Not
every American believes that embracing diversity is in the countries best
interest; however our countries foundation was established on the principle
that all men were created equal. This
also includes in the area of education.
People who enter our country legally should expect to enjoy this right. With the understanding that funding in
schools remains a major factor, we as educators, must do everything in our
power to ensure this right.
I am sure that our Founding Fathers
had no idea as to the magnitude this issue of diversity would become. However what they did understand is that for
this country to be successful, we must all embrace diversity. They understood that it is through this
diversity that our country would become strong.
Diversity can be found in many forms
and is not only diversity through language.
Diversity can be in the form of believes, religion, or even body
structure. The classroom can be one of the
most diverse as it mixes cultures, religions, and other differences haphazardly
into a single dynamic. The teacher does
not have the same luxury as a coach; they cannot cut students or place them at
a different position. The teacher must
instead, work with their student’s diversities and mold them into a cohesive
team. Let no one question a teachers
desire to put together an effective learning environment for all their
students. However we must take a closer
look at some of our priorities. Programs
that address student diversities, through no fault of the educators, are often
the first to be constrained by a budget.
To illustrate this dilemma we can
examine, perhaps the largest diversity issue that faces our schools; that is
the issue of language. Bring up English
as a second language in a social setting, and you are sure to enflame a heated
debate. On one side you have the “pro”
ESL programs and of course you have the “con” side. However, no one will argue that funding
limits the development of the programs that our ESL students often
require. For example in 2009, the New
York Legislator passed a bill providing for enhanced literacy development
skills, leading to improved academic performance of ESL’s. These programs intended for ESL’s must be
aligned with New York State’s Learning Standards. The core areas must be implemented in a
bilingual modality. While this seems
like a step in the right direction, only $25,000 was allocated to each school
district for this program, not even enough to hire a teacher for this
program. (NYSed.gov)
The question of how to better handle
the education of English Learners is an issue that we will all face. The complexity of this issue is brought to
light by a teacher in Rhode Island. Candice
McLean faces a different sort of issue, while it involves language; it is
concerned with the proper use of English.
The question asks “a lot of kids speak English as a second language and
a lot of kids don’t speak proper English even though it is their first
language. Should I try to change the way
they speak in class?” (Marlow et al, 2007, pg. 147)
This question cuts to the core of
the diversity issue. This teacher could
have very easily been any teacher in any school. We have become a nation that speaks in short,
incomplete sentences thanks to the world of text messaging. The question is should we as educators
embrace this form of grammar or should we teach the students proper English. While the question seems simple on the
surface, to the core, it is very difficult.
In case studies written by the
University of Alabama concerning the effects of technology on our education,
the effects of text messaging is having on our teenager’s grammar is
discussed. “Some educators suggest that
this new age form of messaging may be hindering today’s teens’ abilities to
apply grammar correctly in their writing and social skills. Others, however,
take pride in the notion that teenagers are essentially creating their own twenty-first
century language and see no effect on their students’ writing skills” (The
University of Alabama Computers and Applied Technology Program, 2009)
While the effects that text
messaging is having on our children’s grammar is an issue that must be dealt
with what does this have to do with diversity?
Issues such as diversity are not always as simple; it seems this is the
case here. The diversity occurs between
the educators themselves and the students.
Many of the current educators grew up in an earlier age when
conversations were carried out in person or over the telephone. These educators feel as though teaching
proper grammar is essential. Yet the
younger generations, who communicate through social media, on the web, or on
their smart phones, feel as though proper English has gone the way of the type
writer. In fact 64% of all students have
reported that their text message lingo has carried over into their English
Assignments. (The University of Alabama
Computers and Applied Technology Program, 2009)
In Alabama educators are developing
lessons to educate the students on the proper use of formal and informal
English. Educators hope that teaching
both forms of languages, the proper form and the improper form, students will
be motivated to learn each equally.
Keeping students motivated is a key factor in a well-balanced education
and will encourage students to learn more willingly and openly.
Counter
point to the University of Alabama’s view, in 2006 the University of Toronto
conducted a study to see what effects text message was having on our
youth.
The study found that the standardized
grammar scores of children in the last 30 years have basically remained the
same.
Regardless of the study’s results,
this issue of diversity must be addressed.
To answer Candice McLean’s question; yes, in my opinion we must change
the way our students speak in the classroom.
It does not matter if that person speaks broken English or speaks the
language of text messaging, we as educators owe it to our students to ensure
they receive a proper education.
The State
of Alabama has created programs that others should model.
Teaching our students when it is proper to
use correct grammar and when it is OK to use broken English is a good solution
but must be monitored to ensure our lesson do not sway too far to the left.
