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Cultural Diversity in the classroom
Importance of cultural diversity in education
Cultural Diversity in the classroom
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Recommended: Cultural Diversity in the classroom
One of the foundations of teaching that is currently lacking adequate implementation in the classroom is the ability to understand and use the cultural differences that exist within different communities in order to help individual students thrive. Not only is it important for teachers to cultural awareness, but also it is crucial for teachers to have the skills to utilize this awareness when forming relationships between the learner and the community. Thus they are able to promote the best learning environment possible. In other words, while it is both important to focus on the individual students and the overall culture it is important to connect both of them in order students to be successful in the classroom.
Ellen Franz, an elementary school teacher in a small school in Sausalito Marin City School District, is able to seamlessly accomplish the daunting task. She does so by focusing on the individual students’ needs while keeping in mind the overall community by being aware of the cultural differences between her and her students. She is grounded in the culture and community which allows her to use the techniques of ZPD in order to bring all students to a level where they can expand their knowledge and learn what they are supposed to in order to thrive. However, this is not a magic formula and creating the relationships with both the students and the community is not enough.
To assure that ZPD is being used as effectively as possible, everyday she must take control of the class and in order to do so she consistently uses pedagogical knowledge, engagement, formative assessment, and persistence. Her ability to use pedagogical knowledge effectively is very important because it allows her to stay in control of the classroom and m...
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...chers to know what pay attention to and what to focus on. In addition, there are some basic things that could be taught such as the importance of forging relationships with parents and how to knowing how to approach parents that may not as assessable either because of language barriers or work
More importantly it is crucial for teacher to be culturally aware before joining the field of teaching because there is a thin line between being aware and feeling bad for students. When working in a community that is underserved it could be easy to make up excuses for students or assume that parents don’t care about their education. However, this is not always the case and if teachers have an idea of the challenges that they will face and a understanding of how to deal with them then it may buffer against the instinct to not hold students accountable to the same standards.
Always need time to communicate with the parents either formal or informal so we can build trust and be cultural sensitive. We can also provide parents with support and education with whatever the child’s needs might be. For the children we help them understand the language and reasoning skills. Math and numbers can be taught is so many ways through play that the children won’t get stressed. Nature and science when we provide them with things that are naturally in their surroundings they get a chance to investigate. Promote acceptance of diversity and do things to help all the children learn something new and interact with different activities when sharing their
Diversity includes not only the student’s abilities, but also their learning styles and cultural backgrounds. In addition, the teacher’s educational philosophy, which is comprised of their own values, beliefs, cultural and socioeconomic background, are factors in how the diversity of the classroom is perceived and addressed. Research by Khan, Lindstrom, & Murray, stated that, “teachers’ beliefs about diversity and their varying levels of cultural competence can positively or negatively influence their ability to effectively work with culturally diverse students” (2014, p.55). When educators are aware of these differences, they are able to appropriately plan, modify and conduct meaningful
“ It's Not the Culture of Poverty, It's the Poverty of Culture: The Problem with Teacher Education” by Ladson-Billings (2006). The Self-Esteem Problem is one of the problem in American culture. Usually, preservice teachers are having narrow foundation courses in psychological aspect. The author asked preservice teachers to choose one children from their field experiences that is hard to handle while one were choosing a African American. The author critized preservice teachers that they are choosing based on their race, gender and ethnic that was different from them. Those teachers tend to blam on student’s misbehavior instead of understand their socioeconomic problems. In addition, the problem of cultural capital in America is that dominant
the reason why they are learning something, then they will get a greater sense of the
The article talks about how teachers need to have cultural compatibility. While it might be difficult for some teacher to grasp and understand the different cultures behaviors and beliefs. For those teacher that can are more likely to provide a learning environment that is enriching and responsive to the children’s different cultures. Teacher should have “meaningful interactions with members of other cultures and promote cultural disequilibrium (Colombo, 2005, p. 2).” Activities that have this are more likely to increase cultural competence.
