The Importance Of Diversity In Education

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.

“Start Where You Are But Don’t Stay There” by Richard Milner is a book about dealing with diversity in the classroom in today’s day and age. It holds a focus on allowing all students to be successful academically and throughout their lives. Milner talks about several different case studies in which teachers must help students who are struggling. It goes through scenarios with Mr. Hall, Dr. Johnson, Mr. Jackson, and Ms. Shaw, who are all struggling with diversity in different ways. This book holds an importance in expressing ideas and concerns of equality in schools, and I believe it would be beneficial for all aspiring educators to read it.

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.

According to the 2014 Public School Review Diversity Report, the state of Maryland is rated the third most diverse public school system in the nation, with 43% White students, 37% African American students, 11% Hispanic students, 6% Asian students, and 3% Unknown. With a significantly higher population of African American students compared to the state average, the Baltimore City School District is a far less diverse agency than the state school system as a whole. Collectively, the Baltimore City Public School District is comprised of 85% African American students, 8% White students, 5% Hispanic, 1% Asian/Pacific Islander, and less than 1% American Indian, Multiracial, Native Hawiian/other (Baltimore City Public Schools, 2013a). Considering

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 clear from the above quote, that the ever changing diversity in our society, creates many challenges for an education system based on an ideology of hegemony based on the dominant discourse of white pedagogy. While not the official policy, the distribution of wealth in Ontario, and the tendency for immigrant populations and ethnic groups to live in the same neighbourhoods, segregation has occurred dividing classes by factors such as race and economic status. Although not a mirror image of the Canadian model, in the United States, similarly, bell hooks points out

The world is filled different cultures, races and ethnicities, and it is crucial that our higher education institutions reflect this diversity. Representation matters. We are a country filled with diverse cultures all of which whom need to be represented. The purpose of this literature review is to explain why and how diversity in a higher education setting is important. Students learn better in such an environment and are better prepared to become active participants in our pluralistic, democratic society once they leave school Diversity is not only important among the student population but also within college curriculum. It is an important issue regardless of the setting. However, when it is applied it to a place where people come to learn,

Diversity and the classroom have a huge correlation. Not only does diversity allow students to learn from different viewpoints, but for me to have a better understanding of various views as well. Diversity crosses the whole realm of education reaching out to the differences in individuals according to ethnicity, language, socioeconomic status, religion, geographical area, and other cultural aspects. Addressing diversity is important to make all individuals in the classroom feel safe and comfortable. I believe in the golden rule of treating others how you’d like to be treated and I will have zero tolerance of prejudice in my classroom. As a leader and a good communicator, I will make this very clear to all of my

Instead of looking at growing diversity as a setback or challenge to improving education in this country, let us recognize the benefits it brings to our schools. Diversity enhances the educational experience. We absorb new information from those whose understandings, philosophies, and perceptions contrast with our own, and these lessons can be imparted most effectively in an abundantly diverse scholarly and social atmosphere. Diversity encourages personal development and a healthy society. Diversity defies stereotypical presumptions, it inspires critical thinking, and it serves to teach students how to communicate successfully with individuals of wide-ranging upbringings. Education within a diverse environment helps students to become flexible and adaptable within an increasingly complex, pluralistic society. It fosters shared respect and cooperation, and it helps facilitate societies whose members are judged by the value of their character, not the qualities of their race, culture or gender. John Dewey summed up the responsibility we have to promoting

The United States is unique in the way that it holds people of all ethnicities and races. This large mixture of people results in a variety of languages being spoken every day in every type of situation. In other countries, there is a common language but in America, we are able to speak practically every language. This diversity in our country is progressive and holds many advantages, such as comprehension and connectivity.

Like it or not, there has always been diversity among students in the classroom. It is the fact that each and every student is unique. From every circumstance, students bring a varying set of values, perspectives, and beliefs to the learning environment. Understanding the character of students is important in order to become a competent teacher. In fact, teachers should be aware and recognize students, as unique individuals, all acquire information differently than others. Some of these differences are due to developmental variations in cognitive, physical, intellectual, moral, emotional, and social changes caused by maturation and experience. And this reality of classroom conditions makes instruction much more challenging for teachers and

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”)

As of July 1, 2011, there are 36, 708, 083 people in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2017a). 1.2% higher than the population last year, which was 36, 264, 604 people of all ages and both sexes (Statistics Canada, 2017b). The growth of population in Canada, which in this case powered largely by immigration, increases not only the human capital, but the diversity in every province as well. Hence, as diversity expands, there is also a rampant growth in religion. In 2011, there are 108 religions observed in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2011) - Christianity, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu – to name a few. These demographics have connotations on how diversity in school is also evident.

Educational achievements determine future success and economical outcomes. In fact, race/ethnicity, social class and gender outline the path of ones educational experience. Besides that, socioeconomic status and household factors affect academic performance as well. Both school and non-school factors make it clear that inequality and educational achievement gaps exists in schools. Elements of schools to examine is funding, tracking and grouping, as well as teacher quality become predominant in institutional settings. While on the other hand, non-school factors include poverty, community, family participation and environmental factors. It is evident that these points are dependent on one another through which fuels the existence of inequality and gaps in educational attainment.