101.0004+Chapter+2+Syntheses

Below are our syntheses of the information from Chapter 2 in these areas: What are the religions of students? by Tyler and Kaitlyn According to Hall, Quinn, and Gollnick, authors of //The Joy of Teaching//, religious diversity has a significant impact on students in the classroom. The authors explain that the majority of students are Christians but within that religion, and many other religions, different practices, traditions, and beliefs exist. As immigration continues, the number of different religions increases. This increase creates an ever more diverse group of students. The authors also state that schools should recognize religious diversity and accommodate the students accordingly in order to respect their religious traditions and cultures. Different religions can attribute to students missing school for holidays, such as Jewish students not attending school on Rash Hashanah or Yom Kippur. Other students from diverse religions may not miss school, but they may follow other traditions; for example, Islamic students will fast during the month of Ramadhan and are expected to have daily prayers. The authors make it very understandable that schools should respect the religions of the students (whether they follow Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, etc.) and provide accommodation for them so that their civil rights will not be violated.

How are students with disabilities integrating schools? by Monica and Matt Students with disabilities have been challenged throughout history. In the 1940s-70s children with disabilities were not even allowed to be taught in schools or accepted into schools. After battling for a place in the community, students with disabilities have become more accepted in the education system. Now schools have programs like special education for students with disabilities, for example, students now have IEP’s which help the students have an easier time in the classroom. However, the children with disabilities are still segregated from children without disabilities, some schools keep the students with disabilities in a different building or a classroom separated from the rest of the students. The reason for this is because the special education programs are only for children with disabilities and the regular classes are only for children without disabilities.

How Racially and Ethnically Diverse are Our Schools? By John A. and Tara As of 2010, American schools are 60% white, 23% Latino, 15% African American, 3% Asian/ Pacific Islander and less than 1% of Alaskan Native. For the most part, pan-ethnic and racial groups are separated by region; African Americans reside largely in the south eastern United States. American Indian live primarily in the mid west of the United States, Alaskan Natives reside primarily in Alaska. Asian American’s reside primarily in California and New York, Vietnamese American’s have a high population count in Texas, more than any other state. European American’s live in the Midwest and Northeast. The Latinos living the United States live in two main states of Texas and California. Multi racial students are present all over the United States, in all states.

What is the socioeconomic status of today's students? Jasmine, Charli, Elizabeth, Ashley In the textbook “The Joy of Teaching,” Gene Hall, Linda Quinn, and Donna Gollnick discuss the hardships that a teacher will run into, as well as how to react to students in a classroom with diverse socioeconomic statuses. Often, teachers put low income students in a stereotype by having low expectations for the quality of work they will produce. Students from low income families are not expected to move on from high school, or often even expected to finish high school, unlike middle or high class families. Students in low income families will likely have poor health, due to having a lack of money (65). Another problem that may arise is migration for jobs; lower income families sometimes have to move causing the student to switch schools. This makes school much more of a challenge for those students. Middle class families earn an average of $30,000 to $80,000 annually, but often are living paycheck to paycheck because they are just not earning enough to survive (65). Upper middle class families typically do not enroll their children in the local public school, but rather a private school, which gives those students more of an advantage. A teacher could have a classroom that contains any combination of income level students, but the important aspect is to not make any stereotypes of them because students can’t be generalized or labeled based on their families’ income.

How does gender influence students? By Casey, Olivia, Kim, and Erika In //The Joy of Teaching//, Gene Hall explains that even though biology has found differences in the subjects that males and females are strong in, the differences are not always accurate. Some differences can be found in the brain: females focus on the left hemisphere, which includes the subjects reading, writing, and speaking, while males focus on the right hemisphere, which includes math and science. As Hall explains, this variation in the brain activity of males and females affects not only their particular strengths in school, but also their process of thought and the way that boys and girls learn best. Socialization also affects students because peers, teachers, and parents influence students to act according to their gender. The author argues however, that no matter how the student behaves or reacts according to or despite their gender, teachers need to treat them equally, and promote the most positive learning environment that “fosters acceptance and understanding” (69).