Diversity In The Classroom

The United States population is filled with diverse individuals. It is important for educators to understand that diversity in classrooms is not just based on race but ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, economic status, learning disabilities, and etc. It may not affect your student directly but it can be a part of their family background. Educators may assume that students have the same social or educational status of each other which in some cases is not true. If they assume that every student is on the same academic level, the students may suffer educationally or emotionally. Teachers need to understand that all students grow and progress at different times and it is up to an educator to help start their growth in the right direction and to make each child feel accepted. Yale University () discussed how it can affect teachers if they do not understand how to assess diversity, “teachers may themselves feel out of place based on their own ascriptive traits (i.e. differences based on class, privilege, etc.).” Diversity in classrooms is becoming more frequent and educators need to understand how to properly assess their student’s based on their educational needs and how to teach other students how each of them are different individually. There is no right choice to teach diversity but it is something that needs to implemented in classrooms.

Poverty is a serious issue which our society and children faces every day. It is a constant struggle that shouldn’t be ignored. UNICEF states “The study of OECD countries in 2007, over fourteen percent of Australian children under the age of eighteen are currently living in households who are defined as poor or with incomes less than half of the median national income”. The increase in the number and percentage of children living in poverty within our society has contributed to making today's classrooms more diverse than ever it has been. This highlights and makes both teaching and learning more challenging. Diversity exists in the students who are living in poverty and the education assistant and teachers must provide the concept of diversity

Students have their own best way in effectively learning the lesson. With the diversity of students, the problem is each student has a preferred learning style. It becomes undeniably one of the reasons that make it difficult to achieve the best expected outcome out of teachers’ effort. However, teachers try to incorporate various teaching techniques to make every learning opportunity become productive, meaningful, and relevant for the learners.

When I choose this class, it was because of the name; AED 225 Diversity, Pedagogy, and Visual culture. The eye catching word was diversity. I do not consider myself to be racist, yet I am judgmental as is everyone else in the world. Diversity is a topic that interests me very much. I like to see other people’s point of views and racial situations they have gone through. For example, when I first entered Woodbridge Public High School I did not know anyone. When I met someone they believed I was Caucasian because off how I look. I was offended when someone thought I was not Hispanic. Therefore, every time I met someone new I asked them what they thought my ethnicity was. I wanted to make sure people knew I was not Caucasian. I do not carry

Additionally, the transgender population at community colleges, which are social institutions, is an invisible minority on college campuses throughout the United States (Ivory, 2005). The systematic marginalization of transgender students begins with the application process (Seelman, 2014). The community colleges only recognize two gender identities on their applications, which reinforces the societal norm of gender identities (2014). Additionally, there is limited training on the needs of transgender students for faculty and staff (2014). Hence, there are none or few support services specifically for transgender people on many community college campuses (2014). Therefore, the community college perpetuates the marginalization of transgender

Programs in school, such as IB, provide teachers with new texts that encompass different languages and culture. This is just one step in helping classrooms become more accepting of diversity and that would also encourage ELLs to take more challenging courses. Using texts that are more culturally diverse would also lead to higher rates of involvement with international students. Overall mentors and teachers play an important role not only in helping ELL students, but also in actively modeling classroom involvement and conduct.

Teachers should understand the diversity spectrum that is in a classroom; there are cultures, races, languages, and socioeconomic backgrounds in classroom during the 21st century educational realm. Students need to acknowledge student’s diverse background specially when they arrive late in the school year.

It is absolutely imperative for educators to understand the perception of "kids do well if they can," rather than "kids do well if they want to," as explained by Dr. Ablon. Despite the significance of this concept, there is still a widespread, incorrect believe that behaviorally troubled children are acting up on purpose. Similarly, it is also commonly accepted that children who do poorly in school are failing because they are apathetic and lazy, when really the opposite is true.

This 1st grade math class has a diverse population of learners. Some were above grade skill knowledge, some were on grade level, some were below grade level and one had a learning disability in math. To help with this diverse group of learners, there were different instructional methods used: Team teaching/Whole group, Alternative teaching/small group. During whole group instruction, the concept was modeled and explained clearly. Whole group instruction allows the students to learn from their peers through their questions and answers. The class was divided into groups to practice the skill as well. I understood that I needed to closely observe my IEP students and a few more to make sure that they had an understanding of the skills. Small group

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.

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.

As discussed last week on the class blog, for some there exists a flat reality connected to the concept of whiteness and lack of cultural identity. From this idea, it appears society at large would benefit from reading and discussing multicultural literature with aims at developing a dynamic self-concept of one’s culture and making ideological changes about others. Luckily, teachers have the opportunity to make this happen in their classrooms. As Szecsi, Spillman, Vazquez-Montilla, and Mayberry (2010) pointed out in their opening, “Literature allows individuals to share in the lives of others, it can also provide an avenue for multicultural understanding” (p. 44). However, before having these teaching experiences within the classroom,

Students learn both inside and outside the classroom and the University of North Carolina has students that come from all over the world to form a diverse pool of students. How I would add to that diversity for other students to learn is with my culture, background and experiences. Of all the people in this world, there is only one Jae Yoo.

Within the core of many educational institutions, diversity is a commercial tacit. While every institution cannot offer the same kind of diversity, the endorsement of such exists through various definitions. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges define diversity through the various classes: race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, disability, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and age (“Statement on Diversity”)

Diversity in classrooms can open student’s minds to all the world has to offer. At times diversity and understanding of culture, deviant experiences and perspectives can be difficult to fulfill, but with appropriate strategies and resources, it can lead students gaining a high level of respect for those unlike them, preferably than a judgmental and prejudiced view.