A Diversity Classroom

I grew up in an city that is home to five top tier private colleges and has a higher than national average household income. As a city that has banned fast food within its limits, prohibits overnight street parking, and is referred to as, “The City of Trees and PhDs,” the sheer description of Claremont, California offers a generic picture of elitism. Claremont, however, is a different type of southern California town. Spending 18 years in this small suburban town, I came to appreciate Claremont as a strong community that consistently used its privilege to exhibit the most altruism. I found my first passion for volunteering with the Prison Library Project, a group with the mission of providing inmates around the nation with educational and self-healing reading

Race, religion, culture, language, and disability are a few of the many forms of diversity that we see in classrooms around us. Diversity, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, is “the condition or quality of being diverse, different, or varied; difference, unlikeness” (OED, n.3.d.). Each student in the classroom is going to have varied abilities, needs, and interests. As the teacher, he or she will utilize multiple teaching methods in order to meet the needs of every individual in the classroom. Some faculty has reported that teachers are failing to make little or no changes in their classroom operations to handle issues concerning diversity (Pasque, Chesler, Charbeneau, & Carlson, 2013, p. 1). By following guidelines to accommodate each student in the classroom, it is imperative that the teacher designates different abilities, interests, and tasks to help the students succeed and achieve their goals.

The importance of diversity consciousness for educators is very important. Knowing what is happening in the students everyday home life helps bridge the gap between school and home. One example are students living in non-traditional families. Another example is economically disadvantaged student, children living in poverty. Both diversity factors play a major role in the educational and emotional growth of students. Both diversity factors require a diversity conscious educator willing to take the necessary approach that are responsive to the diversity backgrounds of these students.

Before a teacher can accept and embrace diversity in the classroom, he or she must reflect on the challenges that can interfere with acceptance (Dray & Wisneski, 2011). This statement, in my opinion, is powerful. As a matter of fact, to be capable of honestly executing this type of reflection, no matter what the answers look like, requires an extraordinary person. Educators with an appreciation and a tolerance for culturally different students, and who can replace prejudices, will considerably foster the chances for student accomplishment.

I am currently working in a Title 1 school. In the community I work in, diversity is extremely apparent. One of our largest diverse populations is found in the Haitian and Hispanic community. Being raised part Haitian, has created not only empathy and fair-mindedness for my students, but has brought awareness to their resilience in life. One major issue I think students of diverse populations face is the culture shock. As I previous mention, the Haitian community is well apparent in my school. Most people know that Haiti is not one of the richest places on earth, so therefore a student who is entering an American school for the first time can find it to be a bit overwhelming due to the culture changes. I know in my classroom, I pride myself in modifying my classroom for all students. I display this by presenting more visuals, Rosetta Stone program, Haitian-English or Spanish-English

According to the Census Bureau, the term “minority”, used to describe racial and ethnic groups in the United States, may need to be retired soon. In 2012, projections were released that by the end of this decade, no single racial or ethnic group will constitute a majority of children under 18. And in about three decades, no singe group will constitute a majority of the country as a whole. (CITATION) Why is this relevant you may ask?

After reading Chapter 2 of the text, I would define diversity as a range of different things such as; different ethnicities, cultures, and much more. This may refer to the difference in physical traits such as, tall, short, boys, and girls. This may also distinguish the shy from the outgoing personalities. This term can also be used when talking about a variety and range of differences between things. When I think of diversity I think of differences from cultural backgrounds which as teachers we must be able to identify and work with all cultural backgrounds. Students today in the classroom speak a variety of different languages and as teachers we must be willing to help our students feel comfortable enough where they can succeed in course

The United States is expecting drastic changes in the diversity of its population over the next 50 years. Minorities will become a larger portion of the country’s population. Changes will need to be made to the way our country operates, especially in education. New, innovative and inclusive ways of teaching will replace traditional methods. For these new changes to go smoothly, steps will be taken to implement diverse populations in schools, helping students benefit from the values of other cultures while learning to live along side each other. The competitive and biased curriculums will take back seat to new ones that cater to all members of the population, leaving behind

The methodology comprised pre-service teachers attitude toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom, in a three-semester hour course. The details extracted were participants, setting description, instrumentation data collection procedures, study design, and the data analysis procedures used. The study design sought to answer the following research question “How does a one three-semester-hour service-based introductory course in diversity affect pre-service teachers’ attitude toward the inclusion of diverse learners in a general education classroom? The population used for the study were students enrolled in a teacher education program in a multi-faceted United Methodist Church related university located

Hyatt is transforming the way we value and utilize DBRGs to help educate and influence diversity & inclusion for our associates, clients and customers.

As part of a broader diversity initiative, elementary educators take a proactive stance in dealing with diversity by addressing heterosexism and homophobia. The article discusses the importance of becoming allies for each other to address issues of oppression and bias through the curriculum (Schniedewind & Cathers 2003).

Social disadvantage, inequality and cultural diversity have the ability to critically impact the quality of a child’s education. Each one of us is born into a specific social position and this is extremely important when it comes to educational outcomes (Ewing, 2010. p. 84). When we look at statistics of the entire population there are strong correlations between upper class having higher achievement and lower class having poorer achievement (Ewing, 2010. p. 84). Issues such as purchasing power, dominant culture and cultural capital all play a role in putting low social classes at risk of having a less than satisfactory education (Ewing, 2013. pp. 73-84). Differences and diversity pose important questions for educators how best to respond to

Diversity is a value that is shown in mutual respect and appreciation of the similarities and differences such as age, culture, education, ethnicity, experience, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, and social class that makes people unique. An environment where diversity is respected is one where as individuals and members of teams we effectively apply all our talents, skills and experiences. Diversity influences the world around us and allows us to see the world in our personal values. Consequently, no matter what profession I enter I will find myself working with students, parents, employers, coworkers or customer from the worldwide diverse background and learning new things. I will be able to lay the groundwork to comfortably work and interact with individuals with different profiles. But, before I can to that I must keep my personal profile in mind.

Diversity and the classroom have a huge correlation. Not only does diversity allow students to learn from different viewpoints, but for me to have a better understanding of various views as well. Diversity crosses the whole realm of education reaching out to the differences in individuals according to ethnicity, language, socioeconomic status, religion, geographical area, and other cultural aspects. Addressing diversity is important to make all individuals in the classroom feel safe and comfortable. I believe in the golden rule of treating others how you’d like to be treated and I will have zero tolerance of prejudice in my classroom. As a leader and a good communicator, I will make this very clear to all of my

We come in many different shapes, sizes and colours. Why should the way learn and think be any different to the way we look. What is inside us reflects who we are and how we function. It is what separates us from the people around us. Diversity expresses our cultural background, our social and family status, our academic abilities and our sensory/physical abilities. Every child is deserving of an education no matter what sets them apart from the crowd. Diversity is what makes us an individual. Students are on their journey of discovery who they are and who they want to become. As an educator it is our responsibility to cater the journey to match the unique, diverse and individual to the students we have in our care.