This week went good for the first half then was complete mayhem for the second half. We started with the daily routine then went onto the reading and writing skills as well as a little Halloween scavenger hunt that they could find in the classroom.
Then once it became french time, everything went crazy. I personally think that many of the children in the class are not aware of “different languages” and what that means. Even though the french was very of basic colors, it took nearly an hour for them to color in 1 picture of a witch. this is where I could definitely see their short attention spans take effect over them. There were children crawling on the floor, screaming, crying wondering around and just not listening to instructions.
But for this week I was asked: “What are the different forms of diversity you observe within the classroom and school?” there are quite a lot of different ways I saw diversity. There are elders who come in to tell stories and inform about different indigenous practices and to do activities. the classroom got a “United way” sponsorship that gave them $1,200 for books about and from first nations authors as well as money to buy reading chairs and “safe spaces for children who like to work on their own or need quiet time. there was also a room dedicated to tobacco burning and other religious activities that people may want to utilize the room for. There were also different books in the classroom and on their tablets that show different types of families (caucasian, Indian, Chinese, Filipino, etc) something that may not be visible could be how teachers structure lesson plans to be more accommodating for all ways of knowing. I know some religions need to pray at certain times of the day; so teachers may let them peacefully leave the room and do their prayer. there are tons of ways schools can be diverse, everyone comes from different backgrounds and lifestyles and if the school has events and times of the year where families can show their diversity I feel that would be a big step forward for students to grow up with more respect and understanding towards each other