Diversity in the Classroom Research Paper Example

📌Category: Education, School
📌Words: 1291
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 22 April 2022

One of the most significant parts of teaching is diversity, embracing this will help a lot of children in building strong relationships with their teachers. Diversity in the classroom is more in demand and more complex than before. Times are changing. There are different preferences, genders, cultural backgrounds, and special needs and this is just naming a few. This to many teachers is challenging to incorporate into their classrooms. Having gone through public school growing up teachers didn’t really try to involve diversity as much as it is encouraged today. Although diversity can get controversial implementing it into our everyday lives as future teachers can really set us up for a successful classroom of our own 

Diversity in the classroom can look very different in different classrooms and depending on the teacher. One way is getting to know your students and making sure you know their likes and dislikes in general and in learning. Taking the time to research and get familiar with the differences students bring to your class is always good. This shows you care about your kids enough to research and learn something new. This will develop positive communication skills between the teacher and the student once they see the effort you do on your end.

What does cultural diversity look like?

Every student in a classroom comes from a different culture and background. One way to show diversity embracement is by, “Demonstrating a genuine interest in learning about each student and their culture will help establish trust and allow you to form a bond with them so they feel valued. If students feel appreciated by and comfortable with the teacher, there’s a better chance they’ll feel comfortable talking with and respect their peers in the class – and communication is the core to a culturally aware and inclusive classroom.” (Drexel University School of Education). In addition, cultural sensitivity is very critical for teachers, but also for students to make sure they show sensitivity to different cultures, beliefs, and languages. Teaching kids about different cultures is just as significant as the teacher learning more just as Drexel University states “The classroom environment is important for fostering cultural awareness, but you also should ensure diversity is represented in your actual lesson plan. For example, broaden history lessons so that they encompass the world beyond United States history and culture. Or use references and analogies to other cultures in your lessons and assignments to help students with diverse backgrounds personally connect.” (Drexel University School of Education).

What is gender diversity and how can we help students feel comfortable with theirs?

Gender these days is very relevant to how students identify themselves especially in today’s time and day. This is very significant, and kids are more aware of themselves. This includes pronouns trying to make sure you are clear on what they are if they have a preference that isn’t “normal” or something you are used to. As Welcoming Schools states “Develop common language on gender and social transitions that educators can use when talking with parents, families, and colleagues while maintaining confidentiality for students. Help people understand the meaning of words related to gender and transitioning” (Welcoming Schools) knowing more of the meaning behind all the different pronouns and respecting them sets you up for a better understanding of your students. When a student is on a gender journey, support is crucial. Be a person who students can talk to. "Kids are more resilient and able to cope when they feel affirmed and supported. Often, students who are transgender or non-binary have endured teasing and may not have felt safe to report it. Identify a safe person or people on staff for a student to talk to who will check in with them weekly while at school.” (Welcoming Schools). It is extremely imperative to keep this in mind in these times of changing gender dynamics. There are a lot of tips out there when it comes to affirming gender in elementary schools. Kids are more self-aware than ever. This is a huge component of diversity in the classroom.

Another big topic in the world of diversity is children with special needs. As future teachers, we are bound to get groups of kids who have a variety of special care and needs. As a first step, we should see them as children first. No child is the same as another. Look beyond the disability. As the NAEYC states “Set learning goals, choose strategies, and assess children’s progress. And just as you do for all children, have high—but realistic expectations for children with disabilities or developmental delays." (NAEYC). Be aware that you will have to adapt your lesson plans to accommodate their needs. For example, you can employ collaborative teaching techniques to gain insight into how to accommodate a special needs student "by partnering with special education teachers and others" (ASCD). It is critical to plan lessons according to the students' IEPs. Reviewing this is helpful and can give you a lot of insight into what it is the child struggles with. The peers of these children will play just as big of a role as you. A big part of teaching diversity to children is making sure they are aware of how their peers present themselves. Depending on the grade, they might realize a student is different. As a teacher, it is our duty to make sure students are not treated differently because of their differences.

As we learn. About teaching and its different aspects, we should value the input we get from experienced teachers. Mrs. Tascha was. My eleventh and twelfth-grade teacher and a terrific example of the type of teacher I would love to be. Her parents were both teachers and had LCC and UW backgrounds. I asked her what skills/ qualities she believed every teacher needed to teach and have diversity in their classroom her response was to enjoy kids, be able to multi-task, be compassionate, and be forgiving. As teachers many of us are representations of diversity and Mrs. Tascha specifically didn’t start in the teaching field, she started in another major but when she got a divorce she decided to into the education field this to shows how life-changing events can redetermine your career path as we continue many students will have several different backgrounds and this shows background diversity in the teacher. Another question I asked her was why she loves her career. She replied that she loved her students, her colleagues, and being a positive role model for her students. Having been in her class for two years Mrs. Tascha was one of the few who embraced diversity. She would take the time to get to know students and listen to what they had to say. She knew a little Spanish and she would learn more from her students. She would also make calls to parents to tell them about how their kids were doing in class. 

Diversity is one of the most critical aspects of teaching. Being a first-generation and Hispanic I know how big an impact this would have had in my education if more teachers embraced and taught diversity. It is refreshing to see how we, as aspiring teachers, can teach about diversity and make it a part of our everyday classroom lives. My own diversity will be utilized in understanding how language can impact students and parents. As a student, I have experienced the hardships of language and culture barriers, which is something I want to pass on to my future students. Having pronouns and gender preferences up front in teaching was something I was surprised we didn't do. I think this would have helped many students be more aware of themselves as they grew up and just saved them a lot of struggles. One video that really caught my attention was an Ed talk video with Amy Stuart Wells. She states, “when students attend diverse schools, and they learn to interact across cultural boundaries they learn to address their own explicit biases in a way that can enable them think more clearly in the larger society of multicultural experiences and boundary-crossing” (Ed talk) this statement really resonates to me. My experience with school luckily for me, I always went to diverse schools, and I learned a lot from those students, and we all have different views that helped each other understand one another, and really understanding their views opened my views in life.

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