How Classrooms Have Changed
Reflection Paper
Jennifer Darcy
University of Phoenix
SPE/300
December 24, 2012
Dr. Danielle Kelly
Reflection Paper
Classrooms have changed a lot over the past four decades. When I was a child, I do not recall having any diverse learners in my classes. There were some children in my neighborhood who had learning disabilities, but they attended school somewhere else and I had little exposure to children that were different from myself. Today, my own children attend school in a very different environment than I did. Both of my daughters have boys in their classes who have Asperger's Syndrome. They also interact with students who struggle with other disabilities such as Autism and Down's Syndrome.
In looking at how the classroom has changed, these changes have been for the good. I remember as a child being afraid of children who were different from me. The student body population was not diverse at all. In fact I remember there being only one African-American boy in my school and no one with disabilities that I know about. Discussion about difference were not something I was involved in until I was in high school and we talked about historical events that had happened in our country to help it change for the better.
Today's classroom has a wide variety of nationalities and students with many different learning abilities. The children in the classroom are not afraid of children who are different from them because they have interacted with these children who learn differently from them. In fact, my own children have learned to be very caring and compassionate to children with different needs. We have two good friends who have children with Autism. These boys have become a big part of our family and we love having them around. The experiences that we have had with these boys have really helped my children to be more open and accepting of other children in their school classes who have similar disabilities. I believe that having these children mainstreamed
Jennifer Darcy
University of Phoenix
SPE/300
December 24, 2012
Dr. Danielle Kelly
Reflection Paper
Classrooms have changed a lot over the past four decades. When I was a child, I do not recall having any diverse learners in my classes. There were some children in my neighborhood who had learning disabilities, but they attended school somewhere else and I had little exposure to children that were different from myself. Today, my own children attend school in a very different environment than I did. Both of my daughters have boys in their classes who have Asperger's Syndrome. They also interact with students who struggle with other disabilities such as Autism and Down's Syndrome.
In looking at how the classroom has changed, these changes have been for the good. I remember as a child being afraid of children who were different from me. The student body population was not diverse at all. In fact I remember there being only one African-American boy in my school and no one with disabilities that I know about. Discussion about difference were not something I was involved in until I was in high school and we talked about historical events that had happened in our country to help it change for the better.
Today's classroom has a wide variety of nationalities and students with many different learning abilities. The children in the classroom are not afraid of children who are different from them because they have interacted with these children who learn differently from them. In fact, my own children have learned to be very caring and compassionate to children with different needs. We have two good friends who have children with Autism. These boys have become a big part of our family and we love having them around. The experiences that we have had with these boys have really helped my children to be more open and accepting of other children in their school classes who have similar disabilities. I believe that having these children mainstreamed