Group Differences: Race and Ethnicity

The topic that my group is discussing is on race and ethnicity in the school setting.  The specific article that I read was “Improving Race Relations in Schools” and it focused on the idea that schools should provide education and experiences that lead to them having positive attitudes towards students with different backgrounds.  I agree that this should be the responsibility of the school.  Parents are able to teach their children to respect other cultures, but it is rare for a student to be exposed to other cultures when they are at home or with the family.  The student’s school is an environment where there is a diverse population of students and teachers, oftentimes the most diverse environment that a child will be in.  There are many different opportunities for teachers to assist in students developing positive racial attitudes in the classroom, and I plan on using these that I have learned in this assignment in my future classroom. 

As a teacher, I plan to use cooperative learning groups often to encourage social interactions as well as develop a safe and personal classroom environment.  If students are mixed interracially in these groups, they will be more likely to develop empathy of other students.  These group interactions could also help students to see the similarities in each other regardless of culture or background.  Directing students towards viewing the commonalities as well as differences should be a main goal of teachers in the classroom.  It is important for students to realize that people are more alike than they are different. 

As the textbook suggested, a major role of the teacher should be to become educated on his or her own student’s backgrounds.  This is important for many reasons.  If a teacher is educated on the different backgrounds in the classroom, he or she could incorporate the specific cultures of the students into the lesson and give those students a sense of pride for their heritage.  The students could all share personal stories, different foods, or anything they want to about their own culture.  This activity would help students to feel important and more understood in the classroom.  Also, teachers can use their knowledge about the cultures to restructure their lessons, allowing students of different backgrounds to have equal opportunities to learn.

            By becoming informed on different cultures, restructuring your curriculum, and teaching the students, by example, to respect other ethnicities, your classroom can become a warm, supportive place where students feel welcome and safe to be themselves.  This is one of the most important elements of a classroom.  If a teacher’s students do not feel that they are supported in their classroom, it will be very difficult to have successful students.  Providing an empathetic atmosphere at a school will lead to a higher success rates for students due to their sense of caring for their students. 

            I was not surprised at what I learned in these articles and the textbook, but I do feel as if I learned a lot of valuable adjustments that I can make in my own classroom.  I will apply what I have mentioned above, as well as many other methods of inclusion, in my future classroom.  I look forward to reading more about the different issues that could arise in education if teachers do not handle their classroom in a respectful and understanding manner.  By reading these types of articles, I feel well informed on what I can personally do to help my future students.