This video shows how even though this group of dancers are not all the came culture or race they can work together to show their amazing talent! This is important as it seems in this day and age people communicate mainly with people of the same culture and race as they are when evidently this is not necessary. No matter what culture or race we are we can all get along! I live by the quote, "Where there's a will, there's a way!" :)

Kim

What Diversity Means to Me!

Diversity is the appreciation for each individual being able to be different from one another. In this world there are no two people who are exactly alike. There are people that are very similar and may appear to be identical, but this is impossible. Not only does it allow us to be our own individual, it allows us to be recognized for our own individual talents, personalities, appearance and the list goes on and on.

Diversity is very important when being looked at from the perspective of teaching. Each student in a classroom learns slightly different, behaves differently, responds to discipline differently and once again the list goes on. As a teacher, it is one’s responsibility to adapt to each student and help them be successful in their own personal way. Without diversity in a classroom there would be many unsuccessful teachers and students which is not what we are working towards. We all want to be successful and see each student be successful in their future endeavours!

Kim

Against Common Sense

While I was doing my research I came across this amazing book; "Against Common Sense" by Kevin Kumashiro.  In this book he discusses how to teach for social justice.  He begins by discussing the fact that common sense is not so common.  He says that many of the practices and perceptions we have about teaching and education are oppressive but that we can not see them because we accept them as common.  He challenges teachers to reject the common and examine all aspects of their classroom to see how they oppress students.  He says the moment that we are most at risk of doing harm is when we feel we have achieved equality because we stop looking for the ways we oppress.

Kumashiro then introduces the concept of "looking beyond".  Looking beyond is being will to deeply examine ourselves, our practices and our perceptions.  He writes.

" it means that we raise questions about the necessarily partial and political nature of whatever approach we take.  It means we examine how the things that we teach and learn can both reinforce and challenge oppression, or why we teach and learn only certain things in only certain ways, or what might be alternative ways of teaching and learning and their implications for reinforcing and challenging oppression" (p XL 2004) 

This is the crucial practice of reflection that teachers need to do.  We can not change what we do not acknowledge and Kumashiro challenges us to look deeply and acknowledge our own responsibility in creating oppression.  He helps us see that even when we think we are helping we might at the same time be hindering our students.  Knowledge is not neutral it is political and it operates in different ways for different students.  

As we move through the process of acknowledging that the things we have always held to be true and good might not be Kumashiro says that we will often come to a moment that he calls crisis.  It is deeply unsettling to find out that the things you believe to be true aren't but we must acknowledge this and work through it to achieve true learning.  Kumashiro believes that if our students and ourselves are not experiencing crisis we aren't learning.  It is only when the status quo is called into question and we acknowledge how this makes us feel can we shift our understanding.  He writes, "Learning involves looking beyond what students already know, what  teachers already know, and what we both are only now coming to know, not by rejecting such knowledge but by treating it paradoxically, that is, by learning what matters in society, while asking why it matters." (Kumashiro p32 2004).  

So then what is the goal of all this questioning is it to completely change the curriculum no so says Kumashiro.  He writes, "our goal is to take one lesson or topic or moment at a time, apply some theories of anti-oppressive education, and then see what teaching, learning and changes are made possible" (Kumashiro p58 2004).  For Kumashiro there is no finished product this is a process that will be ongoing throughout a teachers career.  Never will a teacher reach a place where they can say they have effectively created an anti-bias classroom.  This may sound daunting but in many ways it is exciting work.  We are asked to question everyday alongside our students, giving them the skills to become reflective citizens who are able to look for the hidden ways our society oppresses those who are different and begin the daunting task of addressing this.  As society changes what is labeled as different will change so the work begins anew.  

I am challenged by what Kumashiro writes to address diversity within my classroom not as something that can be fixed or dealt with but as a lifelong experience where I work to illuminate the structures that create such diversity.  To show my students that these structures exist but that we can move through them in unintended ways.  Everyday is a fresh slate to begin anew looking for ways to help my students and improve my teaching.  The work is hard and will never be done but it is meaningful work that while deeply unsettling will have results that I am not even sure I can predict.
Megan

Tucking Daughter's to Bed and Diversity

Have children, then you will understand diversity!  Not fully, but certainly a foundational understanding. I am not stating a person or persons cannot understand what diversity is without bearing and raising a child or children. Children are just one avenue to better see diversity. Case in point; I am tucking my oldest daughter, the “informant”, into bed after putting her sister to bed. The informant, love her to bits, is sharing and I (daddy) zone out. Typical, but really typical would have been to fall asleep instead I begin to think about diversity. Both girls need attention and love from me yet both go about getting my attention in such different ways. I narrow my thoughts to how an individual views diversity on various levels. My oldest two daughters could be seen as “snow whites” and I am thinking diversity is color. True diversity can be viewed from a physical level but let us not be so naïve to stop our understanding on such a level, diversity is so much more. Thank you to my beautiful daughters . . . Before I leave the bed I ask my little informant if she can tell me the same story tomorrow night.

Wally 

Working within Diversity

Last post I explained what I felt diversity was, this time I'm going to explore some of the methods I will use to minimize the negative effects of diversity on my students.  I have developed these ideas based on the research I have been doing but the ideas are my own.

