Prompt 3 Theorist: Johnson

As a teacher you should be able to arrange your assessments to fit the needs of a student, whether it be for their linguistic, ethnic, or sociocultural needs. Every student has different needs and to help them get the best education possible, a teacher should arrange their syllabus and assessments to help students reach these needs. The teacher I am tutoring for is somewhat sensitive to these needs. She understands that some students come from a background where their parents are not helping their children learn. I have not actually seen her give tests but I have seen all the students tests hung on the wall. She hangs them all up and there are only three so I am not sure if she has only given three tests all year long. I'm not sure how she judges linguistically. Most students in the classroom have a good vocabulary and do not really have an accent. A few times I've heard her correct students for the "street" language they use. For example, a student will say I ain't going to do that, the teacher corrects them and says you are not going to do that. This is the only linguistic problems in this classroom. Almost all of the students in this school either qualify or are receiving reduced lunch so they all come from the same poverty background. Which means they all have the same types of sociocultural needs. The teacher provides the students with crayons, pens, pencils, erasers, and anything else they may need. She is also somewhat sensitive to their ethnic needs. She realizes that each of these students have different cultures and practice different things at home. She knows that not all these students speak English and may have a hard time receiving help from their parents. I think she assess students according to this. When I was in the classroom she had me sit one-on-one with a student and help them with retells. The little girl I was helping didn't understand how to summarize the story she read back to someone. I help her each time I am in the classroom and the teacher does not grade her the same as everyone else because she understands that at home she isn't getting any help. The only time she gets help is when a tutor comes in and sits with her.
If Johnson were to go into this elementary classroom he would see how alive and well the diversity problem is. He would also see how the poverty is all segregated. Almost all of these students are minorities. This is the problem he sees in the world today. He would like that the teacher is sensitive to the needs of the children but he would also think more needs to be done. This school is a classic example of residential segregation Johnson talks about in his articles. He believes that it is still the rule in the U.S. It is true because these schools are based on where you live you can see that this neighborhood is based on minorities. Johnson would be happy about how the teacher realized the segregation but because she doesn't do anything about it, he would believe she is participating in it.