Diversity, diversity, and more diversity... but what is diversity?
Our children, whether in a classroom, our homes, or the community, should always feel safe. Feeling safe and comfortable in these places is key to success so they can learn more efficiently. If they don't feel safe, their learning will be affected, as well as their development. Today in our schools, we can receive a wide variety of children, teachers, and non-teaching staff. However, there is always the possibility that some children cannot relate to others due to the difference between them and the other students. or school personnel. This can quickly occur with a child who has problems with their auditory processing, a child with dyslexia or dysgraphia, as well as a child who is of a different ethnicity.
The Royal Spanish Academy defines diversity as variety, dissimilarity, difference, and different things. Diversity is the reason we have so many other qualifications throughout our history. At a given time, women were not allowed to study in schools where men studied. The universities understood that men should only study certain professions and women should only attain specific titles due to the different abilities people thought different genders had in those times. So the concept of diversity is adaptable to other times. However, it is essential to understand our relationships with the people we interact with daily.
Diversity at school:
Diversity is a fundamental issue in education. Ethnic and cultural differences, functional diversity, and more are essential to speak in the classroom and the school community. One of the importance of teaching diversity is the acquisition of new perspectives. New perspectives are critical to learning at any age, from elementary school to high school. Students of different races, genders, and cultures have different experiences that will later become points of view. This is an excellent opportunity to have experiential discussions with the children so that they will understand, respect, and appreciate different points of view. This, accordingly, helps students learn more about each other. It will allow students to see things under a new crucible they otherwise would not have considered.
When I was studying boarding in Geneva, Switzerland, my impression before arriving was that I would need to speak English 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, my experience was that Spanish helped me on many occasions, even more than English itself. These experiences helped me to see the city of Geneva in a different light, I was able to go to other places that I would never have thought of, and I was able to meet many people.
Another important point about diversity in our schools is that scientific research has shown that diversity, regardless of age, positively impacts students, especially when cultural and racial differences are introduced. The most diverse schools see significant improvement in academic achievement for all students. Also, students can solve problems and work more efficiently. This is partly because schools that work with diversity see students who are more empathetic and less judgmental, allowing everyone to feel more secure and confident in their learning environment. In schools that teach diversity, they have a student body with better self-esteem and self-concept. These students are also more self-sufficient as they believe in their ability to face challenges and complete tasks. Studying diversity in schools, especially cultural diversity and functional diversity, helps students understand its value and feel appreciated.
How can I work on diversity in my classroom?
It is essential to create a space where students feel comfortable. You can invite your students a few times a week or month to talk about their culture, food, music, and places of interest. Another efficient way to achieve diversity education is through reading and history. It can introduce you to famous people from different cultures or authors of other races or backgrounds.
It is crucial to remember that the references we will be using in the classroom may be intangible, so diverse teaching strategies are of great importance when working on this topic. For example, having presentations, photos, and videos, the idea is to have a variety of visual, auditory, and tactile learning activities.
This teaching in your classroom can be done transversally. When you talk about Poland, France, X-rays, or the Hulk, you can introduce the scientist Marie Curie and how she revolutionized science in her time. This month marks Martin Luther King, so you can talk about how a black pastor forever changed civil rights in the United States. The important thing is to have imagination and the correct data.
What do we bring for January?
At the end of last year, I started working on the themes we would be working on for this month. We always like to bring you new articles, activities, and surprises. We love knowing that your students or children use what we prepare for you. In addition, it fills us with great joy to know that these materials create beautiful memories that will later be recorded with love. January is the month where Martin Luther King Day, the Holocaust, the day of the invention of the Braille language for the blind are commemorated, but also human rights, World Family Day, Lunar New Year, the day of birds, and the day of education. As if that were not enough, it is the month of awareness of human trafficking, so the material that will be made will be pretty diverse, some like this blog and other accessible materials that worked and others with modest costs to make them accessible for all.
