Chapter 3: Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities

Classrooms are changing because students are becoming more diverse. There
are four forms of diversity in todays schools: culture, language, gender, and
exceptionalities. Music, language, and religion are all part of culture. Eating is a way to
show culture. Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans have the
majority of the minority. Teachers need to motivate and encourage students who are not
the normal students. Teachers also need to make positive relationships with their
students. Asian american students typically score higher on tests than any other racial
group. People assume that it is from strict parents who teach the value of getting an
education. This is a very stereotypical way of thinking and is dangerous to society and to
the heath of the asian american students because what happens when an asian
american student is not good in school and yet they are told that they are supposed to
be the best in school. What long term affects can stay with this child because of this
stereotype?

Diversity: Culturally Responsive Teaching

Culturally responsive teaching is instruction that acknowledges and capitalizes on

cultural diversity. Ways to do this are accepting and valuing cultural differences,
accommodating different patterns of cultural interaction, and building on students
cultural backgrounds. Genuine caring is a way to make students feel welcome and
comfortable in the classroom.

Technology and Teaching: Technology Access Issues

Many students do not have access to technology. There are not enough
computers in schools to help teachers use technology in the classroom. Communication
from school and home is very difficult for many teachers in high poverty schools.

Language Diversity

I am in a classroom right now where there are three students who are learning to
speak english. One of them is from Kenya, another is from China, and the other from
Mexico. Most of the students in my class speak Spanish. Sometimes we have to use
google translate to get what we are trying to say across to these students. Bilingual
maintenance language programs place an emphasis on the children keeping their native
language while also speaking English.

Gender

It is important to encourage boys and girls the same to work hard and do well in
school. You should be equally as attentive to both of the girls and boys in your class
because they both struggle in different and similar ways. Single sex classrooms are part
of the problem to gender related learning problems. Encourage equal participation in all
classes.
Overall teachers should be loving and kind to all of their students. They should be
encouraging and understanding of childrens needs because they do not know
everything that the child is going through. Teachers need to understand that stereotypes
can seriously harm a student and to not treat a student differently based on what their
race is. Children who come from poverty backgrounds are not going to have the same
technology as children who come from money.