Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

Diversity Statement of Informed Beliefs

Barbara L Chandler
College of Southern Idaho
Professor Evin Fox
EDUC 204: Families, Communities & Culture
Fall 2014

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

Diversity Statement of Informed Beliefs

Introduction
What type of person would make a great teacher? Thinking back to my childhood, the
teachers that made the most impact on me were the ones who were the most nurturing and
caring. The teachers that were stern and demanded excellence from the class helped me learn the
value of doing your best every time, but did not impact me nearly as much as the nurturing and
loving teachers. As a child, I wanted to hurry to school just to see my teacher because she
always smiled the minute we walked into the classroom. She made us all feel welcome and
comfortable in class. As a result, it is my dream to be a nurturing and caring teacher like her
who will be so important to the children and make an impact in their lives.
Teachers Role
A teachers role is to teach the concepts of mathematics, reading, writing, English,
science, and biology to their students with instructions and presentations. Also, a teacher
prepares lessons, grades papers, manages the classroom, meets parents, works with and gets
advice from the other staff members of the school, and meets state requirements for state
curriculum and testing. In the past, a teacher was told what to teach and how to teach it, but
today a teacher is a counselor and mentor who challenges and teaches individual students. A
teacher must also incorporate the knowledge and skills learned from the 21st century
curriculum into their students lives to help them become responsible members in society when
they become adults. Another responsibility of a teacher is to comply with the state standards and
regulations as well as have to give their students standardized tests.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

Teacher Responsibilities
Accordingly, teachers in elementary schools have certain responsibilities in order to
complete their jobs. A teacher creates lesson plans for math, science, reading, writing, biology,
and English to small or large groups. After preparing standardized tests, teachers assess and
evaluate their students ability to learn the subject matter from the tests. Also, teachers
communicate with parents, create and enforce classroom rules, and manage class activities. A
teacher will supervise extracurricular activities like lunch recess, playground duty, field trips,
and after school activities and games.
Teachers Expectations
Additionally, a teacher has so many expectations when it comes to teaching students.
Teachers are expected to increase a students reading level, advance students in mathematics and
core classes, teach English to English learners, teach 21st century curriculum, follow the states
core curriculum and education standards, and have every student at their reading level because of
the No Child Left Behind act. Also, a teacher expects students to behave and follow the rules
of the classroom as well as complete assignments and try to learn the skills taught in the
curriculum. Teachers deserve to be paid well and compensated for their hard work and expect
the state to pay them a fair salary. These are just a few of the most important expectations of a
teacher.
Importance of Educational Goals
Having educational goals to keep a teacher on track with educational needs of the student
and the state is very important. Bryan and DiMartino wrote, Writing Goals and Objectives a
Guide for Grantees of the Smaller Learning Communities Program. Bryan and DiMartino

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believed about how educators feel about setting goals and how to be successful with your
outcomes. Bryan and DiMartino wrote, Many educators think of goal setting and planning as
busy worktedious and a potential waste of time and resourcesand believe that it rarely leads
significant change (2010,p. 8). DiMartino also thought that teachers could achieve successful
outcomes if they, Involve key stakeholders (students, faculty, administrators, parents, etc.) in
the goal-and objective-setting process. Align current school goals with your SLCP goals. Make
sure your resource allocation is aligned with your goals and priorities ( 2010, p. 8). He also
suggested that teachers prioritized their goals and write down their goals without being vague. It
is important to not become too overzealous and create goals that are not attainable and make sure
that the goals follow the states curriculum while keeping your strong morals and ethics. Goals
help keep a teacher on track with the needs of the students in your class and the requirements of
the state. Every teacher must set goals so that they have a plan to follow and prove that they
made accomplishments in their class each semester and year.
A students role in education is to follow the rules and regulations of the classroom and
the school, learn the required skills taught in the curriculum, learn to socialize with other
students, and be respectful to the teachers and educators of the school. A student must follow the
rules set by the teacher in his or her classroom as well as the rules set by the principal for the
entire school. A student must be responsible for his or her actions if they break the rules. Also,
students are expected to participate in class and learn the skills needed to further their education.
Socialization skills with other students are important skills to learn as well for the student, since
they teach the child how to interact with students, teachers, and educators. Lastly, students must
be respectful of the teachers and educators in the school. Without this, students dont learn to be
respectful to other adults in the community when they become adults and work in the

