During the Spring semester of 2004 I enrolled in a class that focused on Cultural Diversity in Education. This class was truly an eye-opening experience for understanding the importance of being educated about different races, cultures, genders, and religions in the education field. During this course I learned so much about things that had never crossed my mind. One was the drastic drop-out rate of Native Americans. During this course, I researched this topic. Not only did I began to understand that teachers play a major role in effecting the problem, but I was also able to realize that if teachers simply take the time to understand the Native American culture it can drastically improve this unfortunate problem. Many guest speakers, who spoke about such diverse topics as Bilingual education, interracial and bi racial children, homelessness, the achievement gap, and gender, enlightened me. Not only did I learn about different cultures, but I also studied ways that I as a future teacher can teach to all cultures by using different teaching strategies. I feel that after finishing this course I have a better understanding of the world around me and am better prepared to teach my future students.
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