Thoughts on Diversity...

The activity in last week's class was definitely a challenge for me. By nature I'm not very confrontational or assertive, so the idea of shouting out controversial ideas makes me squirm in my seat! When the activity was first introduced my initial thoughts were, "there is NO way I'm stepping on toes and nonchalantly offering up some stereotypical ideas! After all, these are the thoughts I keep shoved down in the back of mind. They're wrong, why would I want them written on the board for all to see?!" However, that unsettled feeling slowly started to dissipate as my fellow classmates began to shout out their own "not-so-PC" ideas... some of which mirrored my own thoughts that I was working so hard on repressing. Although I began to feel more comfortable confronting these ideas as they flew out of people's mouths and onto the board, I will admit I didn't reach the point where I felt I could add my own opinion to the mix. However, as uncomfortable as the activity made me feel, it also opened my eyes to the fact that, as teachers, we are going to be dealing with our own prejudices and the prejudices of others all the time.
As an educator I will have the responsibility of helping every student learn, regardless of whatever prejudices I may have. Unfortunately everyone picks up biases here and there, and as much as I would like to say I'm are free from them, the truth of the matter is I'm not. It's important to recognize that fact so I can move forward in a more accepting and understanding way. Every student has the right to learn. I don't care if they're rich, poor, boy, girl, what color their skin is, who their parents are, if they're visiting from the moon... every child has the right to learn.
And of course that's in my power to control... how I treat my students rests fully on my shoulders. But how my students treat each other is another matter. I want my classroom to be a warm and accepting place. Students should feel comfortable to express ideas and opinions, and not feel like they have to follow the group or be a certain way. It's the different ideas, strengths, and weaknesses of everyone that makes the strongest learning environment. I hope to facilitate this acceptance in my students by being a good role model and creating learning experiences that honor differing ideas. I like to think of a classroom as a quilt- with every student being a different, but no less beautiful, piece.