Dear Laura:
I was really touched by your description of Amira in your post “Amira, One of Our Students” because you painted a very compelling picture of a sensitive child. I am sad that Amira seems to give so much more respect for others than she receives from her peers. Reading your review I felt that Amira had someone who could understand and be an ally for her.

One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: “She is an excellent student in Math but has difficulties in ELA class, because of her language barrier.” I think this is interesting because it shows how Math can be an equalizer for some students for whom language is a barrier. I am wondering how long she has been in the US and what her exposure to English has been like. I am also curious if her difficulties with English are primarily receptive or expressive. I’m wondering if there is some way to use her love of drawing as a bridge to literacy activities. For example, might it be possible to look for what she understands in a reading by asking her to draw the story or a sequence of events? Similarly, might she be able to draw initial ideas for her writing so that someone might help her with the vocabulary. I am also wondering if there are any English-speaking Arab or Muslim students in the school who could be a helpful peer for her.
Another sentence that moved me was: “One thing that Amira brings into the classroom is the cultural respect for each of the other students..” This stood out for me because it shows an attitude that we would like to foster in all our students. I am wondering if there is a way to bring attention to this and use it to create classroom discussions about different cultures and traditions.

Have you seen this video of a teacher using a flags activity to explore the cultural backgrounds and diversity in her classroom? I thought you might be interested because it could be adapted for an older class to help foster more inclusion.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next because I am curious about Amira and how she will progress through school.
Thanks,
Jen

Dear Laura:

I really loved the way that you introduced Amira with the title one of our children. It really shows how much you care about your students and that you’re very supportive as well. I really liked the paragraph where you broke down her family history and household arrangement. By mentioning that she comes from a large family that aren’t native English speakers, it explains the challenges that Amira has to face in the classroom daily. By the way you identified the triggers that make her angry, it shows that you took the time to learn about the student and also build a connection with them as well. In order to help students move forward, you have to know exactly where they’re coming from. The one thing I liked the most that you mentioned was the cultural respect that Amira brings to the classroom for her other classmates. I would like to thank you for writing about this topic because it was very touching to learn about Amira. I’m looking forward to reading what you write about next because I would certainly like to know more about how other students bring cultural respect to the classroom similar to the way Amira did.