TEACHING DIVERSITY IN U.S. SCHOOLS
When society and the economy are struggling which it is most of the time teacher and student morale go right out the window. Teachers need to look beyond the problematic to the needs of the students through appropriate approaches.
Communication is basic to success. We need to keep students involved. We need to talk honestly with students. This allows for participation from students and communicates that both teachers and students have something to offer. It opens the possibility for students to participate in sharing ideas and being more creative. We are then asking students to do more and explaining the situation to them that makes it understandable.
 |
 your view
After reading this
article, please let us know what you think. We'll post the most
interesting comments.
send your RESPONSE
|
Communication needs to be two-way. We need to give students time and space to verbalize their concerns and needs. Teachers not only teach, but also act as peers in the communication practice, thus developing personal skills and cultivating team spirits among students who will make a positive impact in their life and livelihood. Students with adequate two-way communication training in the formative years will make a total difference in their lives because the skills acquired from the school become a habit. A good habit will always yield the best result.
It is especially important for teachers to be visible and approachable. Teachers need to treat students with respect and show concerns for their personal and academic well-being
.
Teachers need to provide direction. But a teacher cannot do everything. A teacher allows for participation in the classroom. In this way it communicates that we are all in this together. This is basic in developing the student𠏋 ability in independent thinking, in judgment and decision making as well as leadership.
It is imperative for teachers to identify every progress students make and timely encourage students for their performance and behaviors in class. No one wants to come to school to feel like a failure. One way to keep spirits up is to celebrate progress along the way rather than waiting for the completion of tasks. This must be something that is very real and very significant in the dictionary of every teacher from kindergarten to graduate school.
Recognition of individual achievements can expand appreciation of school itself not only for the individual but also for the whole class. Students need acknowledgement. In times when society and the economy are struggling students need it more than ever. Every effort a teacher makes today can reduce an element of potential danger or threat to this society tomorrow. This is a self-evident truth exemplified by countless court cases.
Nothing brings students forward more than having teachers speak with them as valued human beings. Teachers need to make everyday connections with students. Treat them as your close friends and members of this big Family. This is an effective way in teaching students in the sense of harmonic wholeness and is an active contributor to this society. Students need to learn to pay much more attention to the needs of society, rather than to the needs of an individual. They need to appreciate the values of life, but also need to practice self-discipline and social responsibility that stabilize the society we are living in, especially when a country is in a critical moment of economic downturn and international standstill. All these need to be accomplished through appropriate motivation by teachers by adopting right approaches.
Motivation is contagious. So is dismal doom. Even self-motivated students in the classroom can wither away and perish in a demoralizing classroom when not acknowledged as valued human beings and shared by the whole class. When teachers are authentic students are aware of it. Students also know if a teacher speaks with tongue on cheek. Nevertheless, it is true that it will take time to recognize each student𠏋 individual abilities and talents and to help each of them develop their specific path of growth.
Teachers that treat students with respect and show concern for their personal and academic well-being are most likely to be the most successful and have the most fun. A good teacher understands that relationship-building; education and creative thinking are basic to getting students to try out new skills and to further their development. Helping students communicates to them that you care.
Teachers need to ask open-ended questions and not rush in with concluding remarks answering questions during student interaction. This communicates care. The students will remember what is taught in school, especially in the formative years. The wrong perception acquired from their teachers will have negative impact in student𠏋 life wherever they go, even bring harm to their community and the society at large. An elementary student in an Asian country was once told,You must know to cherish this opportunity to learn in school. In America, black kids had no opportunity to go to school. The student asked: why?
This was inappropriate and wrong for the teacher to do. When she meant to ask the student to be thankful for the opportunity to go to school,the teacher unintentionally planted hatred or discrimination seeds in the minds of the student. When this student grows up and immigrates to America, she might become a boss in private firm or in the government and she might violate the federal anti-discrimination law by refusing to hire or refusing to promote African Americans. In Asian culture, the students respect their teachers and accept whatever the teacher teaches them. In such case, a bad teacher is worse than no teacher at all. In the Chinese proverb, wu ren zi di, meaning to poison students.
Dialogue should be consistently maintained among students within the educational context so that they can come to understand how their attitudes affect others so that they can come to act in helping all who are oppressed. In this way we need to realize at the farthest horizon the world is our classroom.
In American society today, teaching cultural diversity in the school is a challenge as well as a reward. It just depends on what edge you place your sword. That is why cultural diversity is a required course for all teachers from kindergarten to graduate school. Unfortuntely, diversity is still only a lip service in some schools and workplaces.
(2002)( co-author with Dr. James W. Kidd)
