A Disposition for Diversity 1

A Disposition for Diversity: Teaching in the 21st Century

Kayla Simpson

16 October 2012

A Disposition for Diversity 2

A Disposition for Diversity: Teaching in the 21st Century

Diversity is defined in Websters New World Dictionary (2003) as a difference or a
variety (p. 193). This is coincidental in that there are many forms of diversity; it is in fact a very
diverse word. Diversity is so much more than just a variety; it is a powerful tool, of many
different forms come together, that, when harnessed, can make a substantial difference.
Many believe that we should be a melting pot. As Deborah Deutsch Smith says in the
Introduction to Special Education (2007), Americans looked inward and came to foster
Americanization, the idea that the United States should become a melting pota country
where individuals were assimilated and abandoned their home languages and cultures as soon as
possible (p. 78). This may have been highly believed in the past, however, but during the
1960s, people felt less inclined to believe this and focused more on cultural pluralism,
meaning that people should keep their identities, instead of changing them, while still being a
part of their new societies (p. 78). With this new outlook, it is important that we also implement
this idea in the classroom.
There are many forms of diversity including but not limited to: race, learning style,
disability, language, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, socio-economic levels, and so many
more. This paper will go into detail about these forms of diversity, use personal experience to
convey how they have affected me, and explain why it so important that a 21st century teacher
should understand the power of diversity in a classroom.
Battle of the races has been a problem all throughout history. The most notable case
would be that of white and black people. For centuries, black people were oppressed because of
white supremacy; having to endure slavery, Jim Crow Laws, the battle for Civil Rights, etc.
Even when black children were allowed to attend schools, they had to attend designated black

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schools, because of the court case, Plessy v. Ferguson; which deemed that there needed to be
separate but equal facilities to accommodate everyone. This decision was passed in 1892. The
quality of education was below standard and promoted a sense of inferiority.
In 1954, sixty-two years later, Oliver Brown fought back for his daughters right to go to
the white school that was down the road. He asked the NAACP for help when the principal
refused and fought against Topekas Board of Education, as seen in Lisa Cozzens (1998)
description. She states that The Supreme Court struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine
of Plessy for public education, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, and required the desegregation of
schools across America. Even with this law being passed, there was no set deadline for schools
to desegregate and many took years before finally accepting black children.
Learning style is also very important because most people do not learn the same way. In
Understanding Education, EDS 114, we discussed the theory of multiple intelligences through
Thomas Armstrongs book, 7 Kinds of Smart (1999). There are seven different types of
intelligences: Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical,
Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal. While not being listed in the seven intelligences, we also took
into consideration emotional, naturalist, and existential intelligences. With so many different
intelligences, there is an innumerable amount of learning styles.
I identify with the Linguistic, Spatial, Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal and
Emotional intelligences. These affect my learning style greatly in many ways. Because I
identify with Linguistic intelligence, I learn easily through communication. Hearing and
discussing something helps my understanding of it. Because of my Spatial intelligence, I also
learn from my surroundings. My strongest intelligence was in Music. This has always affected
my learning style. For example, I can say that just by singing math equations or putting a rhythm

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to French verbs has helped me more times than I can count. These are just a few examples of
how my multiple intelligences have affected my learning.
The theory of multiple intelligences should be taken into consideration when teaching
because a diverse set of multiple intelligences will lead to a diverse set of learning skills.
Someone who is very Musically intelligent will not learn the material the same way as a student
who is very Logically-Mathematically intelligent would. Howard Gardner (1983) says, Its
very important that a teacher take individual differences among kids very seriously. The bottom
line is a deep interest in children and how their minds are different from one another, and in
helping them use their minds well. This is also beneficial to the teacher in that her students can
also help each other and promote the understanding of different learning styles. A teacher with a
diverse lesson plan that touches as many perspectives and can accommodate as many learning
styles as possible will have one of the most successful classrooms.
Having students with any type of disability, whether it is physical, cognitive, or affective,
can be hard for most teachers. This in turn leads to many of the students being sent to costly
private schools. However, for those who cannot afford to do so, there is Public Law 94-142,
which guarantees a free appropriate education in the least restrictive environment, Smith
shows (p. 21). Having the students with disabilities integrated with students without disabilities
is very helpful to the teacher in that students will play off of each other. Allowing students to
work in pairs or groups will allow students to learn from each other; and it also allows the
teacher to then work with a student who needs the most help. This also helps teach disabled
students the normal behavior and rules that they have to follow every day in the world and
allows students without disabilities learn to react and communicate with them.

