Diversity

"Hello Aunt Donna, I am doing an interview on diversity in one of my classes. I was wondering if you would be willing to answer some questions for me?

Thank you,

Jacqueline

1.  What is your role as an adult or teacher and what grades do you teach?  

Currently I am a Certified Montessori Teacher operating my own small school.  In the past, I have additionally been a certified elementary teacher with the Military teaching in Japan and Germany and a certified teacher with the state of Maryland and taught in Virginia and substitute taught in California.  I have always worked with children from ages 2 years old through 6 years old.  I have purposely chosen to singularly follow Montessori teaching practices personal because experience showed me they are superior in producing peaceful, intelligent, loving, non-competitive behaviors in all children.

2.  What is your perspective on classroom diversity? 

Maria Montessori was the very first female physician in Italy.  After receiving her degree, she joined the first research of children with learning disabilities and worked in a children's asylum developing her own materials to support the young children; they ended up testing at normal ranges.  This led Maria Montessori to begin studies in Educational Psychiatry and she took another degree in Anthropology in order to help with her research.  Finally, she had the opportunity to begin a school in a slum outside of Rome and her educational method successfully produced well-mannered children who could read and write at ages previously unheard of (all of the children's parents were illiterate.)  This gained her international recognition and she began her lifelong observation, study, and quest of serving children through her new methods.  (Piaget, who is revered in educational theory of children was one of her students.)  Most importantly, Maria Montessori served children in many countries from various cultures who spoke different languages and had different customs and beliefs (Italy, Germany, Spain, Great Britain, Holland, America, and India.)  Due to the war in Europe she was often physically displaced for safety reasons.  However, the knowledge she gained from that was that young children are pan-human.  No matter what culture children came from, the result in learning through her methods was the same.  Maria Montessori was a devout Catholic and survived life during the terrible turmoil of war; her primary goal was peace.  When the children developed peace through her method, they could concentrate, developed a love for learning, and became loving and kind individuals who worked in harmony with others.  I myself have witnessed the same through my experiences in teaching children from many backgrounds.  There is only the biodiversity within ourselves that hampers working with children.  God says, "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first."  When we observe children without personal bias, we can put them first and serve them well. 

3.  Have you seen or experienced episodes in the classroom where children displayed biases, such as discrimination, stereotyping, or discrimination, whether it be expressed in words or the way the children behave? 

In the early plane of development (ages 2 through 5 years of age) generally no.  The very few cases I had of this related to children who had learning disabilities that affected their social interaction such as one four year old who was very, very intelligent and shy with the body control of a two year old, another boy age four whose behavior was atomic so children couldn't interact with him due to him never being still enough to talk to him, and one other child who had Asperger's.  I have worked in Inclusion classes comprised of several children with learning disabilities and they were treated well by one another--only the three children mentioned above struggled in discovering how to be calm to find their way socially in the class.  However, in the later plane of development (ages six and above) most definitely I have observed all these problems.  It can range from competition brought in from the home environment in a naive way such as American superhero worship, when children arrive wearing clothing and carrying lunchboxes that display well-known superhero characters and the children themselves become those characters and fantasy fighting behavior occurs.  Abrasive behavior can also enter due to bias in home environments revolving around monetary status--many children from affluent homes with an overabundant cache of toys and things think of themselves in the "first" category without having learned humility and serving others. 

 

With that said, I would like to discuss three difficult children I had in a class in Virginia where the mix of culture was broad both ethnically and economically.  All three were Arab boys whose parents were immigrants.  These boys brought in one particular attitude from home that even at age 4 produced in them the right to be over/in control of girls--even their moms and their teacher.  One of these boys was cruel in his language to another Chinese student who was very intelligent and hard-working; another made the announcement that his Dad was away for work so he was in charge of the house and when the children asked him, "what about your Mom?" he seriously stated, "Yes, I am in charge of her."  In a school in Japan, I had one African American girl age three who brought in the attitude from home that all white people were against her race of people (these were words she spoke that no child of three would know to say unless taught from home.)

