Urban School Districts. The Biggest One I

¶ … urban school districts. The biggest one I believe is coping with and attaching importance to the diversity that has been part of the American paradigm since the beginning of the country. The related challenge is providing equitable education for the children of a diverse community, frequently with wide differences in background. These differences might include socioeconomic, cultural and linguistic diversity. I believe the best way to deal with these differences is not to focus on the fact that diversity is a problem, but rather a blessing.

Personally then, I would face the challenge of diversity by focusing on the positive aspects of this element. In the classroom I would for example provide time for students to present their particular culture to the rest of the class. This would entail the traditions such as food and dancing that the culture includes. In this way students learn about other cultures, and also to respect each other for the variety of their traditions, rather than focusing on the negative aspects of being "different." I think that in any teaching setting it is important to make a student feel valued. The above practice would help with this.

A related challenge faced by urban school districts is the wide diversity of abilities that is found within a single classroom. Once again, I think this issue should be handled with the utmost sensitivity. As with the cultural issue, I would once again make sure that each individual is valued for what he or she brings to the classroom. When I identify a problem in coping with the work in class, I would then help the person involved by putting him or her on a team with a classmate who I think can best handle the situation. Depending on the specific situation, this classmate may be of the same ethnic background. In this way I will then use the challenge of diversity to the advantage of myself and my students. Diversity is thus not so much a challenge as it is a blessing.

Teaching is my dream profession, because as a teacher I can help children become the best citizens and people that it is possible to become. Qualifying myself as a teacher of young children is especially helpful in this regard, as I believe this is when children are at their most pliable, and where they are most susceptible to help from their elders. This is the area where I think I can make the most difference.

In three to five years from graduation I see myself as a professional teacher of children in the Chicago Public School system. I am from Chicago and would like to focus my energy and expertise on helping children from this area. I will also be working on my Masters degree in Special Education, since children with special needs are close to my heart.

Helping children with special needs to overcome their difficulties related to learning will not only help them in their future school career, but also in their careers as adults. I do not think there is a profession that is for me as noble as teaching these children. I also believe it will be most gratifying to see these children grow and develop as I work with them. Whereas most people work at a day-to-day job often without receiving any recognition from either their peers or their clients, I will be privileged to see the benefits of my profession for children with special needs.