Garry,
Good. Having an open mind will help a lot.
Philip Campbell
Because all learners come from various backgrounds it is necessary to use open minded soft skills to understand the beliefs and ethical concepts that drive decition making of others.
A lot of students have trauma, learning disabilities and even mental illness in thier background. By understanding how things like ADHD, anxuety, PTSD, depression, personality disorders and previous abuse effect growth and development, learning stules and soft skills; we can not only help our students but also ourselves with behaviors.
When you grow up with something like ADHD, you struggle to understand and pick up on other peoples emotions and how they are reacting to your seemingly innocent remarks.
Jacqueline,
There is a divide between generations. it is important to acknowledge them also.
Philip Campbell
Diversity is what makes us interesting as a group; however, we need to be aware of all the ways in which we are diverse. Sexual orientation is something we need to be informed about;another important one is socio-economic groups; and we must be sensitive to gender issues.
I also see diversity with age. I had an eighty-four year old in my class and he put the younger students to shame. He studied harder and even though his hearing wasn't a hundred percent he was ahead of all the students in the class.
Carla,
True. There is a lot of diversity that we may not directly link to diversity. Good post.
Philip Campbell
Troy, I believe money does play a roll in what and how you learn. If you have the money, you are able to afford the resources to attend the best schools, pay for tutoring if needed, and the stress of your needs not being met doesn't get in the way of concentrating on your work.
Students have different learning styles and linguistic abilities. There is also a diversity in student opinions. Teachers have to incorporate different methods when presenting the lesson. This includes elements such as: demonstrating, modeling, giving feedback, reviewing, and emphasizing higher-order skills, while avoiding excessive amounts of rote learning.
I think sexual orientation is another diversity that instructors have to be aware of. Regardless of personal feelings about sexual orientation, that should not come into play as an instructor.
One aspect of diversity that is easy for me to overlook is the variety of proficiency levels within any of my classrooms. It’s often tempting for me to teach to the upper end of that spectrum because it’s easier and more enjoyable. Often, with such limited time in the classroom, I’ve found it more effective to speak to the middle in class and work with individuals outside of class who are having difficulty grasping the material or getting the work done.
In beautiful San Francisco, CA where I work and live you definately need to be very aware of diversity and how to successfully implement and deliver the information and skills to be taught to the students. We need to be sensative, compassionate, understanding, and supportive. This will make us effective teachers.
Two other diversities within my school are socio-economic and ageism. Students come from many different places to attend school here. Some from the inner city and some from the suburbs so rather than cultural and ethnic diversity the income of these students is rather prevalent.
Age is another diversity within the school there are many students who are changing careers and fisrt time college students that could not attend college after high school. This causes the most issues within the school the older students do not understand the younger students and vica versa. The older students feel the younger students act like they are in high school and the younger students feel that the older students are like Mom and Dad.
Kimberly,
The diversity of our students is what makes us different from many other schools?
Philip Campbell
One type of diversity I encounter as an instructor is socio-economic. Different socio-econmic backgrounds influence previous education(high school, college, etc.) It is challenging to teach basic culinary math in a classroom that holds a diverse crowd of students. At this moment I have 1 student who was a pharmacist for 20+ years, I have students who just came out of high school, I have another who has just retired and a handful who have experience 1-2 years of previous college coursework. Once an insturctor is aware of the population of the class, the instructor can decide how much time is needed for a specific subject, or on what sort of approach is necessary.
Students come from many different backgrounds and circumstances, their pasts may have been very divergent (financially) which can bring the students to school for different reasons.
The learning environment in which I teach is not only culturally and ethnically diverse, we also have vast differences in age and intent. Circumstances arise in which an older student may not receive the level of respect he/she feels is warranted by their age from younger students. Other times students with an intent to pursue a career path based on the curriculum deride students in attendance for purely avocational reasons. In these circumstances I make clear that every student has the right to education in the best possible atmosphere, and intolerance is unacceptable in learning environment.
Age, socioeconomic, political, experiences, income level, career development and status, race, gender, aesthetic diversity.
I agree with the fact that socioeconomic diversity is a HUGE aspect of understanding others. Socioeconomic issues can also have a big effect on how students get along with eachother and their class performance.
It is also important to be aware of the diversity of age and past experiences among the students. The different generations of students can impact the atmosphere of the classroom. A multi-generational class will influence the way students interpret not only the information presented, but also evoke emotional triggers that present themselves when dealing with historical information. Past experiences and the historical period we grew up in make up who we are and how we look at information. It is important for the instructor to understand this generational diversity and allow for the exchange of cross-generational opinions and information.
