- Being available: Teacher in classroom five minutes early each day

a) She was there to see

Teacher: Why are you so breathless?

Student 1: I ran to come earlier, I need to talk to you before the class starts. My daughter…

Teacher: She is welcome to attend the class whenever you need.

b) She does informal “small talk”

Student 1: I feel discussion activities are a waste of time but this “comment a saying” is ok. I like this teacher because she makes small talk, asking us about our other classes, our progress. When the class begin I am more relaxed.

Student 2: She (the teacher) always arrives little early; I can ask her things when I missed class.

Student 3: I feel like talking to her…Even you who hate to talk in class commented on the saying today!

Student 4: Yes…but don’t get used to it.

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Dialogues&Stories (Life, School, Classroom)

- Being available: Teacher in classroom after class

Student 1: It is good that she (teacher) stays later correcting assignments, I could talk to her

Student 2: It is personal…We talked long after class. She knows what is happening to me.

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- Connecting student and didactic resources: helping student to choose to enter

S1: Making the flash cards in class, we can ask around for the answers

S2: I am not in the mood. I know how to do it…I will do at home

S1: I bet you won’t

S2: I would if I needed

S1: Whatever…“The teacher opens the door and we choose to enter or not”.

S3: I hated this saying

S1: Why?...

S3: I don’t know…um…it’s not easy to go through all the information they throw at us, I guess. Usually I don’t know what to do. There is so much to catch up on

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- Fostering diversity appreciation: Peer teaching

Peer tutoring were promoted by the teacher, by the student who had strong knowledge about the class subject and by one student who invited classmates to go to her home.

At the beginning, the purpose of tutoring was to help the students to the point reach the point where they become an independent learner and no longer need a tutor. Later, some of us were helping each other as a way to retain the content and having fun together.

The teacher fostered the use of memory cards so we could train each other for the tests. We did group studies, sharing mnemonics, commenting on quotes. One student was the assistant to computer classes. Combining empathy, honest, humor, safe environment and resources like flash cards, we helped each other and better understood the teacher’s challenges of dealing with diversity. We felt that "diversity awareness" and "empathy" was more helpful than "knowledge about the class content". The stories “Boring opening page” and “Excluding the Cree culture” are examples of this.

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