A DISPOSITION FOR DIVERSITY 1

A Disposition for Diversity: Teaching in the 21st Century

Hannah R. Garza

Wesleyan College
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Diversity is the state of being diverse. Similar to the definition of diversity, it is a variety of

things. Some people may believe it is just about race and ethic groups, but there are many other

factors beside race that is involved with diversity. Diversity includes race, religion, sexual

orientation, disabilities, socioeconomic group, culture, and many other aspects. No one person is

the same and that is why all teachers must educate themselves on each and every factor of

diversity.

Racial Diversity in schools in the United States is the representation of different racial or

ethic groups in American schools. As far in advance as America is in education, I feel that we

lack the education of diversity. Everyday you can turn on the news you will see crimes that

involve different races pointing out who is at fault by their race. Although we are all different

races, we all need to be taught in schools that we may not all look the same but we are all the

same in the inside. Children should not have to grow up thinking that they are better are least

important because of their race. Many people may deny that it happens but I grew in a school

where white grew up successful and other races get what is left behind to for them.

Racial segregation in schools still exists today. Segregation was more common and

places, buses, water fountains, and schools were separated by whites and colored people. In

1896, a 30-year-old colored man, Homer Plessy, refused to sit in a Jim Crow Car. He felt

segregation on the railroad violated his separate but equal rights. The Supreme Court did not

believe his rights were violated but it did soon inspire a court case that will change the history of

education. Brown versus The Board of Education is known as one of the best Supreme Court

decisions of the twentieth century. The fourteenth amendment states, No state shall make or

enforce any law which shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the

law. In the court case Brown was upset about the children being segregated in schools by their
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race and decided to fight that their 14th amendment right was being violated. Although it did not

fully desegregate schools, it made the constitution more racial equality. Brown versus the Board

of Education also started civil rights groups.

Civil rights groups support all aspects of diversity. They will defend you against

discrimination of gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic standing, sexual orientation, and

disabilities. Each student is an individual. No student is the exact same, therefore each teacher

should accommodate to each student. Our goal as teachers is to protect and help the student

succeed in life whether that means just teaching them, or someday saving their lives. The

children in the classroom may change from year to year because of different learning styles.

Thomas Armstrong quoted in his book 7 kinds of smart, You may be a math genius, a decent

athlete, a good reader, poor visualizer, a party animal, and a musical klutz all wrapped up in

one magnificently unique package(7). Although there are many types of intelligences, I am

going to explain the seven most common ones. Visual learners retain knowledge better using

pictures, images, and special understanding. Auditory-musical learners retain knowledge better

by using sound and music. These learners will probably learn best listening to School House

Rock and memorize the songs to retain the knowledge being taught. Linguistic learners learn

best by words, speech, and writing. These learners will retain more knowledge by lectures and

papers. Kinesthetic learners retain knowledge best by using body, hands, and the sense of touch

to learn. Mathematical learners use logic, reasoning, and systems to retain information being

taught. Interpersonal learns best working in groups and with other people while intrapersonal

learns work best alone and study by themselves. Teaching is about accommodating to your

students to give them the best learning experience you have available for them as their teacher.
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Accommodating to students does not just know what their disability is and do whatever

accommodation you have for them. Teachers should research and find ways to get on a personal

level with their student and fully understand the disability and figure out how you would want to

be accommodated with that disability. Physical disabilities include the inability to use your arms,

legs, or torso because of paralysis or other impairments. Cognitive disabilities are separated into

three sections. Functional disability includes difficulties with memory, problem solving,

attention, reading, linguistic and visual comprehension, math comprehension, and visual

comprehension. Clinical disability includes Autism, Down syndrome, traumatic brain injury,

ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia. Affective disorder includes mental illnesses like

depression, bipolar, and anxiety disorders. The Americans with Disabilities Act protects

American from being discriminated against because of their disabilities. All schools must

provide accommodations for students whether it is a handicap ramp, wheelchair, or interpreter.

