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Diversity in The Schools

Alyssa Walker

College of Western Idaho

Bevin Etheridge

EDUC 220

Fall 2018
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Statement of Informed beliefs

Can you imagine your children spending 6,000 hours a year with a different adult? Well,

in America's education system, that is how much time our children spend with their educators.

Teachers are a major part of children's socialization. Parents rely on teachers to teach their

children how to read, write, do arithmetic, spelling, and much more. Teachers are responsible for

ensuring that all children are learning and growing in their classrooms. In my paper I express

how important it is to give each child the same opportunities to learn and grow in a positive and

loving environment.

All Students Can Learn

All children learn at different rates and paces. It is our job as teachers to adjust our

classrooms and teaching styles to best suit all our students. I believe that all children have the

ability to learn in the right environment and with the right help. As teachers we must not only

look at the student's cognitive abilities, but also their lives at home. Their living conditions play a

major role in their ability to do well in school. In order to suit my student's needs, I think it is

very important to get to know their families and keep them involved. I will ensure my students

are able to learn and focus at school by making sure they have food to eat, places to sleep, and

loving homes. If these are not provided, I will do my best to tend to these needs. I believe as a

teacher my responsibility is to make sure that all of my students have equal opportunities. In

Bronfenbrenner's bioecology model he believes that children have four basic structures:

microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems, and macrosystems. He believes these structures

influence the child's development. As a teacher I would fit into my student's microsystem. By
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communicating with my student’s family, I would then create an exosystem, helping socialize

my students.

I think an important part of ensuring my students will learn is figuring out what they

already know. I want to make sure none of my students feel lost in my class. I hope to always

make them feel that it is okay to ask questions when they do not get a concept right away. I will

ensure they are learning through basic quizzes at the end of concepts. Students that have not

mastered the concepts will get one-on-one help to help them. This will ensure that none of my

students fall behind. I will also make sure to give all my student's positive feedback daily. A big

part of leading my classroom is making sure everyone is involved. I think the students who are

behind in education are usually the ones who space off and talk to their classmates. This will

help me manage my classroom. I will also manage my classroom by having incentives for

children who follow the rules and stay on task. I want to make sure to notice those who are

falling behind and encourage them to sit up front. I want to involve games, movement,

competition, and positive reinforcements into every day lessons. In order for all students to learn

in my classroom I will make sure to: give positive feedback, build relationships with my

students, and accommodate to their needs.

Teachers Expectation

The book Pygmalion in the Classroom, written by Rosenthal and Jacobson, is proof that

teachers influence children's learning ability. The book is based on a social experiment they

conducted in an elementary classroom. Rosenthal and Jacobson tested all the children in an

elementary school to try and identify “bloomers”. The list of bloomers they provided the teachers

with were not accurate but random students in the class. They then retested the students and saw

that the random “bloomers” had increased scores on the test (Berns, 2016, p. 344). This is one
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example that teacher’s expectations of their student can influence a student's learning ability.

After they got the results back and saw that some of their students were intellectual “bloomers”

they grew higher expectations for those students. In order for myself to combat pre existing

thoughts about students, I will go into my classroom with an open mind about each student. I

will not let their previous scores and previous actions project how I will view them.

In another social experiment, Brophy and colleagues show us another way teacher

expectations can influence a students learning ability. They stated that teachers are given

information about each of their students at the beginning of the year. This information can help

the future teachers understand their students better. Brophy and colleagues conclude that the

information they received influenced their expectations of their students. They believe that their

expectations cause the teacher to treat the child differently. I believe that teacher expectations

can be both beneficial and damaging. I think that in most cases expectations fuel students to

perform their best. In some instances, they can be damaging to their confidence.

Teachers and students are both responsible for students learning. Educational goals outline

what teachers expect students to accomplish during the year. There are three different types of

goal structures that can be implemented in the classroom: cooperative, competitive, and

individualistic. Cooperative goals help ensure students work together to reach the same goal.

Competitive goals create a competition between the students to reach a goal that not everyone is

capable of. The last goal is individualistic, and this goal implies to the individual student. These

are important because educational goals give the student a clear expectation of what is expected.

As an educator it is important to not let past stigmas influence future progress in students.

