Understanding Diversity
I think this topic will help me in the future with my classroom skills. Before I started working here, I had the mind set of, conform or get out, I guess that's not the PC way.
Good point, mixing the work group members is a great help too !!
In the course of human endeavor there may always be an element of "in group/out group" dynamic. Given this understanding it is so important for us as instructors to facilitate an atmosphere that includes all our students in a way that brings them together with a shared set of career goals & professional standards. As we embrace diversity we enrich the over-all learning experience while offering the recognition & respect benificial to retaining & motivatig students.
We all have an ethnical origin that is filled with wonderful new lessons to be shared and learned. Encourage your students to share those cultural pearls of wisdom and not conceal them.
This is very true at the University where I presently reside. Diversity can be a source of enlightenment because of the many different experiences that enter the classroom on the first day. It can give students a feeling of long distance learning from a cultural point of view but it can create stereotypical attitudes among students if the instructor does not insure unity within the classroom. Instructors should insure that students participate in class discuss without feeling put upon by others from different cultures. He/she should encourage the class to learn valuable lessons from each and every culture within the classroom and discourage ethnocentrism and other rude stereotypical attitudinal behaviors.
Different ethnic backgrounds is sometimes not the problem. This can add much to the class. Sometimes the problem is students accepting the students of different ethnic background. The reason is that many students, usually the yonger ones, have never crossed paths with a person of different ethnic background.
diversity comes in many forms. In the class that I will be teaching it will be a challenge because many of the students are from diffrent ethnic backgrounds.
Hi Francine,
This is a great way to use the students as resources. The older students have many life experiences that they can share with the other students. This sharing also helps them to see that they can be successful in the course even though they may have been out of school for many years.
Gary
Some times we have to not only remember that for some of these students thier is a language barier as well as a cultural background. i try to get to know them a little bit personally if i am seeing some dificulties and try to understand them from thier perspective then convert this to help them understand or find some one at thier level to not only age, cultural, but accademically.
The school where I teach has many different ages of students and cultures as well. I find that the older students are more serious about doing well. The students that are from different cultural backgrounds sometimes have a problem with understanding English. I will try to get them together with the older students who are more willing to help when I am otherwise involved with the rest of the class.
