Journal reflection (se instructions) - Essay Example

I was relieved by the arrangement and hoped this would allow me to focus on them better. However, my initial relief was quickly replaced by apprehension when I realised that it was a full inclusion class, containing students of different races and gender and disabilities. The realisation did unnerve me a little for I was plagued by the thought of doing justice to them all and provide them with a good learning experience. At the outset, the students seemed comfortable. But I could discern that some of them were quite occupied with toys whereas there were others on a lookout for a similar preoccupation but not finding any, seemed on the brink of mischief.

My initial endeavour was to divide them in random groups of five, which would make it easier to supervise. Students then were given different tasks to be carried out as groups under our supervision. For example, a construction model was handed out to students who had to create a replica on the basis of a picture provided. Such an activity not only gave the chance to introduce new things to them but also allowed interaction between students. Thus we began planning activities that would require students to interact with another and help them build social competency skills.

I was aware about the need to maintain multiculturalism in my teaching since I had a lot of Indian, Chinese and Hispanic students in my class. We decided to allot one day of the week and call it “Culture Day”, where the classroom and activities will be designed to acquaint children with that particular culture. Moreover, the fact that I had read on my students’ cultures helped me since I could interpret their behavioural traits. I understood the importance of participation of the student’s families to help me with this endeavour and sought their collaboration.

Yet another problem I faced was of teaching disabled children. These children were finding it difficult to cope with other