The biggest challenge for me as an elementary school teacher is the diversity amongst the students. Diversity of languages is a very big one at our school as we have a lot of ELL [English language learners] students where English is their second language. There are also different levels in each classroom. I teach a straight third grade class but the levels in it makes it seem like I’m teaching a split or a combo class because you have some kids who excel in certain areas, maybe math, where other kids are lower in math. It’s the same thing with reading; some kids are very high, some are very low. So you need to try and meet the needs of all those students. “What way can I meet those needs the best?” “What way are my students going to excel with my teaching?” I just try to put myself in their spot, try to use hands-on, and check for their level of understanding not just by a formal assessment but also by an informal assessment. I might ask them questions. I want to teach them skills that are going to help them out.