Consider the demographic of your local school and identify one student from a background that would be most different from your own. Imagine the first day of school from this student’s perspective as you are introduced to the class as his or her new teacher. This is a creative writing piece where you are expected to step outside your own world view and into the shoes of the “other” in your classroom. You may need to research a bit about the culture of the student whose perspective you will be writing from and ask friends or colleagues to help you better understand your typical body language and how that does or might translate to the classroom and teaching style.

What do you think the student’s first impressions of you might be? (Be honest and consider how the verbal and non-verbal cues you might give out would be interpreted by this student).
How might the student relate to your background? (i.e. Do you appear to represent the dominant group in society and would your relationship with the dominant group impact your relationship with the student?)
How do you address and interact with the student and what are some of the ways you strive to engage all students in the classroom?