I reported that my school was guilty of “‘fairyland’ multicultural education” (Nieto & Bode, 2008, p. 2). We hold dinners, culture days, and special programs to bring awareness to different cultures, but we don’t go any further than that. This course has given me countless tools that can be used to make my school and classroom better for students. The school that I teach at has a high percentage of students who live below the poverty line and who speak English as a second language. Countless research has been done about students in both categories. Students who live below the poverty line tend to do worse than students at a wealthy school (Bainbridge & Lasley, 2002). This understanding about students living in poverty should drive instruction in the classroom. As a teacher, it is my job to inform and discuss with my colleagues strategies for better educating these students. Most importantly, there must be a belief that these and all students can learn if teacher use various teaching strategies (Bainbridge & Lasley, 2002). This understanding about students living in poverty should drive the efforts at my
When the majority of teachers in America are White, middle class women who only speak English in a country were students are starting to come from a multitude of backgrounds it is no wonder problems are arising. As more people from different cultures and religions immigrate to the United States the average classroom is losing the cultural uniformity it had in the past. Though the faces in classrooms are steadily changing many teachers have not been able to adjust as quickly to the ever growing diversity taking place. One would expect for teachers to still be able to teach students effectively whether they share a similar background or not, but in actuality cultural conflicts between teachers and students are only getting worse. Especially when
We as educators must always act in the best interests of the children, while we seek to understand and embrace the different cultures by talking, listening and learning from the families and communities that surround us.
During this semester, I had the opportunity of working with a class of 2nd Graders in the Long Beach area. Even though in my last two serve rotations I was exposed to students from different linguistically and cultural backgrounds, this year I had the opportunity of truly experiencing multicultural diversity in the classroom. Since Jane Addams is located in the ghetto area of Long beach, the majority of the students are the so called minorities. Mrs. Chavarria classroom represented pluralism and world cultures; in her classroom there were Filipinos Samoans, African Americans, Latinos a couple of white kids, and a Hispanic/Chinese boy. This last serve rotation gave me the opportunity to experience my mentor teacher's pedagogical approaches which engage cultural multiplicity in many effective ways. My mentor teacher as expressed earlier in my journals has been teaching for the last thirteen years and has been open to learn about new concepts and ideas central to addressing cultural pluralism in the core curriculum and have tested some practices that have proved to be useful. Some of th...
Therefore, teachers teach the whole child since they maintain cultural identity of a student not only do they emphasize on the importance of academic achievement. Consequently, when promoting academic community for students, teachers play a role in responding effectively to the learners needs (Gay, 2000).
The United States is expecting drastic changes in the diversity of its population over the next 50 years. Minorities will become a larger portion of the country’s population. Changes will need to be made to the way our country operates, especially in education. New, innovative and inclusive ways of teaching will replace traditional methods. For these new changes to go smoothly, steps will be taken to implement diverse populations in schools, helping students benefit from the values of other cultures while learning to live along side each other. The competitive and biased curriculums will take back seat to new ones that cater to all members of the population, leaving behind disruptive and antisocial behaviors. And finally, the teacher population will become as diverse as the student counterpart, creating more chances for students to identify with their leaders. This research paper will identify problematic situations for educational diversity as well as examine the effectiveness of diverse populations in classroom settings with respect to the development of student's world skills and understanding, openness and tolerance of diversity.
Culture is a powerful influence plays a big role in our interactions. Culture may also impact parenting style and a developing child. Having a strong sense of their own cultural history and the traditions associated with it helps children build a positive cultural identity for themselves. This also supports children’s sense of belonging and, by extension, their mental health and wellbeing. This class is crucial in understanding and working well parents, staff, and children. An effective educator understands how students’ cultures affect their perceptions, self-esteem, values, classroom behavior, and learning. As director, I need to use that understanding to help my students and staff feel welcomed, affirmed, respected, and valued. One way that I can do this is by using multicultural literature, especially children’s literature, to honor students’ culture and foster cross-cultural understanding. If cultural differences are not understood by teachers and management, it can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings on both sides. It will be my job to do all I can to overcome both language and cultural differences to ensure a positive learning environment for
Throughout my research, family values, and experiences I will be able to be accepting and understanding of the culturally diverse children that I may have in my classroom. To make my classroom a welcoming and safe environment for those who are different I want to incorporate their culture into projects, lessons and crafts. In doing this I want the class to learn more about each other and their cultural
Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, and social skills.
...uable life lessons as well as traditional ones. They should know basic facts and be able to apply them. Teaching is all about getting your students to become better students when they leave the classroom.