The people with disabilities show extreme courage and can be independent but there are some

who may be dependent with everything thing they do. Conditions can change from day-to-day so

every teacher should prepare for the worst although it may never happen. No teacher should ever

be unprepared for anything that may happen inside his or her classroom. Most disabilities come

with barriers whether it is social or physical. Teachers are required to provide the

accommodations to break down those barriers and educate the children in the best way possible.

Language, ethnicity, and culture are all a part of diversity. Language is the ability to

communicate. Language is a very complex system. They all have their own sentence structure

that identifies and values their language. There are seven billion people on this earth and 6,000-

7,000 different languages. The United States primary languages are English and Spanish. I feel

that every teacher should at least be fluent in those two languages. There has been a Hispanic
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boom in the recent years and it is expected to out grown the majority of the white and African

American population. Not only should teacher learn Spanish they should educate themselves on

the culture of their as well. Culture is a group of people who share common experiences that

shape the way they understand the world. Cultures vary from the place you are from, disability

you may have the sexual orientation you are affiliated with, or the life style you may live.

Ethnicity is a group of people who connect with each other based on common ancestral, social,

cultural, or national experience. Ethnicity is broken down into sections on what they are based

on. Ethno racial is shared physical appearance based on genetic origins. Ethno religious is based

on the affiliation with a particular religion. Ethno linguistic is a shared language. Ethno national

is a shared policy. Ethno regional is a distinct local sense of belonging stemming from

geographic isolation.

The fights for equal rights in homosexuals have exploded that past few years. Many

people were not supporting to them, which started to make people educate themselves about

LBGTQIA. LBGTQIA stands for Lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, questioning, intersex, and

asexual. The civil rights groups have been working with them so they are not discriminated

against. Some people are so uneducated and hateful towards them. There was a teacher that came

out to his classroom and told them he was homosexual and afterwards he was fired from the

school. The principal of the school said that they do not need a reason to fire someone and they

can just dismiss them. I felt it was cruel and for all the students he may have inspired to be

themselves were just shot down because we live in a world where no one is equal of each other.

Another booming issue in diversity is the socioeconomic rank within the students. I am

from Peach County and in the district Byron and Fort Valley/Perry separate the district. In Byron

they would say they are better off financially and predominately white, while in Fort Valley/
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Perry is low income and predominately Black and Hispanic. It became an issue and the Board of

Education was starting to see the separation. Although we were separated and then joined

together in high school, most of us did not get along our first year in high school. Byron seemed

to have better education than Fort Valley. The Board of Education decided to redistrict us so that

student in Fort Valley will either have school in Fort Valley or in Byron and Byron students will

go to Fort Valley to school. It was really great because we learned about the different cultures of

white, Hispanics, and blacks had to offer. When we went to high school now we were more of a

community and it was a better learning environment for everyone as well as the teachers.

As teachers we are supposed to set great examples to our students. We all should let all

students embrace who they really are and not who society wants them to be. No student should

be punished, left behind, or discriminated against because of where, who, or what they are from.

Every child is a learning experience because no child is the same. We must accommodate to their

religion, culture, disabilities, and learning styles. Teachers should be there for the students and

their education not for the paycheck.

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Citations:

Cognitive. (2013, August). http://webaim.org/articles/cognitive/

Ellis, M. E. (2013, May). Affective Disorders (Mood Disorders).

http://www.healthline.com/health/affective-disorders#Overview1

European Day of Language. (2014, September).

http://edl.ecml.at/Home/Thecelebrationoflinguisticdiversity/tabid/2972/language/en-

GB/Default.aspx

Foner, E. (1991, February). Plessy V. Ferguson. http://www.history.com/topics/black-

history/plessy-v-ferguson

Physical Disabilities. (2012, March). https://www.lds.org/topics/disability/list/physical-

disability?lang=eng

Smith, N. (2014) Socioeconomic Diversity in Schools.

http://education.seattlepi.com/socioeconomic-diversity-schools-2208.html

Webb, L. D. (2010). Foundations of American Education. Columbus, OH: Kevin M. Davis.