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learning the material she was presenting, so she chastised the student and asked why he
continued to sleep in her class. The student proceeded to tell her that he had been up all night the
night before caring for his siblings because his mother (who was a single parent) was working a
night shift and could not care for the children herself so she relied on him. He had gotten no
sleep, but it was not by his choice; it was a circumstance that was out of his control. It was part
of his lifestyle.

Situations like this occur every day, and the lack of teachers’ knowledge of cultural
diversity causes them to be unsympathetic and become frustrated with their students. Culture is
not only ethnicity, language, and religion but also encompasses socioeconomics, mental health,
and treatment of the child by the parent(s). For a student to reach his or her ultimate potential, the
educator must appreciate that not every student is the same. Each student has his or his own way
of learning, and that cannot be taken for granted.

As a future educator, I hope to put these ideas into practice now so that I may be
experienced and able to teach each student to the best of my ability. In the fall semester of 2016,
some of my education classmates and I came together to plan and execute two community
service experiential learning events that would raise awareness of and attempt to tackle these
problems.

One of the events was held at the local library and was open to the community. Our focus
was reading and writing, but we expanded our activities in the other subject areas also and even
conducted a book drive for the library. It was a simple but effective first step in combatting the
issue. The second of the events was hosted by a local daycare facility, and we held a diversity
day event for the children. Our goal was to make them more aware of the world around them so
that they will be able to positively interact with everyone they may encounter. Not only was the
event beneficial for the children but also for us leaders. It forced us to learn about other cultures
in preparation for the event and showed us that we may have to adapt our plans to fit the needs of
our students.