The National Center For Educational Statistics

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.

We all have a sense of cultural identity, which is clearly defined by our values, behaviours and beliefs that develop from childhood. A classroom literally or as a metaphor, filled with students from different backgrounds is very beneficial as it helps learners understand and appreciate cultural differences, as they develop responsiveness of their cultural beliefs.

Upon hearing the word culturally responsive classroom one envisions a class where the teacher “emphasizes a comfortable and academically enriching environment for students for all ethnicities, races, beliefs, and creeds.” (Lynch, Matthew 2011) Yet in reality most classrooms and schools are not culturally responsive in my area. Most schools are doing the best they can to differentiate instruction as well as make modifications and/or accommodations. However, as the number of diverse students rises, it our responsibility to educate ourselves on being culturally responsive.

Teaching in racially diverse classrooms often leaves educators feeling uncertain about how to proceed and how to respond to historically marginalized students. There is pressure to acknowledge and accept students of color with different perspectives, to diversify the syllabi, be more aware of classroom dynamics, and pay attention to how students of color experience the learning process.

Teachers must learn about their student’s cultures if they want to educate them to the best of their ability. Many of the students in culturally diverse classrooms will want to learn in different ways. Some will want to learn in pairs, groups, as a class, or just alone. If the teacher is educated in their culture then lessons can be adjusted to appeal to every student as much as possible instead of forcing some to forget about their culture and learn like others. Students from

Diversity encompasses numerous characteristics including socio-economic background, ethnicity, special needs, gender, and giftedness (Cazden, 2001). Today, classrooms are getting more varied and diverse with students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and students with a disability. It appears that teachers must meet the needs of all students successfully and individually to effectively teach a classroom of diverse students. This paper will first identify three challenges involved with ensuring that teaching strategies are

It has been estimated that by the year 2025, approximately one out of every public school student will be identified as an ESL/ELL student in the United States. ESL stands for English as a Second Language and ELL stands for English Language Learner. An ESL/ELL student can be defined as a student whose predominant language or languages at home, is other than English, and would require additional English language support to develop reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. The difference between an ESL student and ELL student is minor; An ESL student participates in programs that are customarily specialized while an ELL student partakes in a traditional educational classroom. English Language Learners have surpassed other subgroups in becoming the fastest growing of the public school population. Despite the common misjudgement of some people towards the ESL/ELL population, 76% of the ESL/ELL students in elementary schools and 56% of the ESL/ELL students in secondary schools are native-born. The highest percentages of ELL/ESL students in public schools are found in the west of the United States. Taking the average of both bigger and smaller cities, ELL students make an average of 14% of the total public school enrollment and in suburban areas, ELL students make up an average of 8.5% of public school enrollment. The ESL/ELL population has more than doubled over the past 15 years and more than half of those students struggle with their academic performance. An ESL/ELL

In 2009 55% of the students enrolled in public schools were White, 15% Black, 22% Hispanic, and 8% others. In 1989 these figures were 68% White, 17% Black, 11 % Hispanic, and 4% other (NCES, 2012). Although trends play out differently from state to state and region to region, increasingly students in the nation's classroom are more diverse by race and of Hispanic origin than in the past. The United States Census Bureau's population projections indicate students will become increasingly diverse in future years. The changing demographics have clear implications for schools, particularly concerning the education of English language learners (ELL). 18% of the nation's population age five and older speak a language other than English at home (Crouch, 2007).

Multicultural classroom to my understanding is one that is friendly to all cultures as in races, religions, language, food, mode of dress and way of behavior etc. while Mindes (2014) defined culture as "the customary beliefs, social

According to research of Stetser and Stillwell of the National Center for Education Statistics, the national average for high school dropout rates are 3.3 percent for the 2011-2012 school year. This average ranges from 1.3 percent in New Hampshire to 7.0 percent in Alaska. However, no state or United States territory reported 0 percent dropout rates. High school students dropout in every state and territory every year. What skills can be taught to reconnect these youth to feel academic success. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED544798.pdf

The first step for me to become a culturally responsive teacher is to learn not to judge others. Working with students from diverse backgrounds requires us to question our reactions to families and students. We need to stop judging different as “abnormal” and embrace what the differences can teach us (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011). Embracing the differences

Currently, it is estimated that the United States has approximately 5 million ELL students. As part of a reporting project called 5 million voices for npr.org data and information on ELL’s was collected. They currently estimate the number of Spanish speaking ELL’s to be 3.8 million of the 5 million, with California and Texas hold most of those students. The report also states that 32 states reported teacher shortages in 2016. The latest report from the National Center for Education Stats states that Hispanics have held the highest high school dropout rate since 1992. Although in the last decade it looks as though they are closing the gap between other ethnic groups. Currently, most of dual language schools are centered around urban and metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, New York City, and District of Columbia.

During the 1990s the immigrant population expanded quickly and by a large amount. According to Eggen and Kauchak (2007) “experts estimate that by the year 2020 two thirds of the school population will be African American, Asian, Hispanic, or Native American. This means there will be great cultural diversity in our society and in our schools.” Educators will need to be educated on how to teach in a diverse classroom. Teachers will need to have an understanding for English-language learning children and the way they learn. All educators must be able to teach ELL students while encouraging them to continue to use their native language while learning to speak English. Teachers must also remember to try to keep all families

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.

There are many factors that play a role in the learning process for every human being. Race, religion, language, socioeconomics, gender, family structure, and disabilities can all affect the ways in which we learn. Educators must take special measures in the delivery of classroom instruction to celebrate the learning and cultural differences of each of their students. As communities and schools continue to grow in diversity, teachers are searching for effective educational programs to accommodate the various learning styles of each student while promoting acceptance of cultural differences throughout the classroom. It no longer suffices to plan educational experiences only for middle-or upper class white learners and then