Allyson Babinsack

EDU 200 02
Dr. Johnson

Diversity in the Classroom

Teaching in a diverse classroom can be very challenging. Teachers should

understand that every student has their own background, beliefs and customs. Therefore,
each student learns differently because each student is an individual. When the teacher is
more aware of each student and their personality then the curriculum and lessons can be
made to meet the needs of all the students. The classroom can be run more efficiently.
Educators must be informed and opened to many cultures in which their students
belong. The culture of a student influences practically every aspect of their life. It shapes
their identity, beliefs, behaviors, and the way they learn. Their culture can be tied to their
geographical region and has influences on their language, religion, beliefs and values.
Not only do educators have to accommodate for their students cultures but also
their racial and/or ethnical background. Ethnicity is referred to a membership in a group
with a common cultural tradition or common national origin, while race is a classification
that is not typically chosen but is instead assigned by others and defined mostly by a
persons physical characteristics. Each student is asked about his or her racial and/or
ethnical background information for forms for school enrollment. This information serves
many purposes, such as monitoring equal opportunities in education and employment and
tracking school desegregation.

Teachers face many problems as well as opportunities in classrooms where

students from different cultures, races and groups come together. As public schools
become more diverse, demands increase to find the most effective ways to help all
students succeed academically as well as to learn to get along with each other. I think the
biggest problem coming up in classrooms is the acceptance of the LBGT community.
Many people believe that sexuality is not a matter to the schools, however many student
are coming to terms with their homosexuality. The lack of discussion in classrooms about
homosexuality creates feelings of isolation and otherness for gay and lesbian students by
the increased harassment they obtain from other students and sometimes teachers.
I feel that the geographical location of the school depicts the types of problems
that are faced in the classroom. In schools where males create the majority of students
females, as the minority, can face sexist language towards them, sexual harassment, and
can be placed in stereotypic or despairing views of women. However, I feel that students
are not the only ones in the classroom that can face problems. If there is more than one
teacher in a classroom with a different ethnical background, the teacher can be singled
out and faced with isolation, exclusion, and racism from the other teachers.
Being an educator in a classroom the students look up to you and over time they
will start following your lead. As a teacher if you can find activities and instructions that
are culturally responsive for all students, while not favoring one group over another, can
have a positive influence on students. Getting students to focus on a persons personality,
qualifications, interest and work ethnic rather than making assumptions about an
individual based on their characteristics can help students accept other cultures and their
peers in the classroom.