I will not look at the differences in choices as good or bad, only different.