As a fresh new school year starts so should our views on individual students.

Students Social Ecology Theory

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Teacher’s responsibilities are to make sure their students are learning and thriving in the

classroom. In order to achieve this, teachers must figure out how to best suit their student's

needs. Social ecology is an important factor in creating a successful classroom. Looking into

your student's background can help get through to them. Connecting learning to student's

ecology can help them better understand and comprehend the material. Student’s families,

culture, and communities have a major impact on their social ecology.

Family is defined as two or more persons related by birth, marriage, adoption, or reside

together (Berns, 2016, p. 84). It is important to know the family structure of your students for

many reasons. Divorce rates are on the rise and are extremely stressful not only for the parents

but also the children. Divorces change the structure of the family. Because of this, it is important

to notice if one of your student's family is going through a divorce, this can affect the students'

performance in school as well as their attitudes. There are many different family types: common

marriage, single parent families, Joint custody, same sex parents, unmarried parents, and Kin

Custody. A reason it is important to know the family style of your students, is for example,

conducting parent teacher conferences. If a student is from a single parent home, you may have

to be much more flexible. If the child lives with his grandparents or aunt, that information is very

important when scheduling a conference. Not only are students family types important but also

social class socialization.

Social class socialization theory is made up of three different categories. This theory is

comparable to socioeconomics theory. There is material, human capital, and social capital.

Material or financial is the financial resources the parents can provide for their children. Human

capital is the advanced education that the parents have. This can greatly influence the help

children have at home for their school work. This also has a play on the school the parents enroll
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their students in. Lastly, social capital is the parents network. This can be their parents

occupational status and their links to social resources in the community. Social Class

Socialization Theory can explain how a child's socialization may be brought up. It explains the

child's financial resources, parents education, and network.

Changes in a student's family can be detrimental to a student's learning. For example, the

death of a loved one, loss of job, and remarriage can all affect a student’s learning. Even

stepfamilies change the shape of a family. This can be extremely stressful. Schools and courts

need to adjust to the new needs of the families. The loss of a job creates extreme stress on all

members of the family, including the children. This can affect the children's learning because

they may not be able to afford everything they need for school. The student might also attend

school without the proper nutrition they need. This can largely affect the students learning if they

are hungry in class. Communities can be extremely helpful in cases such as the loss of a job.

Communities provide education, child care, recreation, and safety. The community can be a

great tool to families and schools. Communities provide both informal support and formal

support. Communities have amazing programs for students and can take off some of their stress

from home. Schools provide free meals, hats and coats, a nurse, and many other amazing

services. It is important for teachers to know what resources their community has access to.

High-poverty communities can impact a student's learning. Teachers can recommend programs

such as; temporary Assistance for needy families, unemployment compensation, and child

nutrition services to the parents of children in their classrooms.

Culture can also impact students learning. Cultural pluralism is an understanding of

multiple cultures that coexist in society. Cultures have different languages, beliefs, and

communication styles. Schools must accommodate to the widespread of cultures in the school.
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Language barriers affect a child's ability to communicate and understand in the classroom. In

1974, congress passed the Equal Education Opportunity Act, this act required schools to take

“Appropriate Action” to help students overcome the language barrier (Berns 1016, Pg 213).

Verbal and nonverbal communication styles vary across different cultures. Teachers can

recognize this difference and help students better succeed in the classroom. Through the help of

students and programs culture can positively impact children's learning.

Religion is a major factor in a child’s culture. Religion shapes families values, behaviors,

traditions, and rituals. Religion can play a part in the classroom for example, in the national

anthem. Religion is important because it provides Divine Ideology, Coping Mechanisms, A

concept of Death, and an Establishment of Identity. This can apply to almost all religions. It is

important to understand a student's culture to better understand the student.

Children’s social ecology can play a major factor in their success in the classroom. It is

important for teachers to build a relationship with students to uncover problems that may be

occuring in their home life. Problems at home can affect students capabilities in class.

Communities have great resources for schools to use if needed.

