Dear Principal Phillips,

Diversity, its definition and the ways in which considering its varying definitions can

impact student learning has been a notion I’ve very much been challenged to redefine during my

course this summer. As it stood before this course, my definition of diversity included the

various identifying factors (race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) which made

each and every person unique. Upon doing a number of readings, engaging in discussions and

partaking in a great deal of reflection, my idea of diversity has expanded to also include diversity

of opinion and diversity of experience. These additional factors extend beyond identity markers

and truly delve into how our unique experiences as individuals, but also members of a group

which share these identity markers, influence the varying ways in which we all encounter and

navigate the world at large.

As it relates to the realm of education, I’ve been thinking much more deeply about the

notion of diversity lacking in the curriculum and educational spaces students encounter and how

it is imperative to reframe the educational experiences students in the United States have to

create a future society where differences are valued. In order to do so, “…as teachers, we must

value and affirm the unique identities of each and every student we teach,” (Powell, n.d., pg. 82)

but also introduce identities and cultures that our student have not personally experienced. We

must create safe educational spaces for our students in which they are free to navigate their own

identities, but also question and wonder about others who are different and engage in

conversations around these differences in a respectful manner.

In order to reframe and introduce more equitable experiences for students we must

understand that, “restoring schools as communities in which all students learn will take more

than small adjustments.” (Sapon-Shevin, 1994, pg. 180). The time for action and change is now.

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We’ve been discussing the issues for far too long and if something is to change, it must start in

the classroom to prepare the next generation to be change agents and view difference as an

attribute to society. As educators we are then tasked with, “the responsibility to expect the best

from all students, to teach to demanding expectations, and to prepare curriculum that engages

students and respects who they are, what they know, and what they bring” (Sleeter & Carmona,

2017, pg. 157).

In order to do this within my own classroom space, it is essential to understand who my

students are as, “…what is taught in any given classroom should be culturally relevant and

meaningful to the students who are there.” (Sleeter & Carmona, 2017, pg. 161). What’s more is

that, “all forms of assessment, including testing and classroom-based assessment, should be

culturally relevant.” (Sleeter & Carmona, 2017, pg. 68). The idea of cultural relevance and

creating meaningful mathematical experiences means that the work students do within the

classroom should be linked to being valuable to explore a concept beyond the classroom. For

example, when talking about the slope of a line, students can do so not by looking at a plain

graph, but by doing so with data that matters. We can discuss trends using slope and identify

what this rate of change means, but also, can push further to discuss the why behind what we are

seeing. What might be influencing the rate of increase or decrease for the data we are exploring?

Directly linked to placing concepts in contexts that students can relate to is the idea that

my classroom space needs to allow students to question, wonder, and be able to touch the math

they are doing in order to build conceptual understanding. I’m considering now more than

before, “To what extent does students’ learning depend on engaging their questions, their points

of view, and their experiences” (Sleeter & Carmona, 2017, pg. 5). This notion is one that is to

important because, “students have to do the subject, not just learn its results” (Sleeter &

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Carmona, 2017, pg. 46). Part of doing the subject is allowing students to generate their own

wonderings about the world or about a concept which shifts my role to facilitating their answers

to these questions. To address this, gone will be the whole class lectures from my classroom as

students need to be exploring and engaging in productive struggles with a team to develop both

their math skills but also their abilities to work in groups. If I am to truly address all of the

diverse learners and learning styles within my classroom space, I need to instill a system where

students can gain what they need and learn in a multitude of ways. We will use manipulatives to

be able to envision and derive formulas. Specifically, we will be using a tool called algebra tiles

to factor and divide polynomial functions. We will be collaborating with one another everyday

and will never be working by ourselves or sitting through an entire lecture. We will engage in

argumentation of ideas and ground our arguments in evidence and facts such that we are learning

how to disagree in respectful ways. This restructuring of the way students participate in their

math learning will hopefully foster more engagement from students, but also, create a more

equitable experience.

Part of creating an equitable experience is being sure that my students see themselves in

the mathematics curriculum, “because the quality of school experiences for students from

historically oppressed communities is severely compromised when textbooks either omit their

communities entirely or portray them in distorted or derogatory ways” (Sleeter & Carmona,

2017, pg. 15). Einstein, Galileo, Pythagoras and an abundance of other deceased White men are

the face of mathematics, however, there are a number of women and people of color who have

made significant contributions that are not discussed. Especially in our school context where the

demographic make-up of students is non-White, it is imperative that the stories of these ‘other’

mathematicians get told and brought to the forefront. In order to do so, I will be putting up

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posters of mathematicians who are of color and are women. I also will be using an online

graphing tool that randomly assigns each student a new mathematician each time they engage in

an activity and will then have students research their mathematician and share their story. It’s

imperative for students to be able to see themselves and their identify marker represented in the

field of mathematics, as, “too often, the invisibility of blacks and other people of color has been

the norm. The teacher who includes positive representations of children and adults of color (non-

stereotypical representations) signals his understanding of the importance of affirming the

identities of all the children in the school.” (Tatum, 2008, pg. 311)

Including representations of both people and experiences of the students within my

classroom with foster mathematics learning and make my students feel safe and valued.

However, there also needs to be consideration of how to value and make known the experiences

of others who are not present in the room as, “…children in schools should learn academic tools

and disciplinary knowledge resources from vantage points of multiple communities to enhance

their critical thinking and empower them to become social change agents.” (Sleeter & Carmona,

2017, pg. 17) I am creating citizens of the world in my classroom and because, “good citizens are

activists who are empowered to focus on things that they care about in their own lives who can

either identify or build the potential avenues needed to truly change them,”(Kahne &

Westheimer, 2003, pg. 39) it’s vital that I extend the work students are doing in my classroom to

the world at large. In order to introduce new perspectives beyond the realm of students’

experiences, I’m planning to implement lessons in which we explore a social issue in the world

that is impacting a group within the United States. As of now, I’m developing a lesson on

immigration reform and gathering data for students to explore.

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 My ideas of diversity and how it can be considered to change my classroom practices, as

well as, the school at large have been greatly impacted this past semester. I truly appreciate your

questions and am looking forward to working with both you and all the staff at the school to

begin discussions on how to best educate our students and create the next generation of change

agents!

Best,
Ms. Schrauben

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 References
Kahne, J., & Westheimer, J. (2003). Teaching Democracy: What Schools Need to Do. Phi Delta

Kappan, 85(1), 34-66. doi:10.1177/003172170308500109

Powell. (n.d.). Ch 6 Straight Talk. In Confronting Homophobia.

Sapon-Shevin, M. (1994). Playing Favorites: Gifted education and the disruption of community.

In Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice (Vol. 2).

Sleeter, C. E., & Carmona, J. F. (2017). Un-standardizing curriculum: Multicultural teaching in

the standards-based classroom. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Tatum, B. (2008). Cultivating the Trust of Black Parents. In Everyday antiracism: Getting real

about race in school (pp. 310-313). New York, NY: New Press.