Excerpt from my “Focus Questions” assignment:

Because of this class, [ECS 101] I have come to realize that an educator is a person who does not simply teach their students, but provides a safe, inviting, and hospitable environment for all. It is important to be able to provide students with the best possible education, but bigger than that, it is a teacher’s job to always strive to make their classroom a community where everyone is recognized and included. Prior to my journey to receive my education degree, I had never considered that the education I have received throughout the years is imbedded in a Eurocentric way of thinking and doing. It divides the world and makes “otherness” impossible as a way of being. Classrooms need to serve the interests of all people and be intercultural spaces.