Reflection Paper

Kendra Kujat

EDU 3271

April 30, 2018

Kendra Kujat

EDU 3271

April 30, 2018

Intercultural Experience

“Love being different, embrace it, share it, live it because being different Is not a curse, but a gift

we all possess that defines who we are and makes the world a better place.”

-Katie Chapman

Muskogee, Oklahoma will forever hold a special place in my heart. Especially the

children at the Murrow Indian Home. Muskogee is a town that just needs a huge hug. At the

beginning of the trip, I wasn’t worried much about the classroom. I assumed it would be like any

other classroom. I worried more about the home life, for example: if they enjoy playing the same

games as us, and if the opportunities they receive are different than students in Rochester. I have

never been to an orphanage home, let alone an Indian orphanage home. I picture the movie

Annie and how the houseparent is very rude and forces the children to work around the house all

day. The children are not even allowed outside in the movie. I think it’s hard for any houseparent

to unconditionally love children, multiple children, that are not their own responsibility. The

home is average, a place for the children to sleep and play. They play basketball, soccer, football,

tag, everything a normal child would play. Each child has a case worker who negotiates many of

the things they receive. They decide when they get a phone and their clothes vouchers. I was

very naïve going into this trip. Naïve to the amount of hurt and struggle going on in different
places around the United States. I now have a new perspective after immersing myself in

Muskogee culture for two weeks. I had the opportunity to learn in four different environments:

Alice-Robertson Middle School, Sequoyah High School, Creek Elementary School, and the

Murrow Indian Home. Each of these places had its own unique culture that was nurtured by the

administration, staff, as well as the students.

My first couple days were spent at Alice-Robertson middle school. The middle school

consisted of seventh and eighth graders. Alice-Robertson has a very diverse culture. The school

is considered an inner-city school based on the demographics of people. It was a very different

culture than Rochester, Hills. The language spoken was English, but very improper. Common

terms used were “bro,” “ain’t,” “gon,” and so forth. I was very taken back by the amount of

disrespect shown to the teacher and peers. Students had their phones out in class and were very

disruptive. These students are very rowdy and could benefit greatly with a better structure.

Giving them more engaging activities would help to keep them on task. If this were my

classroom, I would have a strict disciplinary standard. I would not turn a blind eye to cell phones

or disrespectful comments. These things need to be dealt with right away or the student will

never learn how to act like a proper adult. Misbehavior should not be tolerated or else it will

create chaos for the whole classroom. It’s hard because they are in the eighth grade and have a

lot of content to learn and can’t always spend time learning manners. Since barely any learning is

getting done in the first place due to disruptiveness, I think it creates a perfect opportunity to talk

about things like respect. It’s hard to have an influence on these students at this age. Majority of

the student’s actions are a direct reflection of their home life. The students who are obnoxiously

loud or always getting into trouble simply want someone to pay attention to them. I think getting

to know your students and who they idolize can be a great advantage as a teacher. Know what
makes each student tick. Is there a group into sports? Theatre, band or music? Art? Dance? I

think you can influence students by reading a short story at the beginning of class or showing a

video that gives a lesson. Show a famous person that the students idolize and have that person

teach the students about building a good character. It’s important for students at this age to

realize that failing classes is not “cool.” These types of students can fall behind quickly. Also,

know what they like so you can teach in that way. Instead of having you teach a lesson every

day, substitute a lecture for an entertaining YouTube video lesson. Obviously, we want to be

careful that sufficient content is being taught, but keeping these students on their toes is the only

way to keep them attentive and on pace to succeed.

Friday we had the opportunity to visit Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

This is a private school funded by the Cherokee Nation. In order to attend this school, you must

be Native American and apply for admission. Administration sets high expectations at the school

requiring their students to be accredited with 27 credits by the time they graduate. They also

encourage extra-curricular activities. The school has dorms on campus for those students who

have to travel far to get to school. The students are required to take at least two Cherokee classes.

