kekekekek its 7. 25
and yes fuck.
finished the bloody essay
its like 2100 words?
yeaaaaaaaaaaa
fuck yes im awesome lol.
the stupid pimple out break i got from the stress of this thing is amazing. like 10 pimples omg. forehead sore ness and face soreness from this stupid essay.
lets just hope i pass it yea. ~_~ after all it is a rushed job.
DIVERSITY ESSAY
What do you understand about the term diversity?
Why is it an important concept for teachers preparing to teach in today’s classrooms?
Drawing on your understanding of diversity discuss the construction of subordinate and dominant identities and how these can help explain differential experiences in education?
Diversity as stated by the American Heritage Dictionary is ‘a point or respect in which things differ’, so the term diversity encompasses many different facets of life including ethnicity , socio – economic background , home language , gender , religion , sexual orientation , age and the ability and disability both mental and physical. All these different characteristics are interdependent upon one another as they progress to influence our lives in aspects such as the manner in which we see ourselves, and the manner in which we see others is shaped to present our own complex and individual identities. In this essay the aspects of diversity that will be taken into account is the term itself; why it is an important concept for teachers preparing to teach in today’s classrooms and if I draw upon my knowledge of diversity if the construction of subordinate and dominant identities can help explain these differential experiences in education.
Everyone has lived life through varying experiences and as the meaning of diversity - a point of difference, everyone’s meaning of the word diversity might also differ because of the different environments that one has to subsist. So how can we define diversity with just one definition when each individual has a different definition for diversity which differs with each personal approach to the term.
Diversity has many different meanings but in the words of Beverly Daniel Tatum [ 2000 ], diversity is “individual characteristics family dynamics , historical factors and social and political contexts”. Beverly Daniel Tatum states that the term diversity is a perception that “depends in large part on who the world around me says I am” so therefore you are who the people around you perceive you to be and not who you think you are. Tatum associates her ideas of diversity by mainly focusing on the identity of being oneself and how that self interacts with subordinate and dominant factors in everyday societies and hierarchies. “Social , cultural and historical context is the ground in which individual identity is embedded”, Tatum has said in one of her readings that “ students of colour usually mention their racial or ethnic group ... but in general white students rarely mention being white.” What she is saying here is that a person being of the dominant society takes advantage of their station in the world because it is the norm. No one brings into question the characteristic that makes them dominant while as the subordinated society is constantly ridiculed and objectified as to why they are the way they are, and are constantly on the defence to a barrage of endless denunciations . These denunciations are what force the subordinate society to feel a sense of under accomplishment “ ... to be part of a social group that carried labels such as ‘ under achievement’ ,‘ marginalised’, and even ‘tail – end ‘”[Tanya Wendy Samu,2004 ], even though people do not know you directly but because you have been set under a certain stereotype people have already labelled you as inferior / superior and have a set mind set about who you are.
The way people see you and the way you see people can also be a way to identify diversity. A recent report [ Tanya Wendt Samu , 2004 ] stated that “ at first contact the lenses i see through first are my particular cultural ones...... the perspective having my own Samoan shade of brown.” This clearly states that the way we can see things as individuals differ because of different aspects in which we see through which might be our culture , religion , age , sex, race or many other ‘lenses’ that we may see through. Each and everyone one of us would have our own shade of ‘lens’ that we see through and the way in which we see identities which in turn represent our own diverse natures is different. Samu also states though that “ this does not mean I am unable to see through other cultural perspectives “ with this statement she indicates that she is not seeing only through one lens it is just her first response to actually seeing something would be to see through a perspective which has been with her all her life and comes to her naturally, her cultural perspective as a Samoan.
So if the term diversity itself is hard to define to a single definition that would fit the needs of all then what is the term diversity? I strongly agree with what Beverly Daniel Tatum [ 2000 ] stated in her report , “ who am I ? the answer depends in large part on the who the world around me says I am”. Diversity as I see it is the definition of describing the differences in everything around us, so to me I say the term diversity is an ever changing description of objects animate and inanimate. People are forever changing so the term is also forever changing along with us. As our identities mature and grow ,new light is shed upon perspectives that are already present and different perspectives are brought to us through new found knowledge and new life experiences.
