Journal Entry - Diversity in the classroom

One thing that I have thought a great deal about in the course of earning my education degree, and especially during my social studies methods class, is diversity in the classroom.

It seems that diversity is a touchy topic in this country, and it makes sense that it is. In the course of the past 500 years there have been many bad things done in this country with diversity (or ethnicity, or race) as a primary factor. The kidnapping of Africans into slavery and the conquest of the Native Americans are probably the two best known examples.

Unfortunately the past sins of this country, and the continuing dominance of power by whites has caused diversity to be an taboo subject. Too often it is treated as a past problem that was dealt with during the Civil Rights Movement and other citizen actions. One has only to travel to a reservation or to a poor minority neighborhood to see that being a minority in this country continues to be a disadvantage.

I feel that truthful discussions of the diversity of this country, the life of minority populations and the reasons for these conditions can be powerful and help dispel the taboo nature of these topics.

One important aspect to discussions of this type is not to single out minority students to provide the point of view for their whole ethnicity (e.g. 'the black perspective'). It is important to emphasize that everyone is an individual, regardless of their ethnicity. I had a Native American friend (Mohawk and Cherokee) at Colgate who would always be called on by professors to give the 'Indian perspective' and she hated it because it inherently suggested that all Native Americans think the same way and have the same experience, which is obviously not the case.

There are so many forms of diversity in the classroom. Race, ethnicity, gender, intelligence, socioeconomic status, sexual preference, and religion are some of the factors. In my classroom I will encourage an open and safe environment where my students are comfortable being who they are and where constructive conversations about the issues surrounding diversity take place.