What if I don't have diversity in my classroom?
Whether you know it or not your classroom and school is filled with diversity. Sometimes we do not know of the diversities because students do not feel safe sharing. In some schools First Nations students are happy to pass as Portuguese or Italian because when they do so they are not subjected to the racism associated with being First Nations. Similarly children may hide their diversities in order to avoid the negative reactions of others, but live in fear of the day when they will be “found out” and live with the discrimination of others.
Even if you had no diversity in your classroom or school, the purpose of diversity education is not just to create safe learning environments for our students with diverse backgrounds, but to ensure all of our students gain the broader perspective that the knowledge and embracing of diversity brings. Your students will not always live without diversity. Ontario is the most diverse province in Canada, and whether now or in the future your students will have to know how to interact positively with others who are in some ways different than they are, not worse, not better, just different. The sooner they are introduced to those concepts the more natural it becomes for them to truly love, value and serve everyone around them.
Whether you know it or not your classroom and school is filled with diversity. Sometimes we do not know of the diversities because students do not feel safe sharing. In some schools First Nations students are happy to pass as Portuguese or Italian because when they do so they are not subjected to the racism associated with being First Nations. Similarly children may hide their diversities in order to avoid the negative reactions of others, but live in fear of the day when they will be “found out” and live with the discrimination of others.
Even if you had no diversity in your classroom or school, the purpose of diversity education is not just to create safe learning environments for our students with diverse backgrounds, but to ensure all of our students gain the broader perspective that the knowledge and embracing of diversity brings. Your students will not always live without diversity. Ontario is the most diverse province in Canada, and whether now or in the future your students will have to know how to interact positively with others who are in some ways different than they are, not worse, not better, just different. The sooner they are introduced to those concepts the more natural it becomes for them to truly love, value and serve everyone around them.