During my ECS 100 field placement, I had the privilege of being in a grade 1/2 split classroom with 23 learners all with diverse backgrounds and ways of learning. Throughout the weeks of my field placement, I was given weekly focus questions to help me focus on an aspect of the classroom. I was able to reflect on the types of learners in the classroom, how relationships are built between the teacher, students, and the community, how the school honours diversity, and how they made the school and classroom feel welcoming and safe.
The classroom had students with diverse cultures including, Indigenous, Islamic, Asian, and Greek. Having these different cultures within the classroom, gave the teacher the ability to incorporate lots of different ways to get their attention when it was time to switch lessons. She often started the morning by singing a song about living on Treaty 4 and then would sing songs with the students in the different languages from their cultures. This was an excellent way of how the teacher made the classroom feel welcoming and represented hospitality and invitation.
I was able to see how important it is for students to be involved in an inclusive classroom, as there were students with different needs in the classroom. The different types of needs within the classroom included autism, ADHD, and EAL. By having these students work along side the other learners in the classroom, they were able to succeed in the lessons and learn from each other. Having these types of needs within the classroom allows for all students to be exposed to the diversity in the world and will allow them to have success in the future.
Through this experience, I was able to reflect on more on my own school experience growing up and how different times have changed in just the five years since I was in high school. These differences are also impacted by the fact that I grew up in a rural community, whereas my field experience was in an urban area. From my experiences I feel as though growing up going to an urban school, students are more exposed to different cultures, disabilities. As teachers, it is up to us to incorporate the ways of knowing and learning of the different cultures shown in the classroom. Making connections with the students and staff at the school will have a major impact on my journey as an educator and I will forever be grateful for this experience.