Diversity Conscious Educators
By: Cristina Prince
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.
U.S. students residing without both biological parents make up the diverse group of non-traditional
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Students tend to want to participate and do their best when a teacher is nurturing and caring (ASCD, 2008).
Second, the students coming from households living in poverty face many factor putting them at a disadvantage. They face the challenges of poor nutrition and hunger. These children also have less opportunity of intellectual stimulation due to a lack of books. This slows the cognitive development.
Another issue children in poverty face is frequent moving and school changes. The parents tend to be less involved with homework and with the child’s school life. The level of the family 's socioeconomic resources is associated with success in school but is conditioned by other factors, such as immigrant status (ASCD, 2008). Children in poverty have shown gaps in learning and fall behind from their peers. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, by third grade, U.S. children living above poverty know four times the amount of words as low income children. (NCPP, 2014)
One way educators can implement approaches that are responsive to students living in poverty is decreasing unfamiliarity that comes from lack of exposure by having the students interact with others who share different backgrounds. Students who learn to work and play cooperatively with classmates from various cultures are better prepared for the world. This form of embracing diversity enables these students to develop a
In this time and age the United States contains a high number of students in the public schools who are under the poverty line. Poverty is defined as the state of being really poor financially. Poverty in the United States has become a complicated problem that causes a variety of diverse challenges for children and their families. Although the economy of the United States is showing great signs of improvement, poverty remains a serious issue. While examining poverty and children education in several articles all authors seem to agree with the fact that poverty does have an affect in the academic development of a child. However, there are several disagreements in other areas. The authors that this essay will be
An educator who understands issues of diversity and difference will make the classroom a more enriching environment for all of the students in it, and will ensure those students who are adversely affected by such diversity and difference are given the opportunity and encouragement to overcome challenges they face. Socio-economic disadvantage among students has an impact in the classroom in terms of the ability of a child to gain an understanding of the knowledge and skills required to be a successful student. Gender issues can be one of those concerns in a classroom that, unless they are quite obvious, can be almost disregarded because they are not acknowledged as a concern, for example, asking boys to move chairs. Stereotypical roles can be ingrained in an educators psyche. Cultural diversity is becoming more prevalent in our classrooms; it is the educator’s responsibility to ensure the classroom is a welcoming and diverse environment. When considering how to approach these issues in a classroom and incorporating support for students, an educator would benefit from consulting the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) or the Australian Curriculum (AC). These documents provides frameworks for working with diversity and ensuring students succeed within their given circumstances with the support of both their educator and their school. It is imperative educators understand the effects of socio-economic disadvantage, gender issues and cultural diversity when creating an
Poverty is a great obstacle when it comes to a child and their learning environments. When a child lives in poverty they are exposed to far less vocabulary than a child from a middle class household. Poverty also affects the parents and their capabilities to help their child; whether it is homework, reading, or critical thinking skills (Common Core Standards). Living
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
Not only that, but impoverished children have shown a higher rate of absence, causing an even larger learning gap between them and their peers. Children from lower-income families often enter kindergarten with less linguistic knowledge than their peers. They have also scored an average of 10% lower on national math and literacy tests. Dropout rates for children living in poverty have steadily increased and they have much lower success in science, technology, engineering, and math. (APA children and families)
It is widely known that poverty has many negative effects on the development of children who grow up in impoverished homes. One of the most influential outcomes of a person’s life is their intellectual development, which takes place primarily within the first years of life. Not only can childhood poverty result in less enjoyable childhoods, but adversely affects the cognitive and behavioral development; yet more specifically, children’s intellectual development (Duncan 406). In fact, the economic conditions that a child is subjected to during early and middle childhood is very crucial for forming ability, achievement, and intellectual development (Duncan 408). Poverty has
