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 A healthy classroom 
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What steps would you take in your own classroom so social class is not a huge deal, so all the children will view eachother with enthusiasm and an interest in something about eachother that is different from what they know?
At a young age how do you create open minds?

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Brianne Henderson

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Wed Feb 01, 2006 11:48 pm
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Quote:
At a young age how do you create open minds?


Young minds are already open, you just got to find a way to shave a board in there before they close.

As far as creating an open classroom...I'm a history major and I'm really interested in the medieval period so I may try to (and this may sound cheesy) create an atmosphere where "chivalry" is extremly important. Chivalry applies to ones own honor and by making fun of someone else you speak ill of your own chivalry. I dunno...makes sense in my head.

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Thu Feb 02, 2006 12:28 am
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I think it is important to teach our students the importance of equality for all. Social class is such a controversial issue not only for students to deal with, but also for parents to deal with. Many parents don't want their children to be friends with children out of their personal social class. For example, the guy in the video last night that is a part of the WASP society. I highly doubt that his parents would have ever wanted him to be friends with children outside of that high society social class. I don't think the barriers of social class will ever be completely broken because of people's attitudes like this. It really starts with the parents...

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Jordan Will


Thu Feb 02, 2006 11:46 am
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Unfortunately, this class distinction has been going on for many years. I do not think there will ever be a classless society. As a teacher I will try to make sure the students realize that we are all people and there really is not much difference between someone who has Nike sneakers and someone who wears Wal-Mart brand shoes. I will have the students working together while solving problems. I hope this would make them see that all humans have worth regardless of economic background.

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Scott Shannon


Thu Feb 02, 2006 3:29 pm
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Brianne Henderson wrote:
What steps would you take in your own classroom so social class is not a huge deal?


No clothes allowed!

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Danny Jugan

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Fri Feb 03, 2006 9:09 am
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wow, brianne that's a hard question. I do agree with Jordan because parents do influence their children. Children's attitudes towards their peers often reflect how their parents view the same situation. However, I think as teachers we need to help students understand they have power over their own attitudes and minds. I know that I do not always agree with some of my parents' attitudes and visa versa. However, we both have reasons behind our own beliefs and respect each other. If we show children that respecting others is essential, we must model this ourselves. This means making sure we treat all our students fairly. Are we playing favorites? Are we accomodating to everyone's learning styles and cultures? But, just as important, are we teaching the students how to treat each other equally? Are we helping them mediate conflicts? Are we helping them communicate with others? We cannot just model, we must also teach and facilitate.

Learning about people causes us to understand. Understanding brings acceptance. We must create a classroom where everyone knows each other and understands everyone's feelings. We can't hide issues or avoid talking about things just because not everyone feels the same way. Even if people don't agree with everyone, students can still respect people. They will hopefully understand where their peers are coming from and know why they think a certain way. I know this is idealistic in some respects because not everyone will always respect each other, but I truly believe it should be our goal.

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Laura Greene

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Fri Feb 03, 2006 3:41 pm
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Laura you have some really good points, but i have to agree with Danny. No clothes allowed!

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Fo Holla


Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:10 am
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To throw in another question - Does this mean that School Uniforms are a must to destroy social classes? Would that help or hurt?

I'm having a problem being able to figure out how to tackle social class at the high school setting. Your students will have been going to school together for so long that they will know each other enough to know who lives on what side of the railroad tracks. The popular people will be the popular people, the jocks will be the jocks, the band geeks ( I was one, I can say that) will be the band geeks, and the rest will be the rest. How can we effectively combat that in the classroom and for that matter, throughout the school?

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Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:55 pm
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The truth about social class is that its real. People are from different social classes and sometimes its apparent and sometimes not. The thing we have to rememeber though is that we can never change this and that you will have to face it your entire life so... why try to hide it from our students? I am not saying we have to point it out but we dont' haev to pretend like its not real. I simply saw we teach respect. Teach the children to embrace everyone elses differences both socially and in other ways. We should not try to uniform everyone to be one "type" we should show how everyone is different but perfect in their own respects.

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Jill Parsons


Sun Feb 12, 2006 10:04 pm
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I think the school uniform question brings up a lot of issues. I have mixed feelings about this. Would uniforms really get rid of prejudices in the classroom. I think that unforunately, no matter what clothes a child is wearing, they are still at risk for getting picked on. Some people get picked on for freckles or being overweight. I think that young children often see these physical attributes more often than they see social class. But, I do agree that we need to teach our students to always be respectful and to appreciate everyone for their differences.

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Samantha McCrary


Mon Feb 13, 2006 10:48 am
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