Micah’s second reflection marked a shift in his perceptions of the students at the CI site In much of this reflection, Micah wrote of the role caring played in his developing

positive relationship with students. Micah reported that his relationship with students had improved because he (a) welcomed students by greeting them when he arrived at the CI site and by inquiring about their wellbeing, (b) participated in activities of interest to them, such as

playing basketball, football, and dodge ball, (c) acknowledged their assets and potential, and (d) established expectations for students about homework, disposition, and other concerns. As a result of his efforts, students rewarded him by listening to him and being more respectful. He noted, “When students recognize the care and effort put forth by an individual, they tend to be more respectful towards you.”

In the post-cultural learning segment interview, I asked Micah about his evolved perception of the students at the CI site.

T: In your [CI] reflections you seemed initially concerned with student behavior and then you switched to focusing on your own behavior. What triggered that

transition?

M: It took me by surprise and these students were cussing and being really

disrespectful, kind of, just outright, would blatantly do it. Do it just to be class clown kind of a thing. But as soon, as soon as I made an effort to really get to know somebody and listen to what they were saying, they were more real with me and not disrespectful. I feel like those kids, coming from their socioeconomic status and all that, as long as you are upfront with them and real with them, they are going to be real with you.

In the post-cultural learning segment interview, Micah also described current cross-cultural relationships that had influenced his ability to positively interact with students at the CI site. Micah briefly mentioned that his girl friend was of Middle Eastern descent. He also reported that his time with his African American roommate had made him more open to positive

communications with the students at the CI site. Micah, who had never had extended interaction with an African American, was purposeful in learning about his roommate and sought out

activities they could share, such as basketball. Micah argued that by seeking common grounds in a friendly way, bridges between cultures can be constructed and greater knowledge of

individuals’ cultures can be gained.

T: Was that [the time with his roommate] the first time you've spent an extended amount of time with an African American?

M: It is.

T: Does that experience influence your perspectives?

M: Yes, definitely, because it's opened up my eyes a lot. I've never considered myself racist or anything like that, but I've never had that much of an interaction with a black person before, 'cause like I said, I came from a small white town. I have learned a lot about how he specifically lives. He has informed me more of black culture. And yeah. It's different. It's different than white's.

T: What type of things has he informed you about?

M: Basketball is a big black culture thing. It really is. The sport is dominated by African Americans. So, I instantly, even as I got back from Spring break, I told him I really want to kind of get into basketball. I've never been big into

basketball. I was like, "I want you to help me." Connection! Right there, between us. And like I said it doesn't matter, our skin color. It doesn't matter.

Micah also observed “growth in [himself] as an individual.” He wrote that he was more comfortable interacting with culturally different students. He also expressed that as a teacher he will not allow racial and cultural differences to hinder him from providing all students quality education.

In Micah’s third reflection, he expressed anger about cultural suppression and racial discrimination. He wrote, “I’m going to be very honest in this last reflection. I hate racial

tension. No person is better than the next because of skin color.” According to Micah, notions of “white supremacy” are alive and well, and minorities are expected to assimilate into European American society: “When people come to America, they are expected to learn English, and often times expected to celebrate holidays like Christmas.” Micah wrote that the use of minorities’ cultural traditions or language, such as Ebonics, is rejected. Micah was protective of minority students and argued that, “Teachers cannot be distracted by silly differences like this. They need to adapt, and look for opportunities to have learning experiences with their students.”

Micah closed his reflections expressing how he enjoyed his time at the CI site working with culturally different students. As a result of his time there, he felt more prepared to work with culturally different students, especially now that he knows he can develop meaningful relationships that will facilitate the learning process.

Summary of beliefs and micro-transformations. Like Carmel, Micah experienced multiple micro-transformations involving his attitudes towards students from culturally diverse backgrounds. Initially, he held deficit perspectives of student behavior. Micah was critical of the students at the CI site, characterizing them as having “difficult backgrounds” and as being willfully disobedient, incapable of following “simple directions.” In fact, most of his first reflection was dedicated solely to attributing students’ lack of participation in the learning process to what he perceived as their poor behavior. In particular, he complained that he unable to control the lower income and minority students because they behaved in ways outside the norms of the traditional Eurocentric classroom. By the time he wrote his second reflection (after

14 hours), his views of students had shifted and he experienced and attitudinal micro- transformation (see Figure 7).

Figure 7. Micah’s micro-transformations.

Micah’s new, positive, caring approach to interacting with students resulted in them being more receptive and responsive to him. Micah identified his personal micro-transformation, noting that he had observed, “growth in me as an individual.” Micah ended his reflections on a positive note. He wrote that his cross-cultural relationships with culturally different students and his experiences better prepared him for future interactions with similar future students.

Micah’s third reflection (after 20 hours) provided evidence that he experienced a social justice awareness micro-transformation. In his first reflection, Micah, a European American male, expressed feeling of victimization from being called a racist because of a comment he made about an African American student’s hair. By his third reflection, Micah wrote of the victimization, through racism and cultural suppression, of minority students. Micah showed

7 hours 10/12 Start of the learning segment 11/1 Power and privilege discussion 11/3 End of the learning segment 11/17 14 hours 11/21 • Attitude shift 20 hours 12/7 Social justice awarness shift

frustration that the African American students at the CI site would likely be victims of

discrimination in schools due to their racial backgrounds. He argued that teachers should be able to put aside “silly differences” and seek to raise their culturally different students’ achievement. Faith’s Written Reflection and Other Information Related to Her Beliefs

Preflection. Faith initially had apprehensions about volunteering at the CI site due to past experiences she had while volunteering tutoring middle school-age homeless students. Her experiences with these students helped her understand potential resistance she might face from students at the CI site regarding the completion of homework tasks. Faith hoped for the best and looked forward to the challenges she perceived she might face.

While I am excited, I am also very nervous. In previous tutoring experiences, I have worked with students who were generally affluent and were generally respectful. While I do expect that the students at the [CI site] will show me the same level of respect, I am nervous that some students will not comply. When volunteering in a homeless shelter in middle school, I had many of the children who were in middle school swearing at me and threatening to become violent simply because they did not want to do their homework. While most of these conflicts were resolved and I overall enjoyed my time, it was terrifying at times. In most of my experiences when working with students or athletes, I have generally not had hard moments like I had in the homeless shelter. I go into the experience at the [CI site] aware that uncomfortable situations may happen, I will go into every day positively and ready for working with the students.

It is unclear whether Faith compared the homeless shelter students (but not the student athletes) to students at the CI site because of their age, race, or their socioeconomic status. Although she projected the disconcerting experiences she had with the homeless students onto the CI students,