Diversity in the Classrooms

Students are simply different! Each one of them brings to class a reflection of his/her house in different ways by which himself is not aware of. Having 30 students in the classroom sometimes might be challenging for the educator to notice. But each kid shares his/her “Funds of Knowledge” in the classroom. “Funds of knowledge” is the knowledge present in every household by means of creative survival techniques.

Classroom diversity is different from one area to another and from one country to another. United States’ classes are made up of Europeans,  Africans, Asians, Middle Easterns, etc. The classes contain two types of students: Native speakers and bilingual speakers. Unfortunately, bilingual students are not always noticed by the teacher. Such situations are also available in the Lebanese classrooms. Some classrooms may include students from different religions (Muslims-Christians) or from different nationalities (Lebanese-Syrian-Palestinian). This diversity might be considered minimal to certain countries, but in Lebanon it is certainly an issue.

Teachers are human beings and might sometimes be subjective to a certain group of students. That would lead to ignoring students coming from particular backgrounds. In an English classroom, a teacher might give more attention to the students who were used to the Lebanese programs and ignore new kids coming from different environments. Science or Math teachers might also give more attention to the same group of students, ignoring those who are coming from the other diversity. This particular act might be out of fear. Being responsible for leading 30 kids from different backgrounds could be a challenge. Therefore, at this point teachers tend to go the easy way and simply ignore.

A low achiever in English, is not particularly a low achiever in Math. And a low achiever in general is not a de-motivated student. Knowledge does not depend on language or state of land, concepts may be acquired within different backgrounds. Children from diverse communities are not only educated by their families but by their communities as well. Therefore, teachers need to understand the culture difference. After that, they need to respect the difference in the classroom and lead the learning process within this difference. Teachers could use the difference in culture to lead discussion in class and show each individual how important their previous experience is important in their learning. When culture difference is accepted by the teacher, students will learn in a safe environment where each one is able to help the other to achieve better. Moreover, teachers could plan “show and tell” days where students from different backgrounds could show others some of their passion from their background.

Culturally diverse family do care about kids’ education. To integrate different curriculum in the classrooms, parents could be asked to be take part in teaching certain lessons during school time or after-school without being judged.  Having parents in the classrooms show other students how important it is to have different cultures in the world. It is a perfect way to emphasize that the world belongs to EVERYONE. To ensure a positive influence on the kids’ life, parents could be learners in addition to educators. Teachers and administrators could work on welcoming parents from different backgrounds into the school system. Also, they could help them adjust to the new environment in a smooth way by gathering different parents-clubs that help everyone getting to know each other. Having positive parents feeling like they belong to the society, help their kids fit into the new change which then positively affects their school life. They would provide assistance when children are active learners.

Being different should never be a problem in this world. This difference should be a blessing. Sharing different experiences would benefit the whole society by learning to accept everyone peacefully. Having a diverse classroom may be a mini reflection of the real diversity seen in the world. Teachers’ job is important in showing how important is to respect others coming from a different background than what you are used to. Dear teachers, if you get out of your comfort zone, your students will!