Diversity is multifaceted in its meaning.  It can speak to various sub-components of a student such as demographics, learning style, culture, etc. When I think of diversity I think of myself. In my career at Wayne State University I watched myself go from being one of the few black women in my classes to the only black woman in my class. I watched professor after professor refer to me for the “black” perspective and I’ve been looked over for doing group projects because students of my origin aren’t known for their intellect and hard work. I am committed to diversity so that little black girls and black boys don’t grow up in the same world I did. I think being committed to learning style diversity allows for students to find which way they learn best so they can be successful in their education. Being committed to diversity in culture allows people to be empathetic and well-rounded so they don’t have to look to the “black” student or the “Hispanic” student for the minority perspective. I am committed to diversity to show students they have the potential to be more than a racial stereotype or a demographic statistic. It is important to share, relate, and explore diverse uniqueness to build tolerance and understanding.  I can also utilize these elements to cater to my students’ needs and strengths, create multifaceted lessons that gather the needs of all my students to meet a rigorous curriculum.

I learned the importance of diversity in education while attending a historically black university. The university was rich in African American culture however the university neglected to prepare its students for the world outside of it. The sole focus was on that of the African American culture and community but there are more people in the world than just African Americans. Realizing this at the young age of 19 I transferred to a more diverse university so that I could become culturally rich with knowledge of various cultures not just my own. One area in particular that I spent the most time improving was finding ways to address diversity in the classroom that didn’t just stop at teaching students what other students ate. I feel growing up diversity was Hispanics eat Spanish rice and empanadas, Italians eat pasta, and African Americans eat various parts of plants and animals that weren’t the most traditional and created a cuisine referred to as soul food. I feel that serving a diverse population can plant the seeds for change and growth which are two things I feel our country could benefit from. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders.

 

InTASC Standard 2:  Learning Differences. The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards. 

 

Description: For Intasc standard 2 I have two artifacts that fit the standard. They are both journals from my special education seminar course in which we were instructed to journal weekly about our student teaching experience. In Journal 4, I discucss my first encounter with the challenges of learning differences and diversity. In Journal 6 I discuss my progress in the way I tackle dealing with learner differences and diversity in the classroom. I feel both these journal not only reflect the standard but they reflect a real life struggle that many teachers even those with experience face. How does one deal with diversity in learners?

 

Artifact: Journal 4 and Journal 6

 

Reflection: For me diversity is like putting a car together or building a house. By themselves, each part can stand on its own and has purpose but together all the pieces make something better. A piece of wood becomes a home, a bumper becomes a city bus that can transport those without access to their own personal vehicle to places they would not otherwise be able to go. As individuals we are all great but together we can push each other, challenge our way of thinking, foster new ideas, and expand our breath of knowledge. This is what happens in a diverse classroom. As teachers, we are the engineers of diversity and having a healthy and safe classroom community is the same as building a safe house or a safe car. Although I feel we can always learn and grow from our success and our failures, I feel prepared to work with a diverse group of students and co-workers and create a harmonious symphony of idea sharing and knowledge building.