My K-12 School Experience : My Reflection On Student Diversity

There were so many different nationalities that made of the school is was like a miniature melting pot, and this allowed me to see things about not only my culture but others as well that I have never seen before. For instance too often, "racism" is seen as a social phenomenon that happens to black people, but it happens through black people as well. That is, the negative affiliations hurled upon black people and black culture that paint how we perceive EACH other. Blacks & whites receive the same anecdotes & images that perpetuate common stereotypes of black criminality & flippancy while systematically synonymizing white culture with American values. Its to be expected for there to be an observable impact on black intragroup perceptions. Nevertheless,

Growing up in a small town I did not deal with much diversity. Out of a school of one-thousand kids we only had twelve black students and three hispanic students. The school is virtually homogenous. I was shocked to see how the world's attitude towards diversity differed from my narrominded town.

In school another thing I have seen and I know everybody else has seen is how segregated schools can be. “When you entered sports debates, you became a part of a community that was not limited to your family

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 a beautiful thing; from religion to physical looks, the differences among people is astounding. The world would be such a monotonous place if everyone were the same. However, many tend to note that diversity in a classroom can sometimes be an issue- especially among the students. From my own experiences within a diverse class, I realize that the contrast between students is a blessing and a curse

From Kindergarten up to my sophomore year of High School I attended a private school. My elementary school and high school were slightly diverse. The majority of the student body was Caucasian and the rest were made up of several other races. My school environment was very structured and controlled. I had some great teachers and one or two bad teachers. Around fifth grade I started to notice the way teachers perceived me and the challenges I would deal with due to the color of my skin. There were

This seems to be this case in different parts of the school. For instance, the cafeteria is mostly segregated by grade. Freshmen sit with Freshmen and Seniors with Seniors. Wasserman comments, “People are somewhat defined by their extracurriculars, but it’s not like black and white. Like you play sports, and I do theater, but like we’re still friends, like that kind of thing. So I think it’s pretty blurred.”

The most memorable time when I was impacted educationally by diversity would be my freshman year in High School. I had gone to a private Christian school from Kindergarten through 8th grade. My mom thought that it would be a great idea to send me to public school for my freshman year. Mind you, I lived in Dallas, TX at the time and public school is quite different than private school there. I was not only the minority in school, but I was one of five Caucasian kids in the entire school. I was made fun of for being white, coming from private school, and for being smart. Just like the article, Helping Diverse Learners Succeed, I had to learn about my new environment. I didn’t understand why the kids were mean to me and why

races. Living in Princeton has taught me that being stuck in your ways will get

As a member of several clubs and organizations, I have always valued the wide range of people you can find within the walls of my high school. If you walk into my Physics lab, you will find me collaborating with a dancer strongly involved in his cultural heritage and a volleyball player in the engineering academy. If you come to my Calculus class, you will see me calculating derivatives with a football player, a snowboarder, a National Honor Society officer, and a painter. The word “diversity” is often used to describe a cross-cultural population, but it is so much more than that. At Bartlett High School, students originate from hundreds of different cultures, with an abundance interests, and participate together in an assortment of activities.

The fact that my school was diverse was a gift. I met all sorts of people from different races, religion and even sexualities. Everyone there respected each other 's ethnicities and each of us are creative with different ideas from our culture. With diversity we can feel comfortable working with different people and have connections with them. If the schools weren’t diverse, the minorities would have a hard time fitting in and getting involved with the school. If the classroom wasn’t diverse, how could we learn from other people’s cultures and point of view. My friends introduced me to their culture and I honestly had the best experience of my life. I got to learn different dishes such as Shchi, a Russian dish, and dimsum, from Chinese’s style buffet. I started to learn and notice different race and learned to appreciate their culture. Diversity can also causes problems. Katherine W. Philippis

American public schools haven’t changed as much as we think they have since the twentieth century. We still have schools divided among different parts of the city, however, in recent times we are becoming less diverse. Schools are becoming segregated due to the fact that certain schools only accept students for certain regions and those regions of the city are not diverse, which leads some schools into looking the same way as they did before 1950. Up until the mid-nineteen-hundreds, segregation was the norm and “separate but equal” was what kept it alive. But, African-American students were not given equal treatment. It has been installed in humans especially in the past to see anyone different than us to be unequal. People were very

A large problem in schools is the fact that they are unaware of the racial segregation that is happening before their very eyes. This is becoming a large social issue in classrooms today. Teachers and faculty are blind to the

Since I started this class, I have a learned a great deal about cultural diversity in the classroom and abroad. My perspective has changed slightly but my knowledge of this subject has improved. In my family, my father taught me about the civil rights movement and the evils of segregation in the U.S. My parents taught me to be tolerant of all humans, no matter what they look like, how they dress, or their sexual orientation. My family has always been liberal thinkers who taught me the dark history of racism and bigotry in this country. As an educator I would be accepting to all race, creeds, and religious peoples.

Once students and teachers are aware of cultural differences, they become aware of racism and can fight to eradiate it. Through their unbiased understanding of the differences between cultures and races, they are able to come to a point of acceptance of themselves and others. If you noticed in my previous paragraph, I mentioned the different types of diversity. Diversity emphasizes how different students and teachers are, but when explored in a classroom, can be used to reveal our similarities. Once students and teachers grasp the concept of diversity, displayed through everyday interactions with diverse groups of students and teachers, racism begins to disappear. In addition, positive sense of self can be developed once students and teachers have an understanding of their own uniqueness through experiences and understanding of diversity. Once teachers and students