While the language of texting is not
always thought of as a foreign language, it does show just how many different
types of diversification there are.
Not
every diversity issue relates to language.
Another question posed by Michael Parrillo, addresses such an
issue.
Mr. Parrillo is faced with the
challenge of integrating special needs children into his regular
classroom.
Michael’s classroom size is
much larger than anticipated.
The issue
Mr. Parrillo faces is called inclusion and is defined as a term which expresses
commitment to educate each child, to the maximum extent appropriate, in the
school and classroom he or she would otherwise attend.
As a new teacher Mr. Parrillo faces
three major issues. An oversized
classroom is the first issue he faces.
The second is how to include his challenged students into his regular
classroom. The final issue is the lack
of support from the parents. It seems,
from day one, Mr. Parrillo faced a huge challenge.
Dealing with special needs children
is governed by two forms of legislation.
The first is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
which requires that children with disabilities be educated in the "least
restrictive environment appropriate” to meet their “unique needs”.
The second is Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The section
states that a recipient of federal funds provide for the education of each
qualified handicapped person in its jurisdiction with persons who are not
handicapped to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the handicapped
person.
(
www.weac.org)
while neither bit of legislation helps Mr. Parrillo’s plight it does set
precedence for his issue.
According
to the article Special Education Inclusion
there is no research directly related to the long terms effects of inclusion,
but there are however studies of high school graduates that suggests that
inclusion in general education classes, especially in vocational education
courses, is associated with improved post-school outcomes. There are of course two sides of this
issue. Not only will inclusion affect
the special needs students it also can affect the general school student. Integrating the students must be done so with
an organized and well planned agenda and must include the support and
acknowledgement of the parents. Mr.
Parrillo, it seems, was the victim of a poor plan by his administrators.
The
benefits of inclusion must be stressed to parents so they fully understand what
is to occur. They should understand that
because lessons are conducted slower and often repeated, children have a better
understanding of what they are learning.
Additionally children in these mixed classes overcome their
misconceptions about kids who have disabilities. Also the students with the disabilities feel
more a part of society and more able to fit in. (www.educationworld.com) All
these benefits must be stressed so that the parents can see that inclusion is
not such a bad thing.
While
it may be too late for Michael, preparation is a key factor to the success of
inclusion. Making a positive environment for
learning can be accomplished by what is often called brain based learning
methods. These methods incorporate many
aspects of body and mind in corporation to better retain the knowledge that is
being taught. This can be done by
singing songs and incorporating movement into the lessons. All
which assist challenged learners with gaining the knowledge required to
progress. Another key component to brain
based learning is that the lessons are made more relevant to the children’s
lives. This relevance, because it is
based upon live experiences, better enables the children to tie these
experiences into their learning.
While
it is apparent that Michael was more a victim of poor preparation, he does have
the ability to overcome the issues. His
first step must be to unite the parents.
Then he must work on the curriculum. He could incorporate the brain
based learning technics and relay on the experience of others who have had
success. Michael can and will become a
success story.
It
is my opinion that the inclusion of these challenged students into regular
classrooms is of the best interest to both the challenged and the regular
students. Their diversity is not by
choice and we must do everything in our power to ensure they are given the best
chance of becoming a productive member of society. By segregating or pushing these children
aside we are basically saying they are not good enough. By include them into regular classes they can
build the confidence it takes to become a productive member of society.
The
third question posed deals with diversity in learning styles. Sarah Johnson is faced with the dilemma of
dealing with a student that has poor reading and writing skills yet excels in
mechanical areas. This question seems to
deal more with learning abilities then diversity, it does illustrate that not
every student learns the same or at the same pace. So what is Ms. Johnson to do with her student? The first challenge she will face is finding
the time to assist her student. Deal
with this student will take long hours, which most likely will need to occur
after school or between classes. In
order to arrange for this time Ms. Johnson must first arrange a conference with
the parents.
When
meeting with the parents Ms. Johnson must determine if the parents are aware of
any types of learning disorders that this student may have. She must also get a feeling for the support
the student has at home. Are the parents
willing to assist whenever needed and do they have the time to support
him. This initial interview with the
parents is crucial and a basic requirement to assist Ms. Johnson in determining
the correct path to take with her student.
This assessment will also allow Ms. Johnson to determine if there are
any learning disorders she will need to deal with.
For
the purpose of this discussion I am going to assume that there are no diagnosed
learning disorders such as ADHD. It
could be that this student simply learns differently than Ms. Johnson’s other
students. If this in fact is the case,
Ms. Johnson must come up with alternative lesson plans that are more physically
involved and use the student’s life experiences to relate the material the
student is learning to that of which he already knows. For example if the lesson is on fractions,
she could tell the student to figure out the ratio of unleaded gas to fuel
additive to get a certain grade of fuel.
