American Students

In terms of the "dimensions of diversity" discussed in class, I analyze myself in the following way: I am a White Female, and a natural U.S. citizen. I am fluent in the English language, and i consider myself to be middle social and economic class. I have an average ability level and my religious orientation is christian. My personal experiences with these dimensions of diversity in relation to my education are as follow: in terms of race, gender, and national origin, I am the average American Student. Since i was home schooled K-12, the only dimension that i can think that may have had an important impact on my education is national origin. Since I am a U.S. citizen, I enjoy many benefits and privileges that people in other countries do not-for example, women in middle eastern countries do not receive equal education with men. In this sense, i have received a better education because of my National origin. In terms of Social and economic class, I believe that these have impacted my education in the sense of the way i was educated. Since my parents were comfortable financially, my mom was able to stay home and home shcool me. In terms of Ability level and religion, i was strongly influenced. My mother spent a lot of time teaching me directly, thus improving the quality of my education. This is one of the primary reasons that i believe that nurture is a stronger influence in ability than nature. She also raised me in the Christian faith, influencing my beliefs to this day. in terms of how these personal experiences will affect my ability as a teacher, my views are as follow: Since I had a very limited exposure to any other types of diversity and to diverse learners, i think that i will need extra work in this area in order to prepare to an effective teacher of diverse learners. One way that I believe that I can improve in this area is through my practicums. By observing how experienced teachers effectivly teach diverse learners, i will gain insights on how to teach them myself. However, I do believe that a positive result of my being home schooled is my belief in nurture and that all students can learn.