Six Tips for Teaching Diversity
Effectively Incorporating Diversity in the Classroom
Learn to teach diversity effectively to all age groups with these six reliable techniques.
Teaching diversity is often considered a difficult task among teachers because of the sensitivity of the topic. The main difficulty in teaching about differences, however, is the fear and anticipation behind the effort. Use the six tips below to help you incorporate diversity into your curriculum.
Start Early. Young children begin to develop thoughts about themselves at an early age, usually before they begin kindergarten. Begin teaching children to love themselves at an early age. Studies find when people love themselves, they are less inclined to fear other people’s differences. Prepare children for what they will see in the media. Children are extremely curious in the pre-school years. They want to know why people look they way they do or act in a certain way. This makes it easier to discuss. Use science to demonstrate how differences are human variation instead of negative attributes. Enforcing these lessons allows children to appreciate multiculturalism and identify bias early on.
Emphasize Openness. Teachers should teach students to be forthcoming about their differences. Show them there is no shame in being different. Young people on every continent are changing their appearances through plastic surgery at alarming rates because they are trying to hide who they are. African-American twenty somethings are lightening their skin. Asian girls are widening their eyes, and Jewish teens are getting rhinoplasty. This phenomenon could have been avoided if self-acceptance issues were dealt with at an early age in an open manner allowing young people to build self-esteem earlier and faster. Conversely, do not single out a student because of a difference. Teachers meaning well may ask a certain student to shed light on a topic because of his or her culture. This can be solved by making a general statement to the class such as “Does anyone have something personal to add about this topic?” This probe usually gets hands in the air.
Discuss All Types of Differences. In addition to race and religion, teachers should also discuss gender, size, and learning abilities. Encompassing all differences will make students take a step back and look at themselves. The class environment will soon feel more like a family because everyone will relate to each other. Offer famous names with similar differences. It is widely know that famous celebrities and leaders have had dyslexia or similar conditions that affected their learning. It is extremely easy to research this information on the Internet. Let children realize how special they are and offer ways to overcome their vulnerabilities further allowing them to become confident.
Let the Curriculum Work for You. Literature and social studies are great subjects to teach diversity because they deal with real life issues and people. In literature classes, students read classics such as Animal Farm, Huckleberry Finn and The Diary of Anne Frank that deal with race and class. Modern day reads such as Freedom Writers and Tangerine offer up current viewpoints of today’s society. Use these classroom tools to incorporate diversity into your lessons. Social Studies teachers can incorporate diversity through project-based assignments. Often times, students are not aware of how American society is affected by other cultures. Have students research foreign influences of food, clothes and music on American culture and have them do presentations in class.
Use Real Life Examples. Employ parents and speakers to enhance your diversity teachings. You will find that most parents want to teach their students about diversity but do not know how to start. Tell parents about your lessons and have them reinforce it at home. Family discussions set around homework assignments is the easiest way to incorporate these lessons at home. Speakers are also great sources for teaching diversity. Invite professionals of all backgrounds from the community to speak to the students about life. Television news journalists make great speakers because of their impact on the community. They are initially seen as untouchable figures, but after students meet them, the students begin to realize these media celebrities are actual people who struggled to achieve their goals.
Leave the Classroom. Take a field trip or two during the year. Field trips can work miracles, because they invigorate students. Explore ethnic art and culture on your adventures. Local museums usually have exhibits highlighting cultural and ethnic influences of the local community. Additionally, science museums routinely display inventions by minorities that people often overlook. A change of scenery can do wonders for the brain. Students will welcome the break from the classroom environment and open their minds to receive a great wealth of knowledge.
Putting these techniques into action takes a great deal of patience and planning. Your success rate in these objectives can vary widely; therefore, do not focus all of your energy on the outcomes. If you incorporate diversity into your lesson plans and utilize valuable classroom management skills while doing so, your students will undoubtedly reap the benefits.
