Do We Learn Differently?

My answer to this question it’s YES!!! we do learn differently!!!

Many people learn by hearing,Visually (by looking at it), or simply by touching and this is where UDL (Universal Design Learning) comes into play. UDL was created to help people with disabilities to help learn the same thing other students were learning but differently.

 

In one of my assignment I had to go to pinterest and when I searched under UDL it came out many good options but I found this one called UDL at a glance it’s a video that pretty much explain the material covered this week explaining the UDL. I thought it’s a good pin because as we studied this week, people differently. They learn by visualizing and hearing out loud, here it’s a video that explain UDL very well which help me understand UDL in a better perspective.

 Here it’s the video link: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/336714509614438437/

In the class EDU100, i could say it's a little similar teach method use UDL because for many assignment there are multiple way we can have it done. some people may choose picture to explain the material, others are mostly written,  or even using things from experience. 

http://rtcudl.edublogs.org/about-udl/ in this blog which i found pretty interesting because it help teachers on how to integrate UDL into classrooms and tells you the three key points of UDL which are the "what", "how", and "why". the three point under UDL are engagement, representation and action and expression.

So yes people learn differently and theres nothing wrong with it. But i think the curriculum from school should be change because we are a diverse country, which it's expected to have a diverse classroom either with some gifted students, some with disabilities and multicultural as well. 

Is there any benefit on multicultural education?

As we learn this week in class about multicultural education, on question came on my mind and is there any benefit on multicultural education? In my opinion yes multicultural education it's in fact a benefit in education.

As we learn in class this week there are five approaches to multicultural education which are "teaching the exceptional and culturally differences, human relation (my favorite), single-group studies, multicultural approach, and lastly, education that is multicultural and social reconstructionist" (McNergney).

I think there are many benefits on multicultural education because we get to learn from other parts of the cultures as well as to learn to accept and appreciate our own culture. To learn that there are many culture we can learn about. we learn that being united as a whole without any gender bias we are learning that we are strong because we are at the same through the heart. 

There's one quote i like from the book "great teachers adapt their methods to help all students succeed. they must be able to use educational strategies that can be fitted intelligently and sensitively to the diversity of their students' needs and abilities." Multicultural education its beneficial in so many ways it gives you hand on had experience on some cultures and their language, it open new minds to see the world differently. as multicultural also, help student from all the world to learn the language. 

In this article called “building a nurturing and supportive environment for all student” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-lynch-edd/nurturing-environment-schools_b_1239664.html  it talks about the importance of multiculturalism in classroom. For example in mentions how first the teacher should teach their student to genuinely care for their culture and slowly working into it, like it mention how teachers should “maintain a strict level of sensitivity to language concern is another important component of a culturally responsive classroom”. I like this article because it mentioned many important aspect a teacher should have to have a responsive classroom, I encourage you to read it you would get great point from here as a teacher. 

I found this great article called understanding classroom dynamics under teaching multicultural classroomhttp://www.personal.psu.edu/scs15/idweb/multicultural.htm it gives you tips on how to go on in teaching multicultural classroom as well it gives the take away point of how to teach and what to be careful of doing. 

Teaching a multicultural classroom not only a student learn but a teacher as well, if a teacher it's engage in learning as well, a teacher may bring a community together as a whole. 

Tell the truth or believe a lie from Columbus?

Would you like to be lied or would you like to be told the truth?

Most people would like to be told the truth but in fact there is a quote from the article from the sixth grade that i liked from Gina that says,

 "it seemed to  me as if the publisher had just printed up some 'glory story' that was supposed to make us feel more patriotic about our country. In our group, we talked about the possibility of the government trying to protect young students from such violence. we soon decided that that was probably one of the farthest things from their minds. They want us to look at our country as great, and powerful, and forever right. They want us to believe Columbus was a real hero. We're being fed lies. we don't question the facts, we just absorb information that is handed to us because we trust the role models that are handing it out"

By this quote it let me think that we may be believe things that may not be truth because we haven't question the facts because we think our country is far off from lies. Another quote I liked from this article says,

"I still wonder... if we can't believe what our first grade teacher told us, why should we believe you? if they lied to us, why why wouldn't you? If one book is wrong, why isn't another? what is your purpose in telling us about how awful Chris was? what interest do you have in telling us the truth? what is it you want from us?"

Discovering Columbus_Aug2011_sixth grade.pdf

From the article Columbus and stereotypes what not to teach about Native Americans, i like a quote that says, 

"As children become familiar with details of the Columbus story, they often ask questions such as, 'why do some books not tell the truth?' 'why was I told something else at home or last year in school?"

      Columbus and stereotypesWhat Not to Teach about Native Americans_Aug2011-3.pdf

By reading these two articles it's not so much important whether Columbus was a lier or not; but in whether we should believe in books. When topics like Columbus are revealed for example, we thought that Columbus discovered America or when he said, that the world was flat but, actually was round, we as readers we get the idea if many other books we had read are truth in their writings. As we have became more familiar with Columbus history we are thought at a very young age that he discovered America but as soon we get to high school we are thought a different view like Columbus was a lier and a very bad person who slaved Indians, who used Indians as slaves and killed a lot of them in looking for gold. Is it worth learning two completely different things in school where at a young age we a teach that Columbus was a hero but then when we get older he was a cruel person?

In my opinion that makes me think on how many lies i have been thought trough out my life in school???

 Being a mom now I would like my kids to know the truth about Columbus early on, so when later in life or school they are presented by the truth about Columbus they don't argue or defend someone who was selfish and a lier but most important they know that he killed a lot of innocent Native American. If my kids one day come home glorifying Columbus, I think I would explained how Christopher Columbus was in reality; like the teacher from sixth Grade from the article that describe her pupils of how Columbus really was by using the example of Nikki's' purse, because it is simple, easy to understand in a creative way and truthful. i think being a teacher i would definitely used her strategy as well because reading i saw how students where engage and how they compared the points with Nikkis' purse and related to the story of Columbus. 

Reflect on yourself

My son nathaniel

My son Jayden

Family

 The group I belong to

My family is the most important thing, it's my support group, they encourage me to go forward and achieve all my goals. They believe in me like i do in them...

They are my backbone who makes me strong and believe in my self.

This groups it's what motivates me to make a change in the world...

my dad

my mom

my brother

my husband

I couldn't imagine my future any better than it's described on this pictures above. Personally my future it's already made by the wonderful people I have next to me, who made me who i am and who always makes me the person I wanna be professionally. Professionally I want to help people and make a difference even if it may be small or big but make a difference. As teachers you make a difference in every child because you are showing them knowledge and the importance of it. As doctors you are showing them, that there's some else who cares about your life even though they don't know you. As police officers you are trying to make justice to the ones who committed injustice and making people see that there's consequences. Wanting to make a difference it's inside of anyone but doing in it; it's what makes the difference in the world...

As the book states on page 285 "Taking the key to our survival, but we all must give back if people are not only to survive but to prosper". Giving back doesn't mean to give it the same way you receive it but giving it back to other people in need. Sometimes it's not at the sometime but during you life time. Helping others by giving a hand, sometime helping others is by listening to them, its by giving them a hug, volunteering, helping someone you don't even know or you haven't meet before.