Response to Katrina's Blog, CEC conference workshop sessions.

I found Katrina's blog extremely interesting. I am really interested in learning about and researching the way culture influences behaviors in the classroom, as well as the over-representation and under-representation of certain racial or ethnic groups in the specific categories authorized by IDEA. I think the concept is really complex and I am eager to dig deeper into all that influences the students whom are diagnosed, how they are diagnosed, and how often a diagnosis is made. On one hand, I feel that a cultural mismatch between a child and their learning environment, can lead to specific diagnoses or even a lack of support and services in the classroom and school. As Katrina discussed, I also feel that access to health care and education influence the perception of students in a classroom, and the decisions made about their behaviors and development. As a future educator, I feel that understanding where students are coming from, their family life, their background and their culture, can help in decision making regarding behaviors in the classroom and referral for special education.