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Teachers also benefit from having diversities of languages, ethnicities, and cultures in
their classrooms. In order for benefits, however, the teacher must be as culturally competent as
possible. The lack of understanding is what is harmful to the student/teacher relationship and
makes for a bad learning environment. Smith (2007) explains that Teachers who are culturally
competent know the background, heritage, and traditions of their students, and they adjust their
teaching and make accommodations accordingly (p. 85). Once she becomes culturally
competent, she must create a culturally responsive learning environment, where the curriculum
includes multiple perspectives and examples (p. 85). This allows for the best education for the
student.
When I turned seven, I moved to Georgia from Germany. Not speaking any English, I
struggled in the first grade. My teacher, however, never gave up and went out of her way to talk
to my mother about how she could help me. Because she became more familiar with my
language and background, she could produce examples that I understood. Because of her
dedication, I progressed so much that I was placed in the gifted program the next year. Also,
because of my integration to an all-American class, everyone was interested in my culture.
When I finally learned enough English to have conversations, I informed them all about my
hometown, the stores, the schools, the double-decker buses we rode on a field trip, and so on.
Everyone left with a little piece of Germany.
Over the past few years, suicides have gone up for teenagers who have different sexual
preferences than their peers. Paul Gibson (1989) shows in his article, Gay Male and Lesbian
Youth Suicide:
At least 5,000 youth now take their lives each year with the number believed to be
significantly higher if deliberate auto accidents, victim precipitated homicides, and
inconclusive coroner reports are taken into account. The rate of suicide attempts to

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completions is much higher among young people than any other age group with as many
as 500,000 attempts annually. This leads us to believe that many times a suicide attempt
by a young person is really a cry for help. (111)
Fourteen and fifteen year-olds should never even have to consider suicide. Kate Shuttleworth
and Matthew Theunissen (2012) state in their article, Horror Over Child Suicide Rate Surge,
that, The number of youths taking their own lives has surged by more than 40 per cent, and the
suicide of a child under nine has been recorded for the first time. Bullying has affected people
of different races, people with disabilities, people with different languages, ethnicities, cultures;
the list goes on.
When I moved to Forsyth at the beginning of my fourth grade year, I was expecting to fit
right in. Everyone at my old school liked me, so why should the new students not? When they
found out I was German, they would tease me, make fun of me, call me a Nazi. How could
fourth graders be so mean? With the use of diversity in the classroom at a young age, students
will be exposed to so many different people, beliefs, learning styles, and so on. This could be the
answer to stop bullying. When the student is in a diverse environment, it will become all he will
know. It will not be strange to see a black student or an Asian student, a homosexual student or a
student with a disability.
This being the 21st century, teachers should use diversity as a tool. Not only is it
beneficial in helping the teacher create a powerful learning environment, giving their students
multiple chances of learning and ways of learning, but it is also preparing the student for society.
With proper implementation, we could even help solve some, if not most forms of bullying. We
are a very diverse nation, and an even more diverse world. Some may worry that it will affect
standard curriculum, but it will only help. Diversity is all around us, and should be used because
it is a very powerful tool and can make great impacts.

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References
Armstrong, T. (1999). 7 Kinds of smart: Identifying and developing your multiple intelligences.
New York: Plume.
Cozzens, L. (1998, June 29). Welcome to African American history!. Retrieved October 10,
2012 from Watson:
http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilrights/brown.html
Smith, D. D. (2007). Introduction to special education: Making a difference. (6th ed.). Boston,
MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Gibson, P. (1989). Gay male and lesbian youth suicide. Department of health and human
services, 3, Retrieved on October 10, 2012 from
http://www.ncmhjj.com/resource_kit/pdfs/Special
Guignon, A. (2010). Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences: A theory for everyone. Retrieved
October 10, 2012, from Education World:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr054.shtml
Shuttleworth, K., & Theunissen, M. (2012, September 03). Horror over child suicide rate
surge. The New Zealand herald. Retrieved on October 10, 2012 from
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10831455