Diversity in the Classroom

I always try to be a well rounded person, taking care of myself intellectually, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  By doing so, I hope to be prepared and capable of handling a multitude of situations, regardless of the circumstances.  As a result of having such an expansive sense of identity, in my mind diversity is so much more than a concept.  Evolving past the point of just wearing a piece of clothing, or playing a song, how about making sure that you excuse the absence and extend the deadlines for the Islamic kid, who just missed a this past Friday in observance of Eid, wishing her a wonderful and blessed holy day.  Diversity is not about temporary presentations; diversity is all about perpetual respect.   

You could compose mathematics word problems, stories, and scenarios with different names, circumstances, events, foods, types of music, etc.  Even a mention makes a difference.  A concrete example, I have a word problem below about a runner, I could easily inject a sentence into this problem saying he switches his mp3 player from Duod’s Chase, to Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings to help him relax, but this is not enough.

Get into a small group, 3 people max.
1.) Organize information by what it measures
2.) Make sure all the units match up.
3.) Draw a diagram and label it.
4.) Find or create a formula that uses the info you have.
5.) Work it out.
A runner is on an outdoor course. Going through a forest. He has been running at a constant rate of 8 mph for 15 min, so far. He is tired. When he trains, he closes his eyes from time to time to calm himself down and relax. He wants to try this today during the long race. There is a stream 75 ft ahead of him. He is going to close his eyes until he gets to the stream. When he closes his eyes, he slows his pace to 85% of his normal speed. How long should he close his eyes? How long is the race distance-wise, if he has one more mile to the finish after the 4ft wide stream and resumes the 8 mph pace? What was his final time?

EXTRA CREDIT! What if I then said that he had his eyes closed 3% of the entire race? How does that change things?

The true goal of diversity, in my opinion, and the true root of the demand for diversity is for every teacher to possess a genuine curiosity and desire to be a true citizen of humanity and sincerely know the students who depend on them.  In doing so, you become a better teacher and secure the vital bond between mentor and apprentice, which in turn secures their confidence in you as a leader and ensures their desire to appease and perform to the standards you set.  You become someone they respect and look up to.  And from their perspective move beyond some generic adult who teaches at me, to a caring mentor who teaches for me.  Think about that for a moment.  The concept of moving from teaching AT me, to teaching FOR me.

Diversity is not just a box to check on an evaluation form or a legal/civil right.  The essence of diversity as a human, should compel us to understand and realize that diversity to a teacher, is a student's way of life, their passion, their daily ritual, their security blanket, their family, and their reason for living.  To lose sight of this, for the sake of trying to avoid getting dinged on an evaluation is tragic.  Just as one man’s trash is another man's treasure, one man’s diversity is another man’s soul essence.  

As indicated earlier, diversity must be accompanied by a perpetual desire to learn more about all things, because as classrooms become global communities, more and more will be expected of teachers in terms of diversity.  Knowledge breeds respect, and respect precedes learning.  I believe that the keys to diversity are the acceptance of the understanding that a learner’s reality is the key to garnering a relationship that will propel them to greater and greater academic achievements.  The second key is the acceptance of the responsibility that a teacher must always learn and grow as a learner of humanity and culture his/herself.   

“No man is an island’  And ‘Bubble Boy’ is not highly qualified or certified.  We ask students to expand their horizons, but you can only give what you first possess yourself, so we must always lead the way academically, but also philosophically, intellectually, and spiritually, because diversity is a function of all of these.  So, in closing, let us be role models in all ways intellectually, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  For in doing so, we will have prepared students capable of handling a multitude of situations, regardless of the circumstances, culture, region, ethnic group, sexual orientation, or creed.