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Funanya Uchemefuna

Professor Inman

LBS 302

01 March 2018

Reflective Essay: Inner Reflection of My Adult Lens

Pre-service teachers should constantly be in search of an ideal, effective, classroom

management style to use during their teaching profession. In order to create a productive learning

environment one would first have to reflect upon how to enhance their teaching and embrace the

different learning processes. Identifying a pre-service teacher’s personal biases and

preconceptions of the students they are exposed to will help them acknowledge differences in

their learning process, how to accommodate to learners opposite from them, reflect on their

biases, and learn to use their acculturated lens to promote equity and strengthen both them and

their future student’s cultural proficiency. This critical reflection experience will expand pre-

service teachers knowledge of dealing with inner biases and using their funds of knowledge to

connect with every student.

Growing up as an African-American I was constantly the center of stereotypical jokes

and ignorant comments due to my location being largely Asian-American populated. I was born

and raised in Los Angeles County, which is suppose to be known for its racial diversity, but the

city of Cerritos, the city that I grew up in, did not share in that diversity. The population of my

town is primarily Asian-American, so I’ve been submerged in various Asian ethnicities and

cultural practices. As a child I had a hard time separating myself from the stereotypes I was

meant to portray according to society based on my physical appearance because in my Asian

dominated community I was constantly being made aware of who I was supposed to be.
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The background of my family is that of a non-stereotypical minority, and it fueled our

motivation to be educationally driven, which in turn led to a household of teachers. The

educationally driven household is what provided me with support in finishing my homework and

projects on time and making sure I gave it my best. The support system I gained from having an

educationally oriented family provided me with the privilege of higher education and a

comfortable life in middle class society. I had the advantage of attending schools in the ABC

school district, where the scores ranked among the highest. Because all of my 3 sisters attended

the same schools ahead of me I was granted with the excitement of every teacher I had because

they “got the baby of the family”. The attention I received from being well-known in the

community gave me support and motivation to do my best. This fact that I was well-known by

all of my teachers before I even stepped foot in their classroom provided me with the advantage

of them supporting my needs immediately. I was a visual learner and always got accommodated

when the teacher taught any lesson, but unfortunately did not fair so well during tests due to test

anxiety. Even though I was supported I still never had the confidence to speak out in class or

raise my hand. I was a quiet child and I believe that related to one of the many stereotypes I

heard as child of African-Americans always being loud and ill-behaved. I believe my quiet and

obedient attitude is what led me to where I am today.

During my time as a TA in the LAUSD school district I get to observe students and

analyse my lens in order to be made aware of my biases. For a few weeks now I have been

observing a child in 6th grade named “Richard”. My first reaction of this child was that he

definitely should be in a special education class. My implicit bias revolved around him being

special ed. because he was a thick child that walked with a waddle, usually had shirt stains, dirt

on his face, had a abundantly visible overbite, and spoke in constant hesitation or repeated
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statements more than once. My explicit bias was that he had to speak Spanish because he was

Mexican and if he couldn’t sit still or process something the first time he must have a mental

disadvantage. All of my biases turned out to be wrong as I got to get to know this student. He

turned out to be a very bright child that understood concepts as long as it was repeated a couple

of times. His homework and test scores were usually one of the highest. His physical appearance

had nothing to do with his mental state. He was a well-rounded child that, if anything, showed

signs of being an advanced learner.

My observations allowed me to reflect on what I bring to the table and what I don’t to the

teaching and learning process. My socioeconomic background does not allow me to connect with

students in lower class districts, but my awareness of this fact makes me teachable. I will never

understand what it feels like to go to school hungry, sleep deprived, and/or unsafe, but I can

accommodate my future students by being knowledgeable of their struggles and trying to make

school a safe zone for their growth and development. I am however able to connect with

students in the minority and understand their struggles of being rejected by society and

constantly stereotyped. I can provide minority students like myself with the confidence and

motivation to be successful in achieving higher education despite what society says. As a pre-

service teacher I am still learning how to progress my teachings and take a look through my

cultural lens to see just how it affects others and will see growth in this process. This reflection

of my cultural lens will positively affect my teaching and learning process because it will allow

me to acknowledge the biases that I bring to the classroom and how to counteract these biases to

enact equity with all of my students through diverse expectations. I can understand that each

student has a different way of learning and different cultural backgrounds, so I will know not to

judge based on their physical appearance or stereotypical cultural expectations. The negative
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effects that I carry of not being able to connect with my students socioeconomically will have to

fade with time because the more time I spend teaching in their community, the more I will be

able to understand their daily practices.

Building on my personal awareness as a pre-service teacher will help me benefit in

producing a culturally aware and efficient management plan. The observations I noted about my

cultural lens and how it affects other people opened my eyes to biases and privileges I did not

realize I had. Being able to acknowledge my values, experiences, and funds of knowledge

allowed me to examine my preconceived notions of students and learn how to mitigate my

implicit and explicit biases. This learning process will be a continual growing experience that

will expand my lens on social justice. I intend to keep reflecting on the positive effects as well as

the negative effects of my lens to better serve my students needs academically and intellectually.