A lot of accommodating diversities in the classroom involves the teacher getting to know their students. Once a teacher is able to get to know the students, than they can become more aware of the students’ situations. Many of them may not even be too open about their own situations to avoid being made fun of. I think that by knowing your students will help in aiding the classroom to be a comfortable place for everyone.
Students may not be very open about their own particular diversity, so teachers do need to be aware of things that may offend someone. One way to support language-minority students would be to learn a different language. Spanish is a very common language that is spoken in our schools today. Not only would learning the language be extremely helpful in teaching the children, it will also help in connecting to the students. I do not speak much Spanish, and I was helping two young boys with some assignments, and they decided to start talking to each other in Spanish. I was extremely frustrated because I had no idea what they were saying, and it would have been extremely helpful to know the language to keep the students on task. Even if a teacher weren’t able to learn the language in a classroom setting, it could be taking some time from the curriculum and having the students teach the teacher some of their language… Talk about making connections with the students!
Helping students that are different ethnicities or religions in a language arts class could involve the students to do research on the different ethnicities or religions of the community. The students who are experts in each different subject could speak to the class to make everyone, including the teacher, become more aware of the ethnicity or religion. In Education 290 we read this article (and I forgot what it is called) but it was about a student who came to the US from Africa, and he found that his only friend he made here was one that got him into trouble. Only after the teacher took the time to listen to his stories about where he came from, and his mother came to talk about their hometown, did the whole class get a picture of who this child is, and he instantly became more comfortable! Accommodating students would be to learn about them and could easily be done while researching and writing (or doing a project) on the information they find!
With the economy the way it is, I think that many students are going through socio-economic disparity. Although students may be somewhat embarrassed of their own situation, they may not know how many others are going through the same sort of thing. Teaching the class about the economy and letting them know about the statistics of unemployment, people losing their homes, etc, may aid them to be more comfortable with speaking about their own situation.
Sexual orientation is generally something that many students would keep private. There is a fear of being made fun of. I think that just letting your students know that you are an open-minded person and that you are accepting of everyone, will make them feel more comfortable in your classroom. I don’t think that teachers need to have their students necessarily come and tell them their own sexual orientation, but just to let them know that you are there for them, and encourage them to be themselves. Students that are at-risk will also need someone that is there for them. These students may have no one to turn to, and it is important that teachers be open and ready for their students to come to them with problems. Teachers should also, in turn, be open with their students. Let them know about their own lives. Follow a positive lifestyle, and show students how to make good choices while be true to yourself!
-Korri M. Kraemer
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