As a student, I didn’t have teachers that looked like me.

They were all white and seemed

to have no interest in me or my culture, and as a result, I felt little connection to them. While

having shared interests with a teacher is nice for a surface-level relationship to occur, having a

shared understanding of each others culture and circumstance is imperative for a real connection.

Accoriding to Peterson (2007, pg 27), “A teacher cannot build a community of learners unless

the lives of the students are an integral part of the curriculum.” I learned this early on while

doing observations. Students loved it when I connected with them on a personal level, especially

when I spoke to them in Spanish. I’ll never forget the beaming smiles and bright eyes they had.

We spoke the same language. We had a deeper connection than just liking PB&J’s. I want to be

able to contribute to highly populated schools that have low income and underprivileged students

by fully immersing myself in my students’ cultures. Culture isn't merely what you see on the

outside. Culture is a shared experience, a shared way of living and celebrating life. I want to be a

teacher that goes beyond the superficial aspects of my students’ lives. I want to understand them

from a deeper, more personal level, and I plan on doing so by learning about their cultures and

their family dynamics. The most important role for a teacher to accomplish is getting to know

each student as an individual in order to comprehend his or her unique needs, learning style,

social and cultural background, interests, and abilities (Lainer,1997).

Looking back at all the teachers I had, the one that always sticks out to me is my second

third-grade teacher, Mrs. Kitchen. My parents’ divorce affected me to the point where I had to

repeat third grade. Mrs. Kitchen is a role model for me because she was able to understand me

when no other teacher could. She showed me how to connect to other people who don’t look like

you or have the same culture as you. She wanted to know who I was and why I had repeated the
third grade. She saw how bright and intelligent I was, so the fact that I was repeating a year was

surprising to her. She's the one and only teacher that was ever able to get my dad to go to a

parent conference. Mrs. Kitchen understood my personal background and understood that when I

was late to school or not prepared, it was because of the circumstances I had at home. She saw

that what was going was out of my control. By being so invested in me, she made me feel like

someone cared about me and wanted to understand my situation. Looking back, she was an

inspiration to me because she showed me that teachers can care for their students in an emotional

way.

I want to be a teacher like Mrs. Kitchen. I want to be a teacher that is concerned about

more than just grades. I want to help my students understand and cope with their circumstances

at home. I want to be a teacher that shares with her students, whether it be culture or a mutual

understanding. I want to add to the diversity of teachers in the world. I want to have students

believe that I am a human, just like they are. I want to develop deep connections with my

students so that they feel safe and at ease in my class, regardless of how the rest of their life is.
 References

Lainer,Juidth Taack. (1997). ​Redefining the Role of the Teacher: It's a Multifaceted

Profession. A closer look at what is being an educator really means.​ Retrieved from

www.edutopia.org/redefining-role-teacher

Peterson, Bob. (2007). ​Thinking Our Classrooms. Teaching for Social Justice, volume

one​, 29-34. Retrieved from ​http://www.someaddress.com/full/url