Race/Ethnicity - Group Differences

Group Differences – Reflection

Lauren Owsley

I have always thought that teaching had to be one of the hardest jobs in the world. Understanding each child individually and then attempting to help them grow and learn similar material is very demanding. However, now the goal is to all be on a level playing field with similar understandings and almost encouraging of ignorance when it comes to culture and background of any kind. That may be harsher then most realities, but not understanding where students come from, appreciating student differences, and taking that into account when planning curriculum does a complete disservice to the child. After reading the article “Teacher for Social Justice, Diversity, and Citizenship in a Global World” by James A. Banks I can see just how vital meeting the needs of the whole child are.

As the article dove into Assimilation processes of the 1960s – 1970s and how students especially were expected to be unified on all fronts including ideals, languages, and customs. Stripping someone’s identity was completely counterproductive on the learning aspect especially. The article indicated that the move now should be on unity while still allowing individuality with a focus on sharing national ideals. Some parts of the national culture could include justice or humanity for example. As a future teacher in the urban multicultural program, I completely understand the need to not only acknowledge, but embrace cultural differences and use them to your and the students advantage.

I thought about how I would feel if I was asked to do something in school that I normally would never do and actually get in trouble for doing in my culture. I was always raised to call someone of importance or any acquaintance by their last name such as a teacher, doctor, or even friend’s parents. When I got to college I at first could not do it. I would have to talk to my teachers and explain how uncomfortable I was with it and eventually I became more accustomed to that, but it took time. More importantly, it took effort on the teachers’ part to recognize my individual background and meet me where I was at, at the time. 

Obviously, these situations can be way deeper then my example and can adversely affect a students learning and ultimately their own self-esteem toward their culture and themselves. The article had a very powerful quote towards the end that gives an example of this. “It is not realistic for Puerto Rican students in New York City to have strong allegiance to the U.S. national values or deep feelings for dying people in Afghanistan if they feel marginalized and rejected in their own community, their school, and in their nation-state.” This can be detrimental on all levels of the student’s life so as teachers I believe we must strive to identify, acknowledge and empower those students. Once the student has appreciation and respect for their own individuality then they can start to unite together. Promoting diversity and individual pride can also build positive self-esteem for who they are and that can translate into great learners.