Considering your own teaching/learning environment, and provide your perspectives on What

does it mean for a school community to be accepting of diversity?

My learning environments from grade school to college were as I considered diverse. Now as a
adult looking back my grade school years weren't as diverse as I thought. All my schools were
predominately African American and Mexican American. It wasn't until I got to UNT that I
experienced real diversity. Everyone was accepted and made to feel welcomed, we were able to
show the campus different aspects of our cultures with pride.
"What does it mean for a school community to be "accepting" of diversity" (Chan, 2006, p.311)?
As Chan mentioned in the article, it means interacting with the students and their families (p.
310). Go the extra mile, I never realized my grade school weren't that diverse because my
teachers did research on different cultures, most of the time we did it together. We interacted
with the community, one of my best memories are multicultural day. Each child with their families
would research a different culture other than our own, then present it to the entire school, along
with a meal from that country. This shows diversity and acceptance, the students learn to have
"positive attitudes towards race and ethnicity," we accepted our differences as well as learned
from each other.
Building a bridge between home and school I believe is the first step. My school made us feel
welcome, so in return we welcomed each other. Teachers must remain flexible, demographics
change overtime, so what worked one year may not work the next. But if we stay informed on
different cultures as teachers, we could inform our students. With the knowledge of different
cultures they are less likely to be biased and negative.
Positive perspectives means positive attitudes. If school community is willing to learn about the
different cultures, learn how to communicate, and accommodate to their needs they will feel
accepted. Include them in the day to day operations of the school pertaining to their child and
roll out the welcome mat.

Chan, Elaine. (2006). Teacher Experiences of Culture in the Curriculum.

In D. Flinders and S. Thornton (Eds.), The Curriculum Studies Reader(4th ed.,
pp. 301-314). New York, NY: Routled