Appalachian Region

 Multicultural Education 2120

For this week’s blog post I chose to look at a state in the Appalachian region, West Virginia.  Some of the stereotypes that are in the Appalachian region are names like hillbillies and mountaineers.  Some of the unique physical characteristics of states in the Appalachian region are it is very mountainous, hilly, and out in the country.  West Virginia is known for not maintaining the same amount of progress as the rest of the country educationally.  There are also states in this region that are known for being severally poor which also effects the type of education the children in this area will receive.  The schools receive a substantial amount of financial aid because this area is known for being so underdeveloped.  Schools in the Appalachian region also have some of the lowest school attendance records than other parts of the country.  The average teaching salary in West Virginia starting out is “$34,410 and it is ranked 44^th in the country for average salary (National Education Association, 2011).

If I was a teacher in this region the first thing I would focus on is getting the students attendance up.  If kids are not attending school it could mean they are not being engaged or challenged in the classroom. I would go over my lesson plans and make sure that they are having fun and also participating and hopefully that would solve the problem and make the kids want to come to school.  Also with it being severally poor you could have students who are not getting enough to eat, come from a broken home, or do not feel safe being at home.  As their teacher it is your job to get to know your kids and also know the needs they may need in their life and be there to help anyway possible. 

Bibliography

National Education Association. Teaching Portal. 2011.  http://www.teacherportal.com/salary/West-Virginia-teacher-salary

Religions

 Multicultural Education 2120

I chose to do my research on Buddhism because I have never met anyone who practiced this religion.  Buddhism was founded in Northern India by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, and has spread into much of the far East.  It is also said to “currently have 376 million followers and is generally listed as the world’s fourth largest religion after Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism” (Robinson, B.A, 1996-2011).  One of Buddha’s major teachings is called the four noble truths.  The four noble truths are “there is suffering, there is cause for suffering, there is cessation of suffering and there is a path leading to the cessation of suffering” (Robinson, B.A, 1996-2011).  The main purpose of Buddhism is the attain enlightenment.  Siddhartha came up with eight things that will help you attain enlightenment.  The eight ways are “understand wholesome and unwholesome deeds and Karma, the intention of non-greed and non-hatred, abstaining from malicious speech, abstaining from killing and stealing, abstaining from corrupt means of livelihood, sustaining a wholesome state, the four foundations of mindfulness and abandoning the five hindrances.” (Robinson, B.A, 1996-2011) 

  Having students in your classroom that believe in different religions comes with many challenges and benefits.  One challenge would be that the child may be picked on for being putting his faith in something different.  Also there could be fights or arguments break out because the students do not agree with what he says is right.  However a benefit could be the students may have never heard of Buddhism and he could teach the class something new and interesting.  If I had a child who was Buddhist in my class I would accommodate specifically for his needs. If there was a certain activity he could not participate in then I would find something else that was also pertaining to our lesson but that he do

Bibliography

Robinson, B. A. (1996). Religions of the world. [Buddhism, based on the teachings of Siddartha Gautama]

Languages

Multicultural Education 2120

               1. In my opinion these programmatic decisions should be based on what the children’s needs are at the school.  If there is a school with a majority of Hispanic kids then they should be put in a program to where they can learn the material for they need for class and also learn English.

               2. Some of the attacks on bilingual students are justified.  I know where I went to school even if some of the kids were in an ESOL class they would speak English in the class but throughout the rest of the day they would speak their native language.  Also test scores for immigrant children are low and the dropout rates are high.  These are some of the reasons why people think are ESOL and other programs should not be part of our curriculum.  In my opinion I still think these programs should be in our schools maybe we just need a change in how they are run to make a difference in the test scores, grades, and students themselves.  

              3. Even though I think that these programs are needed in the schools some researchers would tell me I am wrong.  An article written by Education Week states that, “Nationwide, only 12 percent of students with limited English at or above proficient in mathematics in the fourth grade on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress compared with the 42 percent of students not classified as English language learners” (Editorial Projects in Education, 2011).  If we still want these programs to be part of the schools then there needs to be a serious change in how we teach these kids because if the test scores do not get better they may get rid of the programs all together. 

Bibliography

      Editorial Projects in Education. (August 4, 2004). English-language learners.      www.refworks.com/refworks/