The most common is the Cherokee language class and the Cherokee history class. There are also

other classes that incorporate Cherokee culture such as art and theatre/storytelling. They really

encourage keeping the Cherokee culture alive. When we were observing the Cherokee 2 class

there was a definite language barrier for us. We did not understand their language or letters at all.

We could listen to the students speak, but nothing was resonating with the word on the board. It

was very hard to understand and follow along. Many of the students still had to use an alphabet

to help them in writing words down for their quiz.

 We also visited the immersion school, which is a K-6 school that teaches in all Cherokee

up until fifth-grade. Halfway through the year in fifth-grade, half of the class is done in Cherokee

and the other half in English. By the time they reach seventh-grade, the classes will be fully in

English. This is so that when students have to do national or statewide testing, the students, as

well as the school, have an opportunity to be successful. The fifth-graders sung hymns in

Cherokee to us. You can tell they are still learning, but they are great at speaking fluent

Cherokee already. One student who had just joined the school struggled more. He looked very

nervous speaking the new language and had to process it very hard.

The last week I observed in a third-grade classroom at Creek Elementary School. A girl

from the home was in this classroom. The students are very well behaved for Ms. Ritchie. She

explains how she is very strict at the beginning of the school year. By the middle of the school

year they adapt to the rules and stop having to be told what to do as much. The students at this

school work very hard to be successful. There are not very many students who don’t care and

willingly choose not to do their work.

The Murrow Indian Home is a very small place located in a corner of Bacone College.

There is an office up front, then three houses and a volunteer house. Since there are not very

many children at the home, they only use two houses. One is the girls house and the other is the

boys house. They have house parents who work shifts throughout the day. The ages range from

second-grade to seniors in high school. The younger girls don’t say much about their “old” life,

but the older girls do. One of the girls was very upset about being at the home. She was

previously adopted and her mother turned out to be abusive, so she was sent back to the home. It

is a very hard process for the children to go through. I remember one of the days I was talking to

the girls about their favorite princess. One of the girls has beautiful, curly, black hair and I told
her it reminded me of Moana. She looked at me and said, “No my favorite princess is

Pocahontas.” The other girls shook their heads up and down in agreement. When I asked why

she was their favorite, they all agreed it was because she was Indian. Another day I was there,

some of the girls were complaining about Martin Luther King Center that holds a camp in the

summer. The girl said that the students there were rude to her because she was white. She

continued to say, “And I’m not even white, I’m Indian.” This clearly shows that racism and

stereotypes go both ways. Often times when I think of racism I strictly think Caucasian versus

African American. We fail to realize there are so many other cultures that aren’t getting enough

cultivation either and are losing their culture little by little.

Teaching a diverse classroom is often times a challenge. As educators, we should take

this opportunity to create an environment of mutual respect and understanding. An understanding

that being different is okay. Being different is who makes us individuals. Teaching students that

they each have unique characteristics and backgrounds that make them who they are is crucial.

Muskogee, Oklahoma is a perfect display that teaching involves a life of service. Teaching

beyond the standards in a low income area is a must. Teachers are ultimately creating the next

generation of our society. In a low income area there is generally not a lot of parent support or

involvement. This leaves it up to teachers to teach students content and life skills. It can be

draining for a teacher to have to constantly deal with behavioral issues. Not many teachers want

to teach anymore because the amount of work they put in doesn’t always match the pay. It takes

a special person with a very big heart to grow little people into kind human beings. Oklahoma

taught me that being a teacher is a special job and takes a lot of patience and understanding. I

learned to see things from a different perspective and not always assume students have the same

lifestyles or have the same knowledge background. Ultimately, I learned to slow down and get
to know the people around me. Get to know the parents as well as my students. Understand

where they come from and why they do the things that they do. Try to teach how your students

would want to be taught. Cultivate and grow different cultures in the classroom to build a

foundation of pluralism in the students.

My only suggestions would be to tell the schools that we are coming so that the teachers

are more aware.