A look at Diversity

One of my recent MA assignments asked me to look at diversity. As part of the assignment, I had to be self reflective about my own diversity and then the diversities that make up my current school. Below is what I found:


Being an educator, we wear many hats: teacher, nurse, counselor, assessor, sometimes even parent, in all of the roles we play there is one thing that stays constant, the need to understand where our student come from. Students’ cultural backgrounds, learning styles, and home life definitely effect how they learn, how they interact with others, and how they approach different challenges. “The concept of diversity presents both extraordinary promise and daunting challenges for education employees” (NEA, n.d). The diversities in our rooms enrich it with different strengths and perspectives, but it also brings social and academic challenges. As an educator, being aware of what makes our students different, will better equip us to make sure they are successful within the educational setting.

Part I: Diversity Self Knowledge

Diversity is what makes us unique. It’s the puzzle pieces that when put together create us. Each piece holding a different characteristic – our race, our heritage, our learning style, our personal strengths and weaknesses, our experiences – both positive and negative, our upbringing, our religion, language, gender, etc. As an elementary teacher, perhaps it isn’t surprising that when I think about diversity I think of Pixar’s 2015 film Inside Out. A story that takes place in the mind of child – showing how her experiences and emotions affect her personal relationships and how she deals with complications and change. In the movie, Riley’s memories are stored in colored orbs. These orbs make me think of the puzzle pieces that make up us. When you think about the millions of things that essentially produce who we are – it is almost overwhelming to imagine having 20 – 25 different students in front of you each with their unique puzzles to help construct. But, this is, in essence, what education is about - helping to put all the pieces together to assist in producing the most successful versions of our students.

            When thinking about how I am diverse, I can’t help but think about the poem by George Ella Lyon (1999), Where I’m From. Where am I from? I am from steel mills, church festivals, and annual family garage sales.  I am from a traditional neighborhood complete with block parties and bike parades. I am from Italian Christmas Eves of seven fishes and Polish New Year’s Days of sauerkraut and pork. I am from Lenten nights of reciting the Stations of the Cross and Christmas Day masses often held in our own living room. I am from a family of singers who cannot carry a tune but sing anyway. I am from “miles and miles of beautiful smiles” up and down the New Jersey boardwalk, Carolina moons, and Florida fishing trips. I am from “call me when you get there” and “Buenos noches”. I am from a broken home, that isn’t broken at all, from a single working mother, who taught me what it means how to work hard and sacrifice and a father, a professional clown, who taught me how to let loose and laugh. I am from a sibling rivalry and knock down drag out fights with a sister who has always been my best friend. I am from 4H ribbons, YMCA Indian Princess camp outs, and evenings at the Playhouse. I am from too many warnings to stop talking and not waiting my turn. I am from leading groups to successful endings. I am from so many places, people, and events.

Where I am from is what makes me unique. It is what has led me to believe the things I do and pursue the paths I have. It is what has made me a leader and a teacher, an explorer and challenger. It is also what has made me sometimes too trustworthy and easily persuaded. It has made me appreciate language and choose to learn through collaboration and experiences.

As an educator, I reflect on my diversities – the strengths is gives me in the classroom, but also the challenges it presents to me. While my love for language and the arts creates a classroom that celebrates those things, it also steers me away from embracing all the intricacies of math and sciences. I’m a social learner, so it is easy for me to stray towards more collaborative projects for my students rather than a lot of independent work. I also was blessed with a childhood that was rich with experiences, that at times I may forget that many of my students haven’t had those same experiences. Some may have never left their hometown and do not have schema for beaches and boardwalks. It is easy to bring our experiences into the classroom, what is challenging is remember that our students’ experiences are very different and will at times contradict ours, and that needs to be considered when planning for how we construct their learning experiences. Not appreciating students’ diversities can lead to students’ feeling as though they don’t belong. This can lead to “decreased participation, feelings of inadequacy, and other distractions” (Yale Center for Teaching and Learning, 1970).

Part II: Personal SWOT Analysis

Strengths -          Understanding of Multiple Intelligences -          Integration of different learning styles and modes of representation in lessons and assignments -          Appreciation and tolerance of student diversities	Weaknesses -          Understanding how to support different diversities, especially language learners and specific learning disabilities
Opportunities -          Learn more about different cultures through connections with families	Threats -          Misunderstanding and closed mindedness of both myself and other students that could lead to discrimination and/or bullying

 Part III: Demographic Diversity Profile

Total Student Population	604
Gender:	Male:  51%				Female: 49%
Race/Ethnicity	African American: 3.5%	Hispanic: 11%		White: 84.6%		Asian: .45%		Other: 0.45%
Socioeconomic Status	Free/Reduced Lunch: 29%
Language	English: 88.9%		Spanish: 10.1%				Other: 1%
Ability	Regular Education: 86.3 %		Special Education: 9%				Gifted/Talented Education: 4.7%

When considering the diversities represented at Perry Elementary school, educators and school leaders need to give specific consideration to three particular subgroups: gender, socioeconomic status, and language learners. The data shows that those are our largest subgroups from the 604 students currently enrolled. These subgroups have impacted our decision making when it comes to curriculum, teaching methods, and supplemental before and after school programming. Our community outreach is also tailored to support our Hispanic and low income families.

            Catherine Pulsifer said, “We are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity life would be very boring.” I couldn’t agree more, the diversities within our classroom makes for a beautiful tapestry of strengths in which we can all benefit from. These diversities should and need to be celebrated. Not only should we look for and appreciate the diversities of others, but we also need to look inward to find what it is that makes us unique and reflect on how that influences our daily lives, both the strengths and the weaknesses that come from it. This is even truer of those of us in education, who are blessed with the opportunity to add to the puzzle pieces that make up our students.

References

Docter, P. (Director). (2015). Inside Out [Motion picture on DVD]. United States: Walt Disney Pictures Pixar Animation Studios.

Lyon, G. E. (1999). Where I'm From . Spring, TX: Absey & Company.

NEA. (n.d.). Diversity Toolkit Introduction. Retrieved February 20, 2017, from http://www.nea.org/tools/diversity-toolkit-introduction.html

Yale Center for Teaching and Learning. (1970, January 05). Diversity in the Classroom. Retrieved February 25, 2017, from http://ctl.yale.edu/teaching/ideas-teaching/diversity-classroom