In today's society we are seeing more and more diversity in the classroom, whether that is culturally, religiously, or children with special needs. As future educators, we need to recognize these differences among our students and use them as a learning experiences and benefit from the world of diversity. Students that come from a different culture or even speak another language may think that being different from everyone else is negative. As educators, how do we address this situation without pointing out the specific student and making them feel uncomfortable?
Students that do not speak English as their first language are less likely to succeed versus a student who is well-rounded in English. Yes, English may be a the primary language that most people around us speak but what if one of our students speaks a whole different language and it is difficult for them to understand English? How can we as teachers help them excel in their academics just like the other students who speak English?
We do not want to disregard the diversity we have in out classroom but we still want to be sensitive toward the students culture and language differences. But before we try to incorporate the differences in our students, we need to be educated and have a well-rounded knowledge of the different cultures, languages, and learning disabilities. We also need to accommodate to those students needs in the classroom. The book gave us multiple ways to adapt to the differences in our students but also educate the other students on the diversity in the world. Things such as teaching the students a new language, having books written in another language, and learning out different cultures around the world. As I was was reading this chapter, it reminded me of a way I saw a 2nd grade teacher incorporate diversity into her classroom.
I observed a 2nd grade teacher in high school and she did a very good job in the way she incorporated diversity in her classroom. Every Friday, the students would get the take a "field trip" to a different part of the world. Each students had their own passport and every week they would travel to a different country. They would "board the plane" and use Google Earth to travel to the specific country. Once they arrived at the specific country, they would do activities related to that culture. For example when they went to China, they learned about the Chinese calendar, made Chinese dragons out of construction paper, and even learned how to write their name on Chinese. When they went to Africa, the students learned an African dance and made an African necklace out of beads. The students always looked forward to traveling to another country on Friday. Students were able to learn about different cultures and see how everyone is different. This brought about diversity in the classroom in an interactive and positive way. What are some other ways you can incorporate diversity in your everyday classroom?
I totally agree with the fact that diversity is becoming more influential in the classroom and that it needs to be addressed! I think that by communicating with the students, whether it is one on one or with the parents, to become informed about the student’s differences will be the best way to help aid the students. By coming up with a specific plan and accommodating to what the child feels comfortable with is a good way to help them that doesn’t call them out or put their differences in a negative light. In order to help ELL students to excel we have to make sure that we are modifying the lesson and also being extremely aware of ways that could help the student to grow.
ReplyDeleteI really liked some of the methods you described to introduce other cultures to a class in order to make a student feel comfortable. Having said that, I think we need to make it a less taboo topic to talk about student cultures. Students from different backgrounds aren't embarrassed about their cultures unless you treat it as such. Making a student comfortable with their culture means accepting their culture as a normal thing, and having students do the same. So, a teacher can learn about a student's culture and teach it or at the very least acknowledge it. I'm from a place with a very diverse population. Students from different cultures and backgrounds want their peers to know more about them, where they come from, and what they do just as any other student.
ReplyDeleteI think a big part of helping english learners succeed is taking the time to learn how to help them through research, advice, and resources available and then differentiating instruction accordingly. Learning content in a different language is hard, so time must be taken to help these students with research based adjustments to everyday instruction.
I absolutely love what you said that the second grade teacher did. That is such an amazing idea. It allows the students to really enjoy learning about new cultures. It also diversifies the students if they don't get the opportunity to learn about those things in their community or home. "We do not want to disregard the diversity we have in out classroom but we still want to be sensitive toward the students culture and language differences." This really stood out to me in your blog. I think that it is important to remember that not all students who are culturally diverse want to teach the class for the day or want to be called out. I think that it is important to know how they are feeling and if they feel comfortable doing those things. Some students may want to just have objects in the classroom labeled in English and their language or maybe they want to get up in front of the classroom and teach those words to the students. I most definitely agree that it is important to be sensitive to what your students needs are. To answer your question, I think that as long as we know our students, we will know what they want. It will be hard because they can't understand us which means we probably can't understand them, but it is taking that extra time out to work with that student during alone time or after school or whatever it may be. Thank you for a very insightful blog post!!
ReplyDeleteHi, Mollee! Diversity is definitely a topic that we as future educators cannot ignore. There are several ways to implement different cultures into your lessons, just as you mentioned. I really like the idea of taking a "field trip" to another country! I think that is such a great way to inform students of other cultures that are around us, and can even give the students a perspective of how diverse our population even is as a country. I also agree with you, it is imperative to modify instruction for individuals who need those modifications. Creating a safe, secure, and welcoming environment for all of your students is only going to further their learning.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that diversity in the classroom should be seen as a tool for instruction and as a benefit to all of the students in the classroom. I think by embracing everyone's differences in the classroom and including them in instruction by having them help educate others about themselves may make them more comfortable with being different. The benefit of having culturally and developmentally different students in the class should be made apparent to the students. Once this is accomplished it will be easier to create a positive learning environment, where it will be easier to differentiate instruction. I like the idea of having the same books but in multiple languages as well as the idea of going on "field trips." The use of technology and the introduction of new cultures would grab and hold attention easily.
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