Diversity in our Schools

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Recommended: Addressing cultural diversity in the classrooms

Changes in language and culture in the classroom have been swift and dramatic. In the period between 1980 and 2000, the white, non-Hispanic population grew by 7.9percent. The population that identifies itself as nonwhite or Hispanic grew by 88 percent (Lynch & Hanson, 2004). We cannot continue to ignore the facts. The classroom population is changing at a rapid rate. Our students have contrasting backgrounds, possess multiple languages, and have particular views of the world. We ought to take the time to understand and appreciate the difference that make them unique. A good first step is to have a good idea of the population that we teach.
Student data including cultural and linguistic background should be used to set goals. “When students’ cultural and linguistically backgrounds are viewed as a strength on which educators can draw and build, pedagogy changes” (Nieto & Bode, 2008, p. 63). To make my predictions, I considered many factors. I used student data shared during our staff meetings by administrators, observations in my community, and facts I know about history geography. I know for a fact that the population of Hispanics and language learners in my school is more than 60 percent. Each grade level in our school has a class with 10 or more language learners at a beginning level. They are called the center groups. They are clustered homogeneously to help the teacher focus on language practices. Kindergarten has the biggest amount. There are two center classes and each class has twenty students. The students that scored at the developing levels are grouped in the other classes with the native English speakers. Each class has more than five or more language learners at developing and reaching levels. District wide the amoun...

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... and the culture that shaped their views and attitudes.

Works Cited

School District Statistics. (2012). 2012 CSAP/TCAP District and School Disaggregate Summary
Results. Retrieved fro (http://www.cde.state.co.us)
Lynch, E., & Hanson, M, (2004). Developing cross – cultural competence (3rd ed.).
Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2010). School Districts Maps and Demographics.
Retrieved from (http://www.ed.gov)
Nieto, S., & Bode, P. (2008). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education (Laureate custom edition). Boston: Pearson.
Tomlinson, C. A. (2010). Differentiating instruction in response to academically diverse student

populations. In R.Marzano (Ed.), On excellence in teaching (pp. 247-268). Bloomington,

IN: Solution Tree Press

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