When looking at a typical classroom today there are many forms of diversity. You might see a child that doesn't speak English, a child that excels in their classwork, or even a child with a physical disability. Knowing that these differences in learning are present in the classroom every teacher needs to be ready to accommodate for all the children's needs based on their abilities. One statistic that stood out to me early in the chapter was, "It is projected that by 2030, 40 percent of the school age population in the United States will be English language learners". That is only 15 years from now so no matter what us as teachers need to start preparing for any sort of diversity.
As teachers we need to realize that diversity is never a bad thing. Diversity, no matter what form it's in makes a child who they are and they should never be made to feel that it is anything different than that. Students are often taught to push their uniqueness aside and act and talk a certain way to make it 'easier' on the teacher to teach the children. When that happens children become 'outsiders' because of lack of understanding or inability, their boredom or disruption, or even their sadness because of their ethnic or language differences. In the text they suggested different activities and strategies that could help students with their learning differences. Some of the examples were working in groups and assigning a more advanced student to a struggling student to add more assistance. A quote from the text that I love was, "Differences do NOT mean deficits". It is our job to help the students achieve greatness in every way in the way that they understand and are able to do.
When I was a Cadet Teacher in high school I assisted in a fourth grade classroom. In that classroom there were students that had different learning disabilities and required more instruction and assistance than some of the other children. Part of my job was to take them aside and give them some of the extra help that they needed. When I wasn't there some other students were assigned to the struggling students and were sat next to them to help incase the teacher was busy during work time. One activity that was mentioned in the book that she also used was a math group with four students in it; one was an exceptional math student, two were moderate level math students, and the last one was a student that struggled with math. In these group the students were able to work together, help each other, and at the same time provide the one student with something extra to do while helping the struggling student.
Ethic and language differences can also be helped through acceptance of the teacher. Children can see how the teacher treats certain students and if you are excluding them or even just treating them as if they are incompetent the other students will pick up on that and treat them the same. As the text suggested that you can have them play teacher for the day and teach the other students about their culture and/or language to make them aware of how awesome differences can be. When also looking at physical disabilities students need to be accommodated but also accepted. No matter what the difference we need to embrace them and help the students succeed. For my conclusion I have a question. How would you as teachers approach diversity and how would you make them feel comfortable in your classroom?
I agree with your post! The fact that their will be a higher number of ELL students in 15 years really stuck out to me as well! It got my attention that we need to do something about this and be prepared to best benefit these students in new and creative ways! When you touched on the importance of diversity in the classroom, I really liked how positive you were and I think that all teachers should be like that! You have the right idea when you stated that teachers should realize that diversities are not something to dwell on, they are what spices up the classroom! In my future classroom, I will be focusing on that and I will really try to become aware of all of the students diversities and be constantly brainstorming ways to incorporate them into the classroom. When I took Ed El 244 last year, one of the strategies that really stuck with me that I will bring in my classroom was having a specific day of he week that focuses on the culture of one student. During this day, the student will have an important role in introducing their skills and sharing them with their classmates. For example, if the student is a Spanish speaker they might bring in a family tradition and teach new vocabulary words to the class. In order to help my students become comfortable with cultural diversity, I plan on embracing it with open arms and being the most positive I can be
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I really agree with your outlook on diversity. Everything that can be done must be done to help all children no matter their background, impairment, gift, culture, or language. I have a question as well. With the amount of ESL students entering the American school system, isn't it puzzling as to why future teachers are not required to learn a second language? To answer your question, I would say that teachers can make students comfortable by sharing knowledge about their culture or situation with either the student or the class (IF APPROPRIATE) and embrace it. If you have someone from a different country in your class, learn about their culture and teach it to the rest of the class. If you have a gifted child or a child who is struggling, let them know that you are going to do whatever it takes to help them succeed, and then follow up on your promise. If you have a child with a disability, do everything you can to differentiate instruction and procedures to help them succeed. I think the most important thing a teacher can do with a diverse classroom is to learn how to help their students through research or advice, and then take the time to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of every child. It is hard work, but all it takes is caring and devotion.
ReplyDeleteHello, Laura! Diversity is a topic that is progressing more and more each year. The word itself can be a bit scary to think about. My personal goal is to teach in an urban area, where diversity is booming. I definitely agree with all of your points! Two important components of having diversity in your classroom are acknowledging it, AND accepting it, two completely different things. It is essential to make sure each of your students feels welcome in your classroom, where they feel comfortable to be themselves, and be able to learn. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your view of diversity! It is very similar to mine. I like the statistic you shared at the beginning that by 2030 40% of students in the U.S. will be ELL students. This really struck home with me as well. Diversity is something most people first going into education think only affects urban communities. This projection shows how wrong most people would be. These diverse students could one day be in our classrooms and we need to be prepared. I really liked your idea to use students differences to help educate each other. This is why diversity is such an important tool in a classroom. I think that teachers need to convey the message that "Differences do NOT mean deficits" to their students. To answer your question this is what I would do. I would make it known that everyone is different and that these differences improve our classroom and education. I would encourage students to help one another and to educate each other on their varying cultures or languages. Using these differences as a tool the teacher will then differentiate instruction to meet the needs of the diverse students in the class allowing the students the chance to educate each other.
ReplyDeleteI truly agree with your view of diversity. "Children can see how the teacher treats certain students and if you are excluding them or even just treating them as if they are incompetent the other students will pick up on that and treat them the same." This statement is so true. I pulled this quote from your blog because I live by this opinion. Students truly do notice how teachers react to students. It is so important that teachers recognize this because when you have diverse students in your classroom it is important to include them in everything and treat them how you would want your kids to treat others. Thank you so much for such an honest post.
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