Mikaela Deur

EDUC 202
Prof. Sevensma
05/21/2015
Final Self Reflection
What shapes the way that we see our students? Coming into this semester I would
have given a simple answer to this question; the way students interact with us. But after
my time in the classroom over the past few months, I believe that there is a complex
system of factors that influence our vision of who each of our students are as individuals.
During my observations, I watched my learner, Ella, interact with her teacher and
peers, I learned a little about her home life from her teacher, I heard what her teacher
thought of her, and I experienced her behavior during class. My lens changed as I began
to see the teachers comments about Ella influencing other students in the room and their
interactions with her. I was shocked when one day Mrs. Tyler told me one day that one of
Ellas classmates has bad dreams about her. I once heard a boy say about Ella, shes
bad. This was an important turning point for me as I discovered what influences how we
see our students.
All of my experiences in the classroom shaped what I thought of Ella: the
information that others gave me about her home life and her parents, the way that Mrs.
Tyler spoke of her, saying I could help her if she wanted to try, and the way that other
students avoided working with her when it was time for group work. These experienced
shaped who I thought I knew Ella was. It wasnt until I worked with Ella personally that I
started to question what I thought I knew. Was Ella simply seeking attention? Was there a
reason behind it when she acted out? As I worked with her, I discovered that she has a
desire for relationship. While we worked with her on a workbook page, she constantly

wanted me to help her. It made me begin to wonder if some of the things she does are
simply because she wasnt getting attention. With the knowledge of her Emotional
Impairment, I began to reshape how I viewed Ellas behavior. Because of her EI, she
doesnt always have the ability to understand social norms and how to engage in a
relationship well, but she still desires that attention. Sometimes acting out was the only
way she got attention, so it was what she needed to do to fulfill that desire.
As I went through this experience in the classroom, it became obvious to me that I
differ from the teacher whose classroom I was observing in about my opinion of
inclusion in the classroom. From her comments and interactions with Ella, I could tell
that Mrs. Tyler found it burdensome to try to take care of Ella and the rest of the class at
the same time. Three of the nine times I was there, Mrs. Tyler sent Ella away for a time
out with administration for measures that could have been prevented. My attitude toward
this matter is almost completely the opposite. As the commitment to professionalism
says, I celebrate diversity among their students as part of Gods plan for creation. This
is demonstrated through my desire to include students with disabilities in the classroom.
Their role is crucial in the classroom setting. Not only can they provide insight and bring
joy to the classroom, but they can be an asset to the entire community as well. Working
with students with special needs provides an amazing opportunity for all students to learn
about disability and learn about how to love someone who is different than them. Sending
her out of the classroom for time outs over issues like taking a sticker off of her desk
prevents her from being included in the classroom and reinforces to the other students,
the idea that she is different than them.

My mentality moving forward into my career as an educator is much like Rita

Peirsons. In her TED talk, she emphasized the importance a positive attitude in the
success of your students. Your beliefs about their abilities can give them the confidence to
succeed. Her example of the +2 instead of -18 has really shaped the way I look at teacherstudent interactions. (2013) A positive relationship between teacher and student can be
found when two factors are present: academic caringsetting high, but reasonable
expectations and helping students reach those goals. [and] personal caringbeing
patient, respectful, humorous, willing to listen, interested in students issues and personal
problems. (Woolfolk, 2013) In order to be successful as an educator, I cannot simply
focus on academic caring.
In addition, the importance of knowing our students background also became
clear to me this semester. If I didnt have any information about Ella, my impressions of
her as a student would have been much different. Coming out of that, the relationship
between teacher and parents is vital, because it will provide important background
information about the student and give you insight into the childs life.
As I pursue my future as an educator, it is important that I set out to gain as much
information as I can about my students. This can happen through teacher-parent
interactions, through observations of student practices, through watching interactions
with peers, and by growing a deep relationship with the child. The more information that
I have, they clearer my understanding of the learner becomes.
References
Pierson, Rita. "Every kid needs a champion." (2013).
Woolfolk, A. (2013). Educational psychology. Pearson.