Diversity is Our Strength

“We need to open our hearts and our minds to a culturally diverse approach to education and allow our diversity to be our strength.”

— Ana Consuelo Matiella, Health Educator and Author

Diversity should be viewed as a strength, not a weakness in our vastly diverse world. My responsibility, as a teacher, is to be aware of and understand cultural issues and topics because I will be teaching in a culturally diverse world. I want my students to learn to grow and be successful in life, no matter what their culture. I hope to teach my children to be strong and allow diversity to be their strength by creating a comfortable physical environment, being culturally aware as a teacher, involving parents, and utilizing a diverse curriculum.

In order to accommodate the many diverse cultures in a classroom, several details will need to be addressed. I will have a diverse collection of posters on the walls and books available for students who have difficulty with any topic or have a question about another student’s culture. Movies and guest speakers will be used in my classroom, when necessary, to give examples or explain cultures that children might not understand.  I plan to have a project that will encourage each student to share their individual heritage by dressing in a cultural costume, sharing a special family food or demonstrating a family tradition.  This will be an opportunity for each child to share part of themselves with the rest of the classroom and a perfect way for them to better understand other cultures.

Being aware of the many cultures and avoiding racially harmful language are two things I can do as a teacher to teach successfully in a culturally diverse world. I will avoid ethnocentrism and hope to learn about all cultures so I can incorporate ideas from other cultures into my classroom. Equitable pedagogy is needed in every classroom, and to accomplish this, I will have equally high expectations for every student in my classroom. As a teacher, I will continue my education by taking various classes and workshops. I am especially interested to learn about other cultures, different from my own. One example of continuing my education is to take conversational Spanish for teachers. In <st1:State w:st="on">Arizona</st1:State>, I will be teaching close to Mexico, and a Spanish class would help me communicate with and better understand my Spanish speaking students as well as their parents.  Teachers have a large impact and influence on their students in the classroom. If I make the extra effort to understand and learn about cultures different than mine, my students and their parents will hopefully want to learn more also. My cultural diversity class taught me the importance of appreciating the different values of many different cultures. The kindergarten classroom also taught me that, as a teacher, I need to learn as much about my students’ cultures as well as become more actively involved in the topics that surround their backgrounds. By learning about my students, I have a better opportunity to help them be successful in their academic endeavors. I believe that students will not hesitate to come to me for help if they feel as though they can relate to me and know that I relate to them. By becoming more aware of the diversity in the world, I will also become a more well-rounded individual.

Family will always be welcome in my classroom. Assisting in the classroom, on field trips, with activities, and events will be a positive way for families to become more active in their children’s lives. Prior to school starting, I will offer a family night to inform families of my intentions to teach about all cultures as well as answer any questions that arise. Instead of celebrating cultures on particular days, in my classroom all cultures will be celebrated throughout the year. I will send newsletters home each week to update family members what cultures will be celebrated and what activities they can help with. On the first day of school, I will talk to every parent and family member that comes in, to see what their views are on the many cultural topics I will cover during the school year. It is important to me to establish an open communication with the families of my students to make sure everyone knows what is going on.

After discussing cultures with the family members, I will create a diverse curriculum based on the students that incorporate state standards. I will allow my students to celebrate their cultures in a variety ways. Students can share items, invite family speakers, or comment on movies just to name a few. I will celebrate each student as an individual, and when speaking about cultures, I will avoid generalizations. Creating a community among my students will help lower the racially harmful language that comes from misunderstandings between cultures. Reinforcement, encouragement, and respect will be taught to my students. Since every culture and every student learns differently, I will teach my lesson in a variety of ways.