Teachers
that strive to treat all of their students fairly regardless of race or gender
often call themselves “colorblind.” I feel like I am the exact opposite even
though I still strive to treat everyone fairly. I see all of the “colors”, I
love all of the diversity, and embrace students for the individuals that they
are. As teachers, we want to make sure that everyone gets the same equal
opportunity, and those that label themselves colorblind often take pride in
this ideal. I feel there can be a danger, however, in not recognizing the
cultural differences that students bring with them into the classroom.
Sometimes the idea of treating everyone fairly assumes that everyone has had
the same fair chance at life up until they walk into your classroom. We know
that isn’t true though, and that each of our students brings a unique
background story with them. To ignore the diversity of students in your
classroom in favor of ensuring everyone receives the same instruction can be
limiting for students.
When a
teacher does not recognize the diversity within student learning and instead
favors an approach they see as fair because the expectations are equal for all
students, they often fail at reaching all of their students. This is largely
because there are so many learning styles, and as we learned in chapter one of
Noel’s book, culture can have a tremendous impact on a student’s learning
style. If a teacher decides to ignore a student’s cultural or ethnic
background, they could be missing out on the key elements that can help an EL
student bridge the gap to success. On a grand scale, this can lead to the
disenfranchising of minority students and EL students because it marginalizes
their culture and can make them feel that their culture—what they have known
all of their life—is inferior to another. The attitude of colorblindness can
also lead to ignoring the strengths that students from other cultures bring
with them into the classroom.
Millions of African American and Latino young people in the United States don’t get an education equal to that of most whites, partly because the urban schools don’t have as much money as the schools in the upper suburb neighborhood. This is because the country has decided that much of the money for schools should come from local property taxes. So in communities where the houses and businesses are less expensive, the schools don’t get enough money to provide a high quality education. Is this institutional racism? Can we finance schools differently so that every student, regardless of his or her "race", could go to a high quality school?
ReplyDeleteAnother point to consider is that they are still severe cases of segregated in America's school systems. I recently read an article where a class of 1973 invited “White Graduates Only” to a high school reunion after party in Louisiana. The class graduated in 1973 and the reunion is in 2012 (reunion-letter-lists-white-graduates-only-party/). I found that unbelievable.
Finally, Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act to support education for all students, all race, but poor and minority children (mostly in African American and Latinos areas) are still getting left behind. The law has not helped to improve all of our public schools, nor has it given fair opportunities to all students just yet. This is where teachers have to step in. It is important for teachers to do everything possible to prevent racism in their classrooms. It is the duty (I think)of teachers to attempt to eliminate racism by using preventative strategies in the classroom. For example, I often use group work to help students’ expose individual attitudes, ideas, experiences, and beliefs that are used to achieve a common goal. I think this strategy also opens the lines of communication between different group members despite race, sex, age or religion.
I'd like to talk with everyone in our cohort about No Child Left Behind and how it affects or has affected our students. Eric, I agree with you about loving the diversity! I don't see myself teaching in any other environment. Do you think we have students who feel that their culture is inferior?
ReplyDeleteIt is important that we realize that when working in a diversified school setting that teachers diversify their teaching approaches in reaching all students. One way, is not everyone's way of learning. As you mentioned there are numerous learning styles and to be a successful teacher you need to tier your lessons for all learning levels and use scaffolding when instructing. Having student’s analyze and come up with their own conclusions on how to solve a problem is more effective than a teacher showing them the procedure and having them memorize it. Studies have shown that material retention is higher when students come up with solutions on their own.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you about teaching in a diverse classroom. I think that at times we do limit their learning styles by how we teach. However I have seen ELL learners make great strides in the classroom and they are surpassing their American born classmates. Most of the valedictorans in Gwinnett County represent a different culture background.
ReplyDelete