Equity

• The chapter says, "Though we usually think of cultural differences mostly as national differences, there is probably as much cultural diversity within the United States as between the United States and other industrialized nations." This quote was surprising and interesting to me because I never thought about it but it is very true. There can be so much diversity within one classroom. Each student can be from a different culture, different religion, etc. Everyone grew up differently.
• In my high school, if we were taking an AP course we were required to take the AP test. We have talked about how standardized testing is inequitable because the questions may be worded in a way that someone from a different culture or background does not understand the question. On standardized tests there are also words that may be inequitable because they may come from a culture that not all students are familiar with. There is also the matter of which books and text books are used in the classroom or school wide. Some books that are required by the school to read may be inequitable because they focus only on one culture and could be a stereotype of that culture as well. Also, some textbooks are underrepresented by minorities. Students who are of a minority will probably notice this and wonder why.
• One way I would help Alice become comfortable with using formal English would be to tell her that when she is speaking with me she must at least attempt to speak formal English. If she slips up I would tell her which word she needs to repeat in a different way. This would help her realize which words need to be changed. This would not take place in whole class discussions. This would only happen when talking one on one. Another way I would help Alice would be to have her read books in which formal English is used and easy to understand. I really think that reading books with the language I expect her to speak in would help her. In this way no one would know what she is doing. All they would see her doing is reading.