Mrs. Steele's interview continued
Q:  What methods do you use to communicate with parents if there is a language barrier?
A:  "I would use translators for conferences, hopefully there was someone in the family who could speak English. You can also have forms translated downtown if you need to."
Q:  What has been your most challenging incident related to multicultural education?
A:  "I had a student once who had just come here from Russia..couldn't speak English..and he had to take the FCAT. He was given an English to Russian dictionary and that was it. He would try to work for a while, but then give up. It was frustrating to have this child sitting in the room who couldn't understand any English, trying to help him while teaching to twenty-something other children."
Q:  How do you implement multicultural education in your classroom? What strategies did you use to help the student from Russia?
A:  "I went on-line and printed up pictures, then had him write the English words...lots of visuals. I also used partnering. I use lots of cooperative groups.
Q:  Does your school have programs which incorporate multicultural education?
A:  "No, not really. At the beginning of the year, some classes were scheduled on bullying, but no on-going educational program. I have asked the school psychologist to come in and observe my class when I felt there was an issue. She offered some suggestions."
Q:  What about character education? Do you incorporate that into your classroom?
A:  "I address that through my class rules and expectations. Also through class discussions. We discuss issues that come up as a class. Issues can also be addressed through literature discussions in class. We're teachers, so we address those kinds of things, too. I do feel that character education is a good idea because it's important to actually teach kids about positive behaviors. "