These are the words I want my students to be able to say to themselves and believe.

My name is Teresa Wood. Currently I am an Instructional Assistant for Bucks County Intermediate Unit #22 assigned to Wordsworth at New Britain.

This is my fifth year with the Intermediate Unit and at Wordsworth. Wordsworth is a residential treatment facility for children with social and emotional needs. It is our goal to meet those needs as well as their educational needs. The children I work with come from a variety of ethnic and social backgrounds.  I enjoy working with the children; each day is a new challenge and a new adventure. I am fortunate to work with a young and innovative teacher. Her understanding and handling of her students is something I would like to emulate. We share many of the same ideas concerning the needs of our students and how we believe they should be treated. Our classroom is a place where respect and security play an  important role. It is  important to both of us that our students feel safe and learn to respect themselves. I believe we achieve this by providing a nurturing environment and by setting expectations for each of the children based on their abilities. I believe the genuineness of our relationship helps this atmosphere to be possible.

"I  am the story I tell myself I am.

I do the things I tell myself I can."    

                                                                 Viktor Frankl,  MD. Ph.D.

Preparedness for diversity should be a part of all teachers daily plans. In any classroom there is diversity, be it academic diversity or cultural diversity. To meet the needs of each student in the classroom these differences should be taken into consideration when planning your day.

Academic Diversity

All children learn differently. It is these differences that call upon the teacher to be creative and innovative in planning lessons. When planning lessons it is important to take into consideration all the different learning styles of the children in the classroom. Are there any visual learners, hands on learners? How you answer these questions about your students will determine the level of diversity in your classroom. In doing so the teacher can vary the activities to allow each student to perform at their best.

Cultural Diversity

When a teacher responds to the cultural differences in classroom she or he is doing two things; the teacher  is insuring a level of comfort for the student of a different culture and also is teaching acceptance of the student  through his or her own example.

Last Updated 12/1/2002