In my opinion, diversity can affect a classroom, because when working with other students with different backgrounds, can help us get a wide understanding of the topic. This can also help with group work which allows students to grow academically and socially. I think that this will have a positive impact.
Before we dive on to what are the more beneficial things that diversity can affect in a classroom we first have to talk about. What is diversity in a classroom, According to Maria Kampen in Prodigy, diversity is everything that makes people different, from race, ethnicity, economic backgrounds, ability, age, and many more. All of these factors will be beneficial to how students will interact with the world. As the University of Rhode Island said “understanding each student brings unique experiences, strengths, and ideas to our classroom … Diversity is the exploration and incorporation of these differences to enrich learning in our classroom.”
There are a lot of benefits regarding diversity in a classroom one of which is making students more empathic. According to Drexel University School of Education, Preventing pupils from forming biases later in life may be accomplished by promoting understanding and building a personal connection with other cultures in the classroom. Because they are more aware of the experiences that persons of a different race or ethnic group may encounter, it helps them to empathize with others who are different from themselves.
Diversity helps with making students open-minded and growing their academic outcomes. This can help students by exposing them to different cultures and backgrounds from other students, this helps by encouraging them to be open-minded in the future, this will open them up to new ideas and allow them to have a better understanding of a subject by considering many points of view. It also helps students feel comfortable and recognized because of the different backgrounds that students have, although this doesn’t apply to all the schools in countries. For example most of this applies to first-world countries and international schools, according to professor AnnLopez from the University of Toronto. `` disrupt narratives and stereotypes in the classroom that position diverse people as lacking invaluable knowledge or unqualified.”
I think the things that I need to do are spreading this idea to a lot of schools through social media, and doing the things that are considered diversity in the classroom. In my point of view having diversity in a classroom is a great idea, it has a lot of benefits for the students and the teachers so they have new things to adapt, since this system doesn’t affect every school, for example, public schools in Indonesia don’t implement this system and its around more than 80%.
Sources:
“The Importance of Diversity in the Classroom.” School of Education, https://drexel.edu/soe/resources/student-teaching/advice/importance-of-cultural-diversity-in-classroom/.
Kampen, Maria. “7 Ways to Support Diversity in the Classroom [with Examples].” Prodigy Education, 6 Nov. 2020, https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/diversity-in-the-classroom/.
“Diversity in the Classroom: Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning.” Diversity in the Classroom | Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, 5 Jan. 1970, https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/graduate-students/resources-graduate-student-teachers/diversity-classroom.
“9 Ways to Create an Inclusive Environment in a Diverse Classroom.” OISE, https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/oise/About_OISE/Dealing_with_diversity_in_the_classroom.html.
