Classroom Demographics

Mrs. Mosley’s 5th grade classroom is a very exciting and interesting place to be. I enjoy watching the students and learning more about who they are on a daily basis. Within Mrs. Mosley’s classroom there are a total of 16 students, 7 girls, and 9 boys. While observing, I noticed that Mrs., Mosley makes it a point to call on both genders. All of the girls in Mrs. Mosley’s class are eager to participate and are frequently called upon. The boys are less eager, but are still required to stay engaged in class discussion and are volunteered throughout class.

There is a huge imbalance between races within Mrs. Mosley’s class. There are 14 Caucasian students and only 1 African American student and 1 student that falls under the category of other. However, Mrs. Mosley, being an African American woman herself, does a great job incorporating different cultures and races into her classroom. I have observed her walls and there is a whole wall devoted to African American history. Leaders such a Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks are pictured on the classroom walls. As a future teacher I feel that it is extremely important to remember the minority students, and provide a curriculum that does not discriminate against these students. It is also important to expose the minority students to diversity. The students also listen to audio story tapes in class. The last two tapes have been Hispanic stories; both stories featured Spanish language and insight into the culture. There are no Hispanic children in Mrs. Mosley’s classroom, but she still exposes the children to Spanish culture. I think this is a great idea!

There 2 gifted children in Mrs. Mosley’s classroom and 3 children who receive special education services. The 2 gifted children are in gifted programs throughout the day and return to their regular ed. Classroom after lunch. However, the 3 children who receive special services stay in the regular ed. Classroom. When observing the classroom, I cannot accurately tell who is in special Ed. I feel that Mrs. Mosley does a fair job of including all students, however I feel that she could developed a better lesson plan to keep the students better engaged in learning. A lesson plan that meets all of the students learning needs, not just the students who are average. While observing, I often notice that some students seem lost and are day dreaming. There are 2 males students that sit in the back of the room alone. I feel that these two students may be falling behind and go unnoticed because they are in the back of the room. I also feel that some students aren’t being challenged enough, the classroom instruction consist grammatical worksheets and grammatical corrections on the smart board. I think it would be a great idea to group students for their grammar lessons. Pairing students is a great way to promote social interaction between different races and genders.

The students in Mrs. Mosley’s 5th grade classroom are all different, they all have different needs, and they all come from different backgrounds. However, all of the children have one thing in common; they all deserved a fair education. I feel that Mrs. Mosley does a great job promoting equality among students; however I feel that her classroom activities could be modified to better suite students and cater to their different learning needs. I feel that all teachers should take it upon themselves to get to know their students, research their cultural backgrounds, and their education history, that way they can better prepare themselves to teach their students