Educational Manifesto: The 21st Century Classroom

Critical to our education today is the way in which diversity matters. In order to have a positive effect on student

Diversity was tragically scarce in my hometown. The unspoken common goal, seemingly, was to be the exact same as all the other students with regard to clothes, boots, and even designer lunch boxes. Many students acted, dressed, and even spoke differently at home, meaning diversity in the students existed, but was not accepted. Diversity carries little to no meaning without inclusivity. However, inclusivity brings meaning to diversity by ensuring a positive and consequently productive learning environment. I believe a diverse and inclusive learning environment is essential to a productive work environment because diverse ideas bring innovation. Repetitive contributions are hardly helpful when the information shared is neither new nor different

I believe it is important to first analyze the word diversity when examining the need for diversity within a classroom. According to Webster's New Pocket Dictionary, diversity means variety, a number of different kinds. I often discuss and read about diversity in terms of cultural backgrounds; the unification of histories and stories from people from all over the world. Although, I believe that in a higher-educational setting, diversity can also be discussed as the acceptance of the various minds within a classroom. I believe that it is important to recognize the thoughts and experiences of others in a learning environment. Collectively, students learn from teachers, teachers learn from students, and students learn from their peers. By

Diversity is to value that we are all unique and yet similar. We have different needs, interests, learning styles, language and personality etc.

The United States of America is a perfect example of cultural diversity. Starting with the Mayflower landing in Massachusetts Bay in 1620, to the Great Migration from 1915 to 1930, to the continual immigration into our country today this country has seen its culture grow and reshape itself over the years. The culture of the United States is diverse but understanding and appreciating various cultures does not always exist within today’s classroom or in today’s society. Understanding or even defining cultural diversity , identifying the challenges cultural diversity brings, or how to face cultural diversity are all issues educators face in today’s classroom.

This course focuses on important to teach students about diversity to help them develop empathy for others. We will read about diversity and cultures to help students understand what diversity really means and how it applies to them. Diversity focuses on race, gender, ethnicity, and cultural and how it pertains to the classroom and everyday life. This course is here to enlighten students of the differences of others and how to be sensitive to everyone’s cultures and beliefs. Consists of developing positive relationships among diverse groups and individuals to fight stereotyping and promote unity (Bank & McGee, 2013).

Diversity is about recognising, valuing and taking account of people's different backgrounds, knowledge, skills, and experiences, and encouraging and using those differences to create a productive and effective educational community and workforce.

Diversity can refer to many things all over the world. Diversity can be defined as different statuses at are together collectively. “Diversity encompasses complex differences and similarities in perspective, identities and points of view among members if an institution. It includes important and interrelated dimensions of human identity such as race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, socio-economic status, nationality, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, ability and age.” (“Luther College”) In conclusion, diversity is a group of different individuals that are grouped together; focus word being “different” and “together”. Diversity is very important at any setting because it challenges the way people think, it result in an effective way of analyzing thing because there are different perspectives that are being thought of. Therefore, diversity on college campuses in the United States is important because it increases academic and social interactions.

Diversity is an ongoing discussion in day-to-day life. Not many situations occur without diversity having a role. There are a multitude of topics that introduces or involves diversity, to include age, sex, race, gender, ethnicity and so on. Prior to participating in this Diversity Awareness class, I’ve always thought diversity was more geared around discrimination and racism. Through weekly readings and discussions, I have discovered that diversity is much broader than that. There are many countries that are mixed culturally

Diversity is defined as “the condition of having or being composed of differencing elements” (Webster Dictionary). Through my clinical experiences I have seen a lot of diversity whether it be different ethnicity, the family culture/make-up or students living with disabilities in the classrooms. Specifically, in my urban clinicals I saw more ethnicity and culture diversity differences between student to student and student to teacher relationships. However, in my suburban school clinical experiences I also saw diversity, but in a different way. Here I saw much more diversity in family make-up.

Diversity is what makes your classroom unique and gives you an understanding of how to teach. Diversity influences the classroom by showing teachers that students will learn differently and require different instructions. This course taught me about how multiple intelligence works in the classroom and how students benefit from different learning styles and activities. Diversity is important to understand when teaching since it involves how a student learns and participates. Some aspects of diversity include race, socio economic status, language, gender, and culture. IDEA influences my teaching by preparing me for students with disabilities by showing me what I can do to improve their learning environment.

So we have learned that learning styles including gender are a big part of diversity and how as a teacher to incorporate effective learning into the classroom. Now we switch gears and think about a multicultural classroom. Multicultural refers to race, ethnicity, and culture. Race is a group of persons sharing a common publicly determined category often connected to genetic characteristics, physical looks, and heritage. Today, about one in three Americans are of color (Sadker, p. 76). Ethnicity refers to common cultural behaviors such as language, religion, and dress. Culture is a set of learned beliefs, values, symbols, and behaviors, a way of life shared by members of a society. This is a category altogether referred to as multicultural and is the common thought when diversity is said. Multicultural individuals were in the past and

In the second article that I read, the author mentions how students need to become more aware of diversity. To do so teachers could have projects for students that could reinforce the importance of knowing about diversity. The author gives the readers four main points to keep in mind for when they bring diversity into the conversations and what it means to today’s society. Those four emphases include; Incorporating reflection about student attitudes, work "with," not "for" it, address the real needs, and include a study of the social policies/problems that contribute to the "need."

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.