Presentation Reflection

I feel that my group’s presentation went well today. Although we didn’t come close to finishing our presentation, I feel as the main idea of the book was addressed and the class understood and was interested in the book’s strategies to become a more culturally relevant teacher. I was so happy to see the students take and interest in the material and ask questions throughout our presentation. I really enjoyed reading The Dreamkeepers and I think that the teaching strategies discussed are important for teaching all cultures. As we talked about in the presentation, this book was different than any of the other texts that we have read this semester because while it does present many problems, it also gives a solution to the problems. Instead of feeling discouraged, I actually felt confident that these changes could be made. It seems as though these teachers know and understand their students better than the teachers that I ever had. I think that understanding a student, their culture, and their community is vital to successfully teach that student. Throughout my education, I have been in schools with pretty much all white children and teachers. Although teachers had an understanding of my culture because they lived in communities similar to mine, most of the teachers don’t live in my actual community and aren’t involved with students outside of the classroom. I realized that these teachers teach more effectively when they have more contact with their students and therefore know the strengths of their students and how best they learn. I will take the concepts discussed in this book and see how they are demonstrated in the classroom that I am observing.