In the Delpit piece it is clear that Wind Wolf becomes an outcast because he grew up in a completely different culture from the rest of his classmates. Wind Wolf values nature and earth and his views do not neatly line up with the classroom curriculum. The teacher sees him as distracted and like many teachers looks at a distracted student as an affront to their teaching style and ability. I have always known I would have to get to know my students as individuals because I always expected to teach in the same environment that I went to school in, which was incredibly diverse. I expect to have to research the cultures of my students and use classroom activities to learn about them so I don’t make the kind of mistakes that drive them to silence. In second grade I was the only white person in my classroom besides the teacher and even we had little in common. To get to know the students she brought in a hippo stuffed animal. Every weekend a student would take home the hippo and a diary. The instruction was to write about all the things that you and the hippo did. After writing you had to do a creative activity, write a poem, draw a picture, make a word scramble, etc. By doing this project she learned who went to church, temple, played sports, liked reading and so much more. Looking back I think it was great.
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