Diversity is clearly a concept which teachers preparing to teach need to have a clear understanding of before they teach. The importance of understanding diversity links to how well you can educate your students. For if you do not understand how a student has experienced their life and how they are most suited to learn then how are you supposed to teach and cater to their needs if you do not know how they function, because each and every single student differs in some aspect. “High achievement for diverse groups of learners is an outcome of the skilled and cumulative pedagogical actions of a teacher in creating and optimising an effective learning environment,” [Alton Lee, 2003] this means that even if you are more disadvantaged when compared to others in aspects such as socio economic status or mental ability , with the right help from a teacher who understands your diverse identity you can excel in areas you would not normally succeed in, Alton states “ classes with low mean socio-economic status , low pre –scores and higher proportions of non pakeha students are capable of very good progress in mathematics learning” , therefore it is a very important concept to understand for the sake of pedagogical practices that facilitate for heterogeneous groups of students.
Beverly Daniel Tatum [ 2000 ]also said that the “ element of their identity is so taken for granted by them that it goes without comment”, the dominant society so takes their privileges for granted that they do not even notice that they have these privileges because it is just thought to be the common treatment that everyone should get. People often forget that which is their birth right or which they are born with if it is beneficial or part of the main stream conformist society of the dominant traits. “Survival of the fittest.... this view maintained that the inability of these groups to adapt was a natural part of the evolutionary selection processes through which some groups would naturally die out” [ Paul Adams , Hine Waitere-Ang , 2005]... was part of Charles Darwin’s published revolutionary study of the evolution of species. This can be taken into example as the dominant species takes control while the subordinated species / race has to deal with the opposing force of the dominant, because they have ‘lesser traits’ deemed by survival of the fittest. Either a mutated gene which gives an advanced feature which helps the dominant species / race survive in its current environment shown in Darwin’s theory, or in the society of today those who have features which are present in the main stream dominant society have the easy life as they are accepted as part of the norm and ignore their dominant feature as it is present in all majorities around them and only notice those that are without.
This dominant / subordinated construct appears in society through all facets of life in the basis of race/ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age and physical or mental ability. In each group there is a group considered dominant which is systematically advantaged by society because of group membership and a group considered subordinated which is systematically disadvantaged. This is caused because in each of the “categories mentioned above each has a form of oppression associated with it; racism, sexism, religious oppression / anti Semitism, heterosexism , classism , ageism and ableism.” [Beverly Daniel Tatum, 2000]
“Dominant groups , by definition , set the parameters within which the subordinates operate.” [Beverly Daniel Tatum, 2000 ]. Students and teachers alike both deal with the construct of the dominant and subordinated whether dealing with it through a first person or a second person perspective. So therefore in the instance of education the dominant group of students would get to experience a style of teaching where it was suited to their needs and wants because it would be set around the parameters of the dominant groups society rather than the subordinated. So this means that the style of teaching would mostly be concentrated on those who are part of the main stream part of the class, which you could call the dominant stream, while those who are lagging behind or excelling forward would be the subordinated stream because they are not part of the norm so are ostracized in most teaching methods that are conducted for the mainstream dominant class. This is just but one example of how the construct of dominant and subordinated identities can help one explain differential experience in education. Another would be the student to teacher relationship instead of just focusing on the students, “ to agree to learn from a stranger who does not respect your integrity causes a major loss of self . The only alternative is to not – learn and reject their world.” This statement made by Tatum shows us that if we do not understand the diversity of our students and pre-empt their needs all the students will do is reject our teaching style and lose the focus needed to continue their education, they will rebel.
It is no longer just up to the students to learn what the teachers teach no matter how the teacher is teaching, the responsibility is now upon the teachers to find suitable teaching methods so that each child is no longer left without options to choose from. This is why diversity is important inside the classroom and for teachers and students to realise the importance. For without understand the diverse community that is within the classroom first how will you create a learning atmosphere that will enable you to teach and the children to learn if they do not understand you and you them. Also as the barriers of different characteristics are broken down little by little as we begin to understand each other in the classroom it no longer matters who is dominant and who is subordinated because if the diverse identities understand one another, there is no longer a reason for conflict or for survival of the fittest to present itself.
I realise that one will never fully understand diversity as diversity always changes with the changing identities of the people surrounding us. I also understand that to fully ensure that quality teaching is facilitated to the students so that we cater to the individuality of each and every single student one must be prepared. Prepared to evolve and learn , to understand the diverse nature of each student and working in unison with the students to prepare a positive atmosphere in which both the students and teachers will be able to understand each other’s identities better in order to be rid of the oppressive form associated with the many different characteristics one is defined by.
3 years ago
