As a white female student living in a middle class community, I never witnessed the disparities students had in school. But, my perspective changed when I started college as a Special Education: Learning Disabilities major. In my courses, I got the chance to learn and witness the learning disparities children have in an urban school setting. I started volunteer position at an elementary school in Lansing, MI. As I walked into the school, I noticed the differences between this school and the ones I grew up in. The technology was outdated and there was less books in the library. Seeing these children in this school was eye opening. I noticed this child sitting alone at lunch. After I went over and talked to him, I almost noticed immediately that he had some type of learning disability. I learned that he was a 9 year old boy in first grade who had been held back twice. This urban school had no educators that were trained in special education. This deficit caused the child to severely fall behind in school. Learning this broke my heart. From that day on, I developed the goal to help make education equitable for all students.

As a white female student living in a middle class community, I never witnessed the disparities students had in school. But, my perspective changed when I started college as a Special Education: Learning Disabilities major. I chose to join a cohort in my college that is called the Urban Educators Cohort Program (UECP). In my teacher education courses, I got the chance to learn and witness the learning disparities children have in an urban school setting. I began to volunteer at a local elementary school in Lansing, MI. I walked into that school with no expectations of what it would be like. Almost right away, I noticed the strong differences between the school I grew up going to and this urban school. The technology was outdated, there was a significantly less amount of books in the library, and the children seemed less engaged in the lessons being taught. Seeing these children in this school was eye opening. One student that really impacted me was this child sitting alone at a lunch table. After I went over and talked to him, I almost noticed immediately that he had some type of learning disability. After some conversations, I learned that he was a 9 year old boy in first grade who had been held back twice. This urban school had no educators that were trained in special education. This deficit caused the child to severely fall behind in school. Learning this broke my heart. As I left the school after the first day, I sat in the car and cried. I cried about how there was so much to be done in those schools. I cried for the students. I cried for how privileged I felt. From that day on, I knew what I had to do for the rest of my life. I have the goal to help make education equitable for all students. My future job will be to educate low-incidence children. Not only do I want to teach them the curriculum so they do not fall behind like the child in the school I volunteer for, but I want to be able to teach my students life skills. I think it is very beneficial for all students, especially including low-incidence students, to learn life skills. Some life skills may include, cooking, cleaning, counting money, and proper communication. I believe that if students begin to learn life skills from a young age, it will become easier and almost “routine”. I understand that children have a difficult time developing specific skills in order to function in daily life tasks. This is why I think that not only educating low-incidence children in the curriculum they need to move onto the next grade is important, but educating children on life skills is just as, if not more, important for their future.