Lack of money, health insurance, and other poverty related issues have also led to lower academic performance among children in poverty. In David Berliner’s Letter to The President, he explains how “medical problems are harming student learning in our schools” (252). Since poor children may not have health insurance, or their families may not have the funds to see a doctor, poorer children miss more school due to illness. Also, more children in poverty come from single parent homes, which leaves numerous children on their own after school. In fact, “three fourths of all single mothers are in the labor force” which means there happens to be usually nobody at home to assist poor children with their homework, or help them study for tests
One in five children that live in the United States are living in poverty (Sime, 2016). Poverty is the state of not having enough money to meet one’s basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. What is it like for a child to live in a home with a low income? What effects does it have on children? Children living in low income homes face more challenges than others. They often have to endure the pain of not having family members at home when they need them. At times children living in poverty have to cope with the stress of taking care of themselves as well as their siblings, while trying to maintain satisfactory grades in school. In this paper I will discuss the impact of poverty on a child’s social development, academic performance,
“These factors include: incidence of poverty, the depth of poverty, the duration of poverty, the timing of poverty (age of child), community characteristics (concentration of poverty and crime in neighborhood, and school characteristics) and the impact poverty has on the child’s social network (parents, relatives and neighbors).” Any one of these factors can contribute to a child not being able to focus in school which can ultimately lead to a child falling behind in their education. With the current trajectory the education system as a whole, not taking into account those disadvantage students that may struggle at school because they have to worry about trying not to struggle at home when the school day is
Teachers should advocate for all students’ backgrounds and cultures to better their students’ learning. To accomplish this, teachers should be informed about their students’ home lives, be conscious of how and what they should be taught, and ultimately make their education a priority. Students from poverty in a multicultural classroom need the correct tools and teaching approaches from their teachers.
About one in five children in the United States has the misfortune of living in a family whose income is below the official poverty threshold (Borman and Reimers 454). Poverty has harmful effects on a child’s academic outcomes, general health, development, and school readiness. The impact of poverty has on a child depends on many factors for instance community features ( crime rate in neighborhood and school characteristics) and the individuals present in the child’s life like their parents, neighbors, or relatives. It is clear that schools and outside environmental factors contribute to whether a child is successful or not in their academic life. A child’s family, neighborhood, and type of school effects that are related with poverty
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
What is poverty and does social class shape the character of a child’s life and education, especially those children of poverty? These questions are important to consider for educators and all involved in the goal for children to have greater achievement. It 's even more important to note that forty percent of the poor, in the United States, are children (Stevenson, 1997). Knowing this is the reason that finding solutions and studying the effects of parent involvement, both at school and at home, can have on a child’s education is vital. This paper will discuss how poverty is viewed and some of the disadvantages they face, discuss factors that contribute to a child’s learning, parent involvement among middle and low incomes and the ways it affects a child 's education and life in general, and solutions for teachers and the curriculum taught, schools, and parents to better meet the needs of the deficits in education for all children but more importantly, for the purpose of this paper, those children living in poverty.
The negative effects of poverty have consistently led to disastrous outcomes for those who attend school in an effort to acquire a better education. These effects might be caused by the home life and financial instability. It could also be an effect on the school, which has suffered from financial instability. This can lead to an inability to give students the proper time and education that they deserve. Multiple groups are involved in efforts to assist children in poverty by having better school lives or healthier family lives in general. However, government funding can only do so much and in many cases, it is far from enough to help families living in poverty. Children from low-income families face increased risk factors throughout
A considerable reason as to why poverty stricken kids are struggling in school is not solely because of financial straints. It is more likely about the psychological and environmental components that are in a child’s life. Factors such as gender, absences, ethnicity, housing type, age, and parental education all play an immense role in a students’ education. If parents earn a degree and have a proper education then they will be stronger supporters for their child’s education. These parents “can demonstrate the financial and career-linked benefits of gaining valuable school experience” (Ooms). Students are more likely to have a high successful future if they have a healthy home environment. Another major reason as to why students may struggle is language and cultural barriers. When students are