The Diversity Within My Classroom

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.

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.

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

Being a woman of color means I am inevitably silenced by the superior white male, yet being an activist eliminates my voice by the majority in all forms. My first year of college has been interesting, to say the very least. I’ve grown accustomed to the distinct differences and surprising similarities between myself and the hundreds, maybe thousands, of other students on campus, which I wasn’t familiar with among the fifty-two people in my high school graduating class.

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.

Schools and classrooms of today contain an increasingly diverse population of students. As of 2012 percentage of white students in public schools has decreased from 59% to 51%. It is projected that by 2024 the percentage of white students will continue to decrease to 46% (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2015). In 2013 the National Center for Educational Statistics has reported that 51% of the students in public schools were from low-income families. In contrast, 1989 the percentage of students from low–income families was 32%. (NCES, 2015) The percentage of students with disabilities in public schools has been around 13% for the last 10 years. (NCES, 2015) As a superintendent I need to lead the district’s staff and students to recognizing the diverse populations of people interact with and teach on a daily basis. Another appropriate response to our increasing diversity in public schools is to

The thought I have about teaching in a diversity classroom. Is it going to be a big challenging? Challenging in a classroom I see and deal with on an everyday basis sometimes but, dealing with a diversity classroom I have no idea. I believe in treating each of my students fair with unique strengths. I will like to create an open classroom that can value the experiences and perspectives of all 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

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

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.

Everyone contains baggage, some big, some small. It is part of our day to day lives, and is usually something we are not even aware of. Although I have only been in class for a few weeks, I have become more and more aware with the baggage that I contain. Through talking about major issues with my fellow classmates, or just becoming more aware and more knowledgeable of these particular issues; I have learned so much about myself, my community and even the world.