Here is a summary of my experiences with diverse populations. I hope this is what is wanted. If not, PLEASE, somebody let me know!


- Racial Differences – My experiences in interacting with those of different races has been ongoing since my childhood to include school, the workplace, my experiences with the military, and my school. I frequently interact with people of different races out of a sense of curiosity to get to know people different from myself. A result of this has been the benefit of gaining an insight as to how people of different races view their world as well as how they might view me. (The African-American members of my platoon at Infantry School at Fort Benning voted me “Honorary Black Man”. Was this a joke? Yes, but at the same time it was serious on their part as I was one of the few Caucasian members of the platoon to consistently associate with and befriend them in times of need.)
I have taken these collective experiences into my classroom in an effort to better understand my students. A recent example of this was when a young African-American student invited me to her birthday party. How many middle-aged, fat white men get invited to the birthday party of African-American teenage girls?

- Cultural – Well, I live in Kentucky! As much as Kentucky touts itself as a Southern state, being a native of the Deep South, I see Kentucky and its people as a completely different culture from that of the traditional South that I know. On a more serious note , I try to learn as much as I can about different cultures and their associated more’s when the opportunity presents itself. I once worked at a manufacturing plant owned by Thai’s and the technicians were Italian. I was one of the few people there who relished this opportunity to learn more about both of these groups and their cultures. In my school I have worked with the ESL coordinator to learn more about our Hispanic students, and I frequently talk with them about where they are from, what is alike and different in their current situation versus where they came from, etc. I like attending our local Cinqo de Mayo celebration in order to show support to my Hispanic students who often participate in that event.
- LBD – I initially started my substitute teaching career in 2006. In the Spring of 2007 I was given a long-term substitute teaching position as a SPED teacher collaboratively teaching with three other 8th grade teachers, and teaching language arts to my SPED students in my resource room. This was a very rewarding experience as I was able to interact very well since I only had six students in the room. This experience combined with the SPED students I had in the 07-08 school year and the current 08-09 school year have given me quite a bit of experience and interaction with learning and behaviorally disabled students.
- Socioeconomic – I live in a very economically depressed rural county, and have been interacting with people of modest means/low socio-economic status for many years. I did a good deal of construction work for people who qualified for rural grants to improve their residences, i.e.: installing bathrooms where no indoor facilities existed before, etc. I frequently interact on a daily basis with students who come from great poverty in terms of material possessions, but also educational poverty in their home-life, support for their education, etc.
- FMD – I go to the cafeteria early so I can kid around with the FMD students who are there. They eat an early lunch, and my coming into the cafeteria has become somewhat of a ritual with them. I love these kids, they’re great, full of fun and mischief (too much at times!). I do enjoy sharing some time with them when they eat their lunch.
- Background experience – I’m not sure what is needed here. (?????)
- Gifted – We have an active G&T program at our school, although they do not identify G&T for Social Studies which is too bad. However, I do have the kids that have been identified in my regular classes. I try, when possible, to create some work for them that helps extend their learning, particularly if I can modify my social studies curriculum to include their identified area such as art, science, language arts, etc.
- Readiness – Not sure what is wanted here. (??????)
- Hearing impaired – We have no hearing impaired students in my school at this time. I did grow up close to the Alabama School for the Blind and Deaf in Talladega, Alabama. I had frequent interactions with these students growing up, and have worked with and supervised hearing impaired people in the past.
- Religious beliefs – I work hard at getting my students to be tolerant of those whose religious beliefs may be different from their own. This is difficult because, and I hate to say it, but this is the most bigoted community in which I have ever lived or worked. I make a point of not sharing my religious views with my students as I have had so many bad experiences with teachers and college professors who used their position to advance their own beliefs on their students with the usual terrible results. So far, 99% of the students I work with come from Christian, or basically Judeo-Christian homes. There have been a smattering of so-called atheists and agnostics, although I believe that no middle-school student really knows enough to understand what those things truly are, or what it implies spiritually in the long run. My wife once had a student a few years back that I interacted with who was an American Indian and came from a family of animists. Now, that was very interesting to deal with, and teach to.
- Visually impaired – I suppose this depends on what you call visually impaired. If memory serves, 80% of the general populace has a vision defect of some sort, less than 20/20 vision. If that if the criteria, then I have worked with hundreds of visually impaired students. I have worked with a couple of students in the past that were classified as legally blind, but my does not presently have a student with that classification to my knowledge. I have not had a student with that kind of disability in two years.
- Disabled, Cerebral Palsy, etc. – See my entry for FMD above.