1. Get to know my students and their families
The first step for me will be to truly get to know my students and their families.  Knowing their family will help me avoid stereotyping my students and will help me adapt the classroom to meet their individual needs.  Since I would like to work in early childhood this may take the form of home visits before the school year begins.  This would be a step in the pre-acceptance and would allow me a chance to get to know the child on familiar territory before they step into the classroom.  It would also allow me to address concerns the parents may have and begin to modify the instruction for this child.  It would also allow me to request a picture of the family together to use on the students locker so that their will already be a piece of their family included in the classroom on their first day.
2. Include families in our learning
It's important for young children to understand that differences exist but that this is normal.  There is incredible diversity even in family structure so having family members included in the classroom begins to show young students that diversity exists but that it isn't something to be scared of.  A lot of negative reactions begin in fear and ignorance.  This is a way of removing both of these barriers.  Asking parents to share family traditions which often have cultural roots is another way to explore the differences inherent in our society in a positive way.
3.  Pick Quality Material
As part of our classroom there will be a small reading library and I think it's important that the books represent a wide variety of families, cultural groups and opportunities.  A good book about firefighting would have both men and women of many cultures represented.  Books on family should cover a variety of different family structures.  The pictures and items I choose to display in the room should also be part of this.  The calendar shouldn't only show Judeo-Christian holidays, the display items could be from a variety of cultures, any pictures should show a range of activities and skin colours.  Outings would be planned to expose the class to many different ways of life, this could include visits to a farm, an office building and restaurant to show the range of different lifestyles.  It is important to talk about these differences.  Make the learning obvert by starting discussions about how different these people's lives are but looking for the core things that are the same.
4. Classroom rules
It is important to talk with students about behaviour expectations.  They need to understand that it's okay that they have differences but that it's not okay to treat others badly because of their differences.  Basic classroom rules like treat everyone nicely, take turns, include everyone can help by giving students a base to work from that models positive behaviours.  When problems come up it is important to talk with the students about why they said those things and how they aren't appropriate for our classroom.  Working to build community and respect within the classroom and giving everyone responsibility for creating this empowers children in positive behaviours.
5. Talk about it
This is probably the hardest step because we often want to avoid the uncomfortable topics especially in early childhood.  However, it is important that we begin the discussions about discrimination before they have time to settle into established patterns.  Many of the websites on the resource list have book lists that recommend great children's books to begin the discussion around a variety of topics.  There are many resources to help teachers have the tough conversations but we have to be willing to go there.  Beginning the discussion and then providing follow up support to parents so they can continue the discussion at home will help our students begin to view the world in a different way.
Megan

A note about Our Resource List

To the right you'll see a list of resources.  The purpose of this list is to compile articles, books and websites that we found particularly insightful or useful.  These are resources that we plan on coming back to for help and inspiration as we move forward in our teaching careers.  Please take a look and we invite you to share in our learning journey.

Megan

What is Diversity to Me?

Diversity is a fact of life in Canada and this is reflected in Canadian classrooms.   There are many facets to diversity including: gender, ethnicity, culture, and socioeconomic status.  Each child in a classroom comes from an unique family with their own beliefs, values, and culture.  This becomes an issue for teachers when they allow these differences become racism, sexism, or biases that affect the classroom culture and students learning opportunities.  How then do teachers ensure that their classrooms do not include these influences and that all students have a chance to succeed?  There are many ways to help students succeed and the hope is that as we create this blog we will also identify a wide range of strategies and resources to help us as teachers. 

However in brief there are some essential steps that a teacher must take to create a positive classroom culture.   It is important that teachers find strategies to examine their own beliefs in order to identify and hopefully address any biases they may have.  Teachers must then evaluate the materials they choose to use in their classroom to ensure that they are free from biases and represent a wide variety of life experiences.  The material should be multicultural, gender neutral, open to many diverse types of families and beliefs and above all well balanced.  This would then lead into active lesson planning where the teacher invites the students to explore their own backgrounds to embrace what is great about their families and to share this with their classmates in a safe environment.  The hope of this would be that every child would learn that families are different but that difference is good.  The teacher would also ensure that sexist, racist and biased behaviours are not tolerated in the classroom.  All together this forms what is referred to as anti-bias teaching.  This simple explanation makes this sound easy but this is actually quite hard work.  

Unfortunately our society does not treat everyone as equal and most of these beliefs are deeply hidden.  For children from other cultures everything about school organization in Canada can be foreign and intimidating.  For children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds there are many obstacles to learning and fewer opportunities to succeed in school.  Even today women do not earn the same as men and gender roles are still deeply ingrained.  Sexual identity is now more publicly debated but for those outside the hetero-norm there is great discrimination.  Children of colour or aboriginal background still do not achieve as highly as we know they can due in part to a system that doesn't address their ways of knowing.  For such a multicultural and diverse country we still have a long way to go in order to provide truly equitable and anti-bias education to all students.  This work begins with each teacher, it may not always be possible to change the whole system but it is possible for each teacher to change their own classroom.  

Megan