Why Teach in Diverse Setting?

Imagine a school district with two schools of equal academic standards. They are an equal distance from your house and both have fine facilities and teachers. There is only one core difference, one is extremely diverse and the other has a distinct majority of white attendees. Where would you choose to send your child? Parents tend to be afraid to put their child into an environment where they might feel like they’re not connected or that they might possibly be alone. In this clip, it discusses the diverse elementary school in Columbine, Colorado. It serves a very large percentage of Latinos, as well as a great percentage that are English language learners, and a great percentage of students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch. You can learn about diverse culture in all schools, but to live it and to really become a viable part of that type of community is what Columbine Elementary School is all about. I enjoyed how parents were talking about diversity in a positive light. I think this is something that can tend to be looked at as a negative thing. It was refreshing to see the teacher and parent interviews and hear how energized and supportive they were on this issue. Community is compromised when people separate themselves. It is important to be exposed and interact with people who are different. This movie was very inspiring to me. It put into words something that I hope to accomplish in the future. As a teacher, I hope that all kids feel comfortable walking into my classroom and expressing themselves and their ethnicity without a second thought. A goal of mine is that all of my kids will feel a part of a family in their school and in the classroom that I teach. No one should feel alienated. It’s about encouraging awareness of other cultures, and maximizing the experience for all students to learn to interact with each other. Acceptance of all students no matter their learning ability, their race, their gender, their culture, their economic statues, or their social status, is important. Providing a setting where acceptance is widespread and maximum learning is possible for all students is difficult, but it is something that all teachers must strive for.