THE AMERICAN CLASSROOM

Diversity in the American Classroom with emphasis on students with special education

Diversity in the American Classroom with emphasis on students with special education

There are many contemporary issues in education. One issue that I believe directly applies to Language Arts teaching, and one that I believe is becoming increasingly more important in the world is the teaching of social justice (González, 1993). Racism, gender bias, and other forms of prejudice and discrimination are societal ills that have been around, and will continue to be around for some time. They will not disappear overnight, but with enough concentrated effort, we can create communities where everyone is truly equal. Politicians can pass as many bills as they want, but nothing will change if we do not change the hearts and minds of those people who will be in power someday; our students (Henry, 1990, 28-31).

Such an effort to change society, I believe, must start in the classroom and work its way out into the world. By creating classrooms free of bias we model for our students the type of communities we ourselves aspire to live in; equitable, egalitarian, bias free communities where opportunities for everyone are truly equal. One strategy I use in my classroom to create a model community is the use of direct communication techniques and classroom meetings. Dr. Ken Peterson taught me these techniques. One technique A-B Sharing requires students to pair up, sit facing each other, make eye contact, and talk to each other one at a time for a predetermined amount of time. This technique not only teaches active listening, but students are encouraged to partner with a different person each time, which helps to transcend the cliques that often alienate certain students (Henry, 1990, 28-31).

Affirming diversity in the classroom, however, must go beyond just the community of the classroom. It must be part of the curriculum as well. The path to this type of change is Multicultural education.

Teaching students a curriculum free of bias, where the contributions of racial minorities and women are not only added, but are central to the lessons teachers plan, teaching students to be critically aware of the prejudice and discrimination in their society and the powerful influences that perpetuate them; these are the cornerstones of multicultural education. As part of my mission as a teacher, it is my responsibility to plan activities that engage my students in critical thinking, reflection, and classroom dialogue, and hopefully inspire them to action. One strategy I use in my classroom is the use of discussion prompts (Ogbu, 1995, 189-205). These prompts are either related to current events or to issues that face today's youth. I write the prompt on the board and allow students a few minutes to get into small groups to discuss it. Then , we have a full class discussion. Eventually I try to tie the discussion to a text we are reading, and assign a written response assignment for homework (Ogbu, 1995, ...