Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

Diversity Statement of Informed Beliefs Emma Humphries #6 Instructor: Dr. LueLinda D. Egbert EDUC 204: Families, Community, and Culture MWF 9:00

Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS Abstract Teachers have the unique and complex task of preparing young students for the future and providing them with the skillset needed to problem solve and think critically in modern day

society. Making certain that every student learns every day proves to be complicated, as students learn in many different ways and at different paces even within peer groups. Adjustments have to be made in curriculum and problems solved on the spot. What students learn in the classroom, from peers and teachers, prepares them for their future and skills gained within the four walls of a school will largely determine their success.

Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS Statement of Informed Beliefs The American classroom is a melting pot of different cultures, ideas, backgrounds, morals, ideas, and children. Each of these children deserves an environment that provides them with the skills necessary to think critically on their own and understand concepts that will aid them through lifes problems. My job, as a future teacher, is to provide students with these blocks of knowledge on which they can build and to create a classroom where they can learn cooperation with and understanding for others styles of learning. This task will not be an easy

one, but definitely one worthwhile. I look forward to the role I will soon take on, and I will cover my system of informed beliefs in the next four main points. All Students Can Learn Although all students can and must learn within a classroom environment for it to be considered productive, much of a childs capability to learn and retain starts before Kindergarten in the home and the childs maternal relationship. Childrens' very psychological development is dependent upon how much love and attention a child is receiving and has received from parents (specifically the mother) prior to starting school. According to a study done by John Bowlby conducted in 1952, separation from the mother (even if for work or due to hospitalization) could result in infant depression, retardation, or tendency to be delinquent (as cited in Berns, 2010). What happens before a child reaches school affects how the child will retain and understand information presented by a teacher. As a teacher, it will be my opportunity and responsibility to create a stable teacher/student relationship and provide a place of consistency and care to encourage healthy psychological development, regardless of care received at home. The kind of instruction a teacher provides to a classroom will need to be related to the age of the children in which they are working with and what stage they are currently in because

Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS the ways in which they learn are dependentupon these stages. This is explained in a study done by Jean Piaget that includes: sesorimotor stage (thinking is action), preoperational stage (thinking based on appearances), concrete operational stage (thinking is based on reality), and

the formal operational stage (thinking is based on abstractions). If a teacher teaches based off a stage the children are not yet in, the information will be difficult to grasp and understand because the children are not yet ready to think in such a way. Contrary, if a teacher teaches based off of what the children understand and introduces the next stage slowly and with steps, the children will be able to develop and process new information. Parents should be included in education and partners with teachers to create an encouraging and cooperative atmosphere for their childs growth. Goals should be set and monitored that are both realistic and challenging and hold all students accountable for personal and classroom goals. Students' Social Ecology Theory All students are born into unique and diverse circumstances that shape them and mold their expectation and work habits. Since these learning environments are very different from each other and these students will be put in the same classroom to learn together, a teacher must learn toconnect and balance the Macrosystems andMicrosystems of individual children as well as diversity in Microsystems within a classroom. In a given classroom, some students may be used to and thrive in low-context Microsystems, which are individualistic-oriented and other students may come from high-context Microsystems, or very collectivistically oriented. Although a teacher must learn to balance and intertwine Macrosystems and Microsystems, students must first develop a sense of self before learning to thrive in a classroom or society. Psychologist Erik Erikson explains eight critical stages of psychosocial development in human's life: trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry

Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS versus inferiority, identity versus identity diffusion, intimacy versus isolation, generatively versus self-absorption, and integrity versus despair (as cited in Berns, 2010). Once students gain a sense of who they are and who they want to be, a teacher can encourage cooperation, acceptance of diversity, and team skills so all students may learn to function and work productively within Macrosystems and Microsystems that are different from their own. Although students must learn about themselves and cultural diversity within a classroom and affect the way they learn best, the competence of a student's family can also have an effect upon the child's ability to learn. Families that are actively involved in progressing the child's education are more likely to raise more successful children whereas families that place little emphasis upon the important learning tend to raise children who struggle through learning and the system. Factors that determine a family's competence include the family's SES and

availability to the child. Extracurricular and community activities can help teach students that are behind skills they are not being taught at home and provide children with mentors to promote resilience. Discrimination and Learning Classrooms are filled with diverse student backgrounds and ways of learning and therefore must be met with diverse instruction that meets the needs of all students. Individual work for students who learn best in an individualist society (or cultures who emphasize individual work and achievement) and group work for students from collectivistic cultures(or cultures who emphasize cooperation and group work).As an instructor of a class filled with these different cultural expectations and habits, it's the responsibility of the teacher to create a cooperative and respectful environment. A balance needs to be found and met to deal with this issue and can be handled in several different ways. A teacher can introduce and promote ideas

Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS such as cultural pluralism(which is the mutual appreciation and understanding of various cultures and coexistence in society of different languages, religious beliefs, and lifestyles.) or cultural assimilation (which is the process whereby a minority culture group takes on the characteristics of the majority cultural group) to handle this issue. There are various methods of curriculum and instruction models that are used in today's classroom curriculum including individual, competitive, and cooperative. Not all students will learn using the same methods and students with learning disabilities will learn differently than students that are gifted and need to be instructed and move at a different pace and in different ways. As a teacher, it will be my job to ensure that the needs of all students are met and that more than one curriculum is used to accommodate the needs of different children within my classroom. This may include mixing individual work, with group work (such as think, pair, share), competitive learning games, and class discussion. Equitable Education for all Students

Students within public schools generally come from all wakes of life and will come from different class backgrounds. Students that come from families with low socioeconomic status (or SES) are more likely to divorce, fall below the poverty line, live in a dual income family, or be a member of a minority group and therefore experience some discrimination. Such obstacles can prevent a child from having clear and focused learning objectives, cause a child to act out in class and become a behavioral issue, or cause emotional stress enough to prevent the child from learning. Students from low SES situations need a caring mentor (a teacher, a coach, etc.) to believe in their abilities and courage resilience, or rising above ones circumstance. To provide this caring, fair, and equitable education for diverse learners, I will encourage unity and companionship among the children and provide a "safe learning zone" where all students ideas

Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS are heard, accepted without judgment, and discussed. Many children lack a home life with consistency, so I will provide a classroom with schedule and predictability. The goal is not to

catch students off-guard and cause anxiety, but instead create a classroom that is comfortable and where learning is fun and uplifting instead of stressful and overwhelming. Theorist John B. Watson(As cited in Berns, 2010) conducted a study and came up with a theory of behaviorism(which is the theory that observed behavior, rather than what exists in the mind, provides the only valid data for psychology). He defined learning as a change in the way an individual responds to a particular situation and can when positively or negatively reinforced or rewarded, the behavior is more likely to be repeated. Actions that are positively and negatively punished are less likely to be repeated. Children must be allowed to grow and develop personalities without adult oppression, or fixation (a Freudian term referring to arrested development) may occur. A teacher not only reinforces positive and negative behaviors in academic work, but is also in an instructor of morals and values, teaching children honesty, integrity, fairness, equality, strong worth ethic and the like. It is a teachers ultimate responsibility to help their students onto the path of education, guaranteeing their success in reaching their personal potential. I have written about my teaching philosophy and teaching goals. I have expressed my desire to create a positive non-judgmental learning environment using positive reinforcement and various assessment strategies in order to reach each and every one of my unique students.

Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS References Berns, R.M. (2007, 2010). Child, family, school, and community: Socialization and support (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomas Wadsworth.