Cultural Diversity Instructed

I believe building relationships with all students is an important factor in providing an

equal education. Getting to know your students can reveal more than just their strengths and

weaknesses. It can give you insights into their histories and backgrounds. I want all my students

to know my classroom is a safe place full of love and acceptance. I will incorporate their heritage

into simple lessons to educate their fellow students about them and other cultures in the United

States. Schools are filled with diversity and I think diversity is a major factor in children's

socialization. The American flag hangs in every classroom, but I want to incorporate the flags of
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all my students' countries in my classroom. I want to show that where they came from is a tribute

to who they are becoming.

In schools students of multiple cultures and ethnicities blend together to form a cooperative

classroom. They interact as partners and peers coexisting in a functioning setting. Because

America is diverse I think it is extremely important to educate our students on the other cultures

that are in our classrooms. Having students present their culture to their classmates can be a

wonderful way to educate students about other cultures and give diverse students a way to share

their back ground with their classmates. I will do this in my class room at the beginning of the

year by having the students present a project on themselves. They will share about their family,

culture, and what makes them themselves.

Cultural pluralism is the makeup of diverse classrooms all over the United States. In order

for cultural pluralism to work different cultures need to exist and work side-by-side. This

happens everyday in work environments. Different cultures work under the same roof working

for the same goal. Diversity helps our nation grow and become unique, helping America

continue to be the “melting pot” of the world. The United States welcomes all religions,

ethnicities, and races with open arms. Minority students take on major roles in education. If

minority students are to be successful in education, they must learn and succeed in a second

language. They must learn reading, science, math, and history in all new environment. Cultural

assimilation is the opposite of cultural pluralism. Cultural pluralism is when cultures coexist and

work side-by-side whereas cultural assimilation is when cultures blend together and they lose

site of themselves. I think it is important that cultural assimilation never happens in my class

room.
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In order for cultural assimilation to not happen, children need to take pride in their own

culture. It can be easy for children to forget about their backgrounds when all we focus on is

America. I want to make sure students know of all the cultures in the United States. America is

the melting pot and diversity is an extremely important part of our nation. Teachers can combat

cultural assimilation by educated students about their fellow students ethnicities.

Curriculum for all students

All children come from unique and diverse backgrounds. Children have different lifestyles,

religions, and cultures. Not only are students raised different, but they also have different

learning styles. Excellent teachers can adapt their curriculum to fit their student’s learning needs.

Some students flourish by learning visually or auditorily, while others prefer linguistic or

kinesthetic. As a teacher I will teach the lessons in the best way to fit my student's learning style.

If this means for some lessons I need to adapt multiple learning styles into my lesson, I will.

Teachers assess their students in many ways, the most popular is authentic assessment and

standardized tests. Authentic assessment can be assessed through student debates, character

analysis, or student self assessment. These tests assess reading and writing in the real world.

These tests show teachers where their students are lacking in certain areas. The data from these

tests are used to help teachers with planning and delivering their lessons to the students.

Identifying weak areas among students helps project future progress among the class. I will

assess my students by having weekly quizzes on the areas we are learning. This will help me

plan future lessons by seeing what my students are still struggling with or have mastered. I will

also closely monitor group work to make sure my students are succeeding in their groups. In

order to make sure they are flourishing I regularly assign groups to make sure my students are

participating and capable of working with their groups.

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Another way I will incorporate success in my classroom is by having students take

responsibility for their learning. I will do this by having students set their own personal goals. I

believe having them set their own goals is vital for them to achieve in a class room and enhance

their own learning. I will ensure my students progress in my classroom by helping them achieve

the goals they set for themselves and the learning goals of our classroom. I will check on their

progress by having bi weekly meetings with each of my students to strengthen communication

and ensure they are progressing in my class.

School is a huge factor in children's socialization. Not only do children learn reading, math,

science, and history but they also learn how to function in a stable environment. They learn how

to communicate with their peers and build relationships with friends. Children spend about 6,000

hours a year in school. As educators, we need to make sure during this time they not only learn

the curriculum, they also learn how to function in society. It is important that all classrooms give

children equal learning experiences in a safe and stable environment.

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References

Berns, R. M. (2016). Child, family, school, community: Socialization and support (10th

ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

“You Earned a Ticket!” 4.3 School Hours: Is There Enough Time To Learn? | ED100,

2018, ed100.org/lessons/schoolhours.