Or if the lesson is to write a paragraph, have the student write a
sequential report on how to change breaks.
While
researching this area I found an article titled Through the Eyes of a Mechanic which stated learning should be
viewed through the eyes of mechanic and we should desire how things work beyond
the nuts and the bolts. Learning, as an
automobile, is a system of moving parts and when of those moving parts fails,
nothing else works correctly. There are
many ways to put the car engine back together, so mechanics do the ignition
first, some do the valves and some do the wiring, but whatever the order is the
goal remains to have an efficient working motor. In the case of Ms. Johnson, the method or
order she teachers this student may be different than the rest, but eventually
she will have a well running pupil. (thelearningpathway.org)
In
my opinion, this perhaps, may be one area where all teachers can use
improvement. All too often we give up on
students and simply pass them off as slow or illiterate. While there are many cases of star athletes
being passed through classes so they can complete in their sport, there are
just as many cases of teachers giving up on students who just need some
assistance. It is easier for us to fail
a student and pass them off to someone else than to help them. I would like to think I would be up to the
challenge, but that is yet to be determined.
I do know that it will require a lot of help.
The
fourth and final diversity addressed is one that deals with teachers. Teachers all have different methods of
teaching, yet we are all expected to have our students learn the same way. Administrators want the students to do math
problems in the same order yet they want teachers to be diversified in the way
they teach these math problems. How is
this possible? If a teacher finds a
better way to arrive at the correct solution, don’t they owe it to their
students to teach them this? Or should
the school administrators restrict the teachers to a single method of teaching?
These
are some very valid questions. I feel as
though learning should be tailored toward the individual and allow the students
some freedom of choice. They should be
able to choose the method used to arrive at the solution. While researching this area, I found what is
referred to as self-paced learning. “In
self-paced learning, the content, learning sequence, pace of learning are
determined by the individual” (jhu.edu).
This type of learning uses many types of media and allows the student to
choose their course. The student can
select to learn the material from sources on the internet or if they prefer
through books or manuals. This approach
is referred to as the “just-in-time” approach and allows students to learn the
information when they need it.
The
challenge with this style of learning comes in the monitoring and
assessing. Teachers must provide strict
monitoring and conduct periodic wellness checks to ensure the student is not
wasting time. They must also ensure that
the students are completing the required assessment and that the students are
in fact grasping the information.
Without strict controls and monitoring, self-paced learning can become a
nightmare.
While
self-paced learning seems like a shift to the far right of education, it does
illustrate that there are different methods that may be used to educate our
students. Embracing the fact that
teachers are diversified; they each have their strong and weak points. Tailoring our educational plan to compensate
for these differences will benefit the students in the long run. While using a
single method to solve a math problem may translate into better scores on a
schools standardized test, it is not necessarily the best way to prepare our
students for the next level of education.
In college and in life our students will be given a problem and asked to
solve it; if we have not given them the tools to solve these problems on their
own, we have failed them.
As
I have shown, diversity is not as simple as different languages or beliefs; it
is also learning patterns, handicaps and other issues. As teachers we must overcome these issues of
diversity. In the middle ages they did
not allow people who were different to participate in education. This “right” was reserved for the rich and
the royalty. If we are not careful we will
revert back to this mentality. Dealing
with diversity should not lead to adversity.
We cannot simply sweep our differences under the carpet.
Educating
our teachers on how to deal with diversity is the first step. Is it projected that by 2020 nearly half of
all school students will be either non-English speakers or diverse
culturally. This statistic alone is a
major reason that our teachers must be better prepared to deal diversity. If we do not properly deal with children that
have diversities, we may never know the full potential of our country.
As
I have stated, not every American believes that embracing diversity is in the
countries best interest. We must get back to the way our founding fathers
intended; all men are created equal. Until
we understand that dealing with diversity is a major factor in education, we
will never be capable of creating a perfect learning environment for our
children.
References
2009-10 Bilingual/ESL
Supplementary Intervention Program, retrieved from www.p12.nysed.gov
Milkova,
Stiliana, (nd), Strategies for Effective
Lesson Planning, retrieved from www.crlt.umich.edu
Pol,
Milan, et al (2006), Dealing Diversity,
retrieved from www.eric.ed.gov
Special Education Inclusion (nd), retrieved from www.weac.org
Thelearningpathway.org
(2010), Through the Eyes of a Mechanic,
retrieved from www.thelearningpathway.org
The
University of Alabama Computers and Applied Technology Program (2009).
