Teaching The Value of Diversity

One of the best gifts that teachers can give their students is teaching the value of diversity. Teachers who are able to share this gift with their students are the ones who will make a difference in the futures of every child in their classes.

This means that the children learn that all people are unique. All people have different abilities and different learning styles. Teachers must not just talk the talk. They must walk the walk!

A technique that is successful in helping students grasp the idea is by group problem solving. A great example of this was shared with me last week.

The teacher wrote on the board, “What is the best way to travel from one state to another?” Instead of having her students answer individually, she broke the class into groups. She was careful to make sure that each group had students from different ethnic groups, differently-abled children and children from different economic levels.

The students were instructed that each group should list the answers that the members of the group believed to be the right ones along with the reasons that the other students agreed or disagreed. At the end of 20 minutes each group had to agree on one answer.

The groups came up with the following lists

• Airplanes – because they are fast. No, my dad needs two seats because of his weight and that costs too much.
• Trains – because they cost less. No, my sister is afraid of trains.
• Vans – because they are wheelchair accessible. No, that takes too long.
• Boats – because wind pushes them and wind is free. No, my grandfather died on one when he tried to come here.
• Ships – because you can do fun things on them. No, I get seasick.
• Cars – because you don’t have to know English to drive a car. No, because I can’t sit still that long.
• Buses - because you don’t need to be able to see to use a bus.
• Bicycles – because we don’t have a car. No, I don’t know how to ride a bike.
• Walk – if you are on the border of two states. No, I can’t walk.

When it was time for the groups to agree on only one answer, they couldn’t. Each group explained in different ways, that there is no best way to travel from one state to another. The best way depends on the abilities and needs of the person who is traveling.

What a great lesson that was learned by each student in that class! Kudos an amazing teacher! Pass it on!

Photo: FamilyMWR