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community.
Students Expectations
In addition to the expectations of teachers, students expect teachers to be nurturing and
caring adults, teachers to teach them the subjects with understanding, school environments to be
a safe place, teachers to know the core subjects that they are teaching, and teachers to be
respectful to them as students. Teachers are expected to be nurturing, caring, and loving toward
the students. A smile goes a long way for a student. Also, students want the teachers to not only
teach them the core subjects but teach them in a way that the students understand the concepts
being taught. Students also want to feel safe in their schools and rely on the educators to keep
them safe while they are in school. Another expectation of the students is that the teachers
actually are knowledgeable in the subjects being taught. Finally, students want to be respected
and appreciated for being a student in that school. They want the teachers to show respect and
they will in turn respect the teachers. Students are expecting just as much from the teachers as
the teachers are expecting from the students.
Students Social Ecology Theory
Furthermore, social ecology theory identifies phenomenons and if they are social
problems, analysis the social problems, recognizes people interaction and processes, takes into
consideration the history, social, and cultural reactions of people, and provides an understanding
of peoples everyday lives. The analysis of social ecology theory is done at the macro level
which is individuals society and subculture that they belong in, micro level which is small
groups and organizations, and meso level which is the schools and community working together.
When considering the social aspect of the individuals, one looks at social networks and support
systems. As for the history of people, we analyze where they came from. Cultural analysis

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looks at the peoples values, morals, and ethics. All of this analysis incorporates an individual
childs development, well-being, social responsibilities, decision making responsibilities, and his
or her role in world.
Family
Moreover, a family introduces the rules of society and teaches their children how to act
according to the rules of their society. According to the rules and laws of the society, children
must learn to follow the ways that their society feels is appropriate behavior. Children learn to
be social and act appropriately in order to fit into the society. Learning to socialize is important
for children to have successful futures as adults.
Also, a family system is the main reason children learn how to interact and conduct
themselves in relationships with others, values and ethics, community, self-regulation, and massmedia. Family members teach children by their reactions and demonstrations of proper behavior
in their own relationships with other people. Children will learn both good and bad interaction
from their family members because they follow their examples. Values and morals are taught by
the childs family as well. How the family members were raised and feel are the right actions
like honesty, hard working, and loyalty will be passed down to the children in the family.
Family members also teach the children about the community that they live in. In this way, they
teach them to be social and interact with other people in the community. The ability to control
ones self is self-regulation and is taught by family members as well. It is expected that children
control their emotions and feelings in public as they get older. Finally, the family system
teaches children the tools of the mass-media that are so important in education. A familys role
is very important in raising children to become valuable members of society.

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Culture
Accordingly, a students culture is his or her ethnicity. The students culture affects the
way they learn to socialize with others as they compare other cultures to theirs. Each culture is
unique and has its own beliefs and values. Every culture will form each student differently and
teach them to obey that cultures rules and customs. With the different cultures, a different
learning style is developed for each individual student. Some cultures like the Latino or Asians
are more respectful to authority. Cultures can also teach their children to be more open and
express their feelings, while others are more closed and less expressive. Each culture has its
own values, ethics, morals, and beliefs, which are important to people brought up in that culture.
As a teacher, we have to learn these cultures and backgrounds so that we can incorporate them
into our curriculum.
Cultural Diversity Instruction
Another aspect of teaching includes cultural diversity instruction. Cultural diversity
instruction is teaching the students in a class about the many different cultures and backgrounds
of the students in the class. This is an attempt to blend the class better and have a class who
better understands the differences of the students. Students will socialize better and want to
know more about their fellow students.
Cultural Pluralism Compared to Cultural Assimilation
As a result of cultural diversity in the classroom, teachers may teach using cultural
pluralism or cultural assimilation. Cultural pluralism is by definition the shared appreciation
and understanding of the different cultures with their different languages, life styles, and beliefs
that are in a community. Cultural assimilation is the process of minority groups learning the
characteristics and ways of conduct of the more dominant culture in the community. The

