Diversity in the Classroom

I think that I should start out this blog by writing out my personal definition of diversity. Diversity to me is the differences between people that make everyone unique and special. It should not separate people; instead, it should bring people together.

My own experience with diversity is very diverse (haha). In most of the schools that I have attended, there have been quite a few different types of students. I've been friends with African American people, Hispanic people, Dutch people, African people and many others. I have also had a wide range of friends and family members with different religious affiliations. I, personally, am Lutheran as is most of my family. Those that are not Lutheran are Catholic, Jewish, Mormon or Wiccan. I have also married into a Catholic family. In my family and friends, there are many different sexual orientations. I have friends who heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual; I accept all of them as they are. For the better part of my high school years, I was very much into Italian culture and I tried to learn as much about Italy as I could, although I did not get the chance to actually go there. In the first few years of college, I became interested in Spain and Latin America. Eventually, I hope to travel to as many different countries as I possibly can. My own personal diversity is very mixed. I am very much an American mutt. The majority of my heritage is Irish (I'm a quarter.) I also have Scottish, Austrian, Norwegian, Mexican and Native American heritage. Of all of these different backgrounds, the only ones that I feel tied to are Irish, Scottish and Austrian. These were the only ones that I learned anything about from my family when I was growing up. But I like to think of myself as a physical representation of America as a melting pot.

I believe that teaching diversity as a subject in itself is a very important idea. Since the world today is blending and mixing in ways that have never happened before, it is crucial that we adjust our ways of thinking to match the changes. Students in today's classrooms need to be culturally aware of the differences in the world and they need to be taught these differences in a positive way so that they can appreciate the beauty in diversity. We are all different and that is a good thing. The world would be very boring if we were all exactly the same. Seeing as how I live in house with three school age boys, I feel that it would be appropriate to use an example from one of their favorite television shows: Fairly Oddparents. There is an episode of this show where the main character, Timmy, wishes that everyone in the world was exactly the same because a mean dentist from down the street made him feel bad about his really big teeth. Since he has fairy godparents, his wish came true. All of the people in the world became big, grey blobs that looked exactly the same. Even though everyone looked the same, the mean dentist down the street still made fun of Timmy for not being "grey enough" or "blobby enough". This show demonstrates that even when there are no differences at all, people will still find ways to make themselves seem better than others. I think that letting kids watch this episode in class could help them to appreciate the differences that people have instead of making fun. Teaching diversity is very important in classrooms because students need to be able to value the person next to them for who they are, not by what makes them different.

Teaching diverse students seems like it would be fun. I would enjoy learning about all of their different cultures or backgrounds and figuring out solutions to any problems that they may have adapting to our ways and culture. Anytime that a person is given the opportunity to grow and develop is a good day in my book. Teaching diverse students would give me and the student that opportunity. Of course, there would be difficulties that come up along the way but meeting challenges like that is all a part of being a teacher. This is what we are here for, to help students in their quest for knowledge. Not only would I benefit from having a diverse classroom, the students and parents would as well because they are also given the chance to broaden their understanding of the world.