Thoughts on Class, 2/12

I was so intrigued listening to the various learning theories. I have always been very aware of how I learn versus how my friends and peers learn because I find it both strange and interesting. I know that I am a very visual learner. I rely heavily on the physicality of objects and models in science classes, textures in art classes, etc. I also rely heavily on construction to take the foundation of what I already know and use new knowledge to expand this foundation. I recently went to a lecture by William Labov, a renowned speaker and linguist, and learned quite a bit about the various ways children learn and taking that into account when teaching or presenting new information. Here is some background information and a bit about what he talks about and studies:  http://www.pbs.org/speak/speech/sociolinguistics/labov/

I often like to listen to All Things Considered on NPR. Here is the segment I found with William Labov.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5220090

Here, and in his lectures, he speaks a lot about recognizing cultural differences in language as well as slang and actually utilizing them in our teaching. Understanding that every child is not on the same playing field when they walk into your classroom is important. Labov discusses the importance of recognizing these differences so that we might alter our teaching to better suit the needs of each and every child. Assuming that everyone is level might leave many kids behind. Focusing on differences and embracing them will allow us, as teachers, to create lessons that will not leave any student behind, rather help every student reach the same level. I think his information on linguistics can be applied to any and every subject and grade level.