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

difference between cultural pluralism and assimilation is that assimilation wants the minority
cultures to transform and follow the ways of the dominant culture. Pluralism wants to live
together with all of the diversity. With cultures, people should recognize that each culture has a
different life style and ways of living. Also, the different cultures produce different people and
no two people are the same. Another important fact about cultures is that each culture produces
a different ethnic background and cultural background. Students, teachers, and staff need to
respect the different life styles lived by each culture and the different ethnicity of each culture so
that all cultures in the school and community are equally important. Lastly, the different
religions also create different life styles and people. Some religions do not allow students to
observe holidays like Christmas and Halloween, while others do not allow the Pledge of
Allegiance. Each religion is still important and must be accommodated by the teacher in the
classroom. Blending a classroom is so vital in keeping a learning environment welcoming and
inviting to every student.
As a teacher, teaching with the varied life styles of each culture in mind is critical. A
teacher must create lesson plans and curriculum that include the various cultures and life styles
of each student, so that the students learn about their fellow classmates and to make the lessons
more interesting to each student. By doing this, a teacher creates a warm, welcome environment
for every student in the class. The students will appreciate the teachers efforts and feel accepted
by the class.
Curriculum for All Students in the Class
Along with culture, teachers need curriculum for teaching lessons. Teachers plan their
curriculum around their educational goals, program objectives, materials needed for the lesson,
time arrangement, and activities. All of these considerations go into creating a curriculum that

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also meets the states standard curriculum. Curriculum also includes zone of proximal
development, scaffolding, and choosing a teacher directed curriculum or learner directed
curriculum. According to Berns, zone of proximal development is a term developed by Lev
Vygotsky. Berns (2013) wrote, Lev Vygotsky (1978) called the space between what a learner
can do independently and what he or she can do while participating with more capable others the
zone of proximal development ( p. 220). Teaching with the zone of proximal development in
mind allows both independent learning along with group learning activities. Scaffolding is when
teachers guide and support a students activity, which helps direct a student to be successful in
learning. Teacher-directed curriculum is when the teacher plans all of the activities and lessons
that the students will learn, while learner-directed curriculum is when the students pick the
lessons and activities with the teacher only guiding the class. A teacher must choose which type
of directed curriculum he or she will use to teach the classroom and plan lessons and the
curriculum around that type of direction. It is possible to do some lessons with the students
picking the group activity and other lessons taught by the teacher in front of the classroom.
Delivering
Although it is totally up to the individual teacher, delivering the lesson will be different
depending on which type of directed curriculum is chosen. A teacher may need to create
different types of activities and lessons in order to teach all of the different learning styles in the
classroom. Each student learns at a different pace and better with different styles. One student
may need hands-on learning, while another may need memorization. Also, teachers need to be
flexible and have a back-up plan or adaptation plan ready in case a lesson is not reaching all of
the students. As a teacher assesses the students abilities, he or she can modify the lessons and
curriculum to teach individual students and groups better. Flexibility while still maintaining the

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state standards is the key to teaching all types of students.

Assessing
Additionally, there are different assessment tools for teachers and educators like
authentic assessment, test scores, and standardized testing given by the state. Authentic
assessment is when a student is assessed by his or her ability to understand a task or skill. In
standardized testing, the state compares a students test scores to the results of scientific data
and studies of students being tested on the same types of tests. An example of standardized
testing is testing to determine if a child is ready for kindergarten. Teachers use assessment of
students to prepare lesson plans with lessons that are at the appropriate educational level for the
students at that time.
Student Growth
As the students complete more skills and learn throughout the year, a teacher must
observe if his or her students are accomplished learners. By evaluating the students grades, test
scores, and standardized tests given, teachers and educators can evaluate the students progress.
If they are falling behind in a core subject or not understanding a specific skill needed for next
year, a teacher can try something new to see if it will accomplish learning growth in the needed
subject or skill. Teachers do self-evaluations on their teaching ability and strategies to see if
learning growth has been accomplished as well. These evaluations are helpful in showing where
a teacher needs to change his or her teaching strategies and techniques.
In conclusion, a teachers role is to teach the concepts of the core classes with instruction
and presentations and with group and individual activities. A teacher prepares lessons, grades
papers, manages the classroom, meets parents, works alongside other staff members of the
school, meets state requirements for state curriculum and testing, and assesses student growth.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

Also, a teacher needs to blend the cultures and ethnicity in the classroom to create an inviting,
learning environment. The students have important roles as well in education and expectations
that need to be met by the teachers and educators. Education is very involved and complex. It
involves more than just a teacher creating a lesson plan and teaching it to students. It is
important for me to be the caring and loving teacher that makes an impact in childrens lives.

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References
Berns, R. M. (2013). Child, family, school, community socialization and support, Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Bryan,W., & DiMartino, J. (2010, Spring). Writing goals and objectives a guide for
grantees of the Smaller Learning Communities Program, Retrieved from
www2.ed.gov/progams/slcp/slc-wgandobj-book-f.pdf.