4. How was the situation handled, or how would you deal with biases in a classroom?  

Everything is conquered with love; this does not mean letting the children continue in aberrant paths, but observing them to discover the root of the difficulty and kindly but firmly guiding them toward peace.  With the Arab boys, this meant developing a relationship with the parents--first with the mothers so they had a good report to the fathers.  In love, I spoke factually about goals to set and allowed the parents to decide on those goals because not every family can realistically do what you desire due to time constraints, finances, emotional states, etc.  Once we entered an agreement on goals, I always set a time for review to see if progress was being made and if the goals continued to be the ones desired.  Being respectful of the parents' desires for their children broke the barriers in the classroom.  I managed to do this with these boys with hard work, but I heard that the teacher of the following year had a bad experience:  the father of one boy became so belligerent that a restraining order was taken out against him and the child was removed from school.  With the African American girl, the same solution.  I developed a relationship with the mom so she could trust me thereby allowing her daughter to move forward in the class.  With the learning disabilities, the answer was the same: observe the children to determine the root of their struggles and set goals with the parents.  Once the parents truly understand that you love their children and you check in frequently to give progress and reset goals when necessary, you will succeed.  With respect to American superhero clothing and lunchboxes, I don't allow clothing that disrupts the class while lunchboxes I allow because the structure of lunchtime allows for positive conversation to develop.

5. What is your general experience with diverse classrooms?  

I love them!  I lived abroad for 12 years traveling to many, many countries and discovering how beautiful humans are everywhere.  We are all tied together in our creation--relating to one another, to God, to the earth--plants and animals.  It is true that I will always be the biggest obstacle to children developing peace in the classroom.  I must always be aware of my own past and what that brings to my personality because that is what becomes projected into the classroom.  Therefore, the more observation I can make of the children, the more I become aware of who they are.  We become like onions as we age--each year we put on a layer of behavioral protection.  We learn to fight or flee.  The more layers that are put on, the more layers that need to be removed to reveal the true beautiful self.  That is why I absolutely adore working with such young children--they have much fewer layers disguising their germ.  I am blessed to be part of their lives, in developing deep peace and love and gentleness and kindness.  I see the result in my amazing precious classroom where children help one another and work with joy.  It does not mean that it is an easy job.  It takes great humility; I must be able to see myself in order not to judge a child wrongly.  I must be able to change course when a path does not succeed in bringing about peace, concentration, co-ordination, and independence.

I can attest that young children in their natural state are peaceful, loving, gentle, kind, and focused.  It is our job to create an environment that allows all children to find safety and provide materials that support their needs on individual levels.  I do not believe in a teacher-centered environment where all children are expected to do the same thing at the same time.  This creates competition rather than camaraderie.  The teacher must very kindly introduce children who are new, don't speak the same language, or have a physical disability.  I had one class with a Chinese orphan who had never been out of a crib for five years!  Before she could even join the class, she had to be treated for an enormous tapeworm.  This girl had a physical disability that prevented her from walking but she could scoot.  With proper introduction, this girl was the love of everyone.  She was always seen with a smile and was able to learn English with the class--this outcome is possible with every class of young children.

6. For students who struggle with language learning, how important is it to pay attention to nonverbal cues?  

Observation, observation, observation is the name of the game.  You can never assume what is in a child's heart because our projection of ourselves interferes.  This means you must watch so closely where the child turns his/her eyes, how the child sits, stands, walks, runs, reacts to his/her clothes (itchy tags, pulling or sucking on sleeves, etc.), tone of voice, respiration of voice, facial expressions, where the child chooses to sit, does the child choose simple or challenging work, does the child want too much adult support, does the child enter into power struggles, is the child making friends, is the child shy?  If you cannot determine the answer to these questions, you will fail.  Children can teach other children much easier than adults can; promote friendships.  Show the child how to help keep the classroom beautiful--water flowers, sharpen pencils, wash tables, put books away properly; duplicate work that the children see in their homes.

7.  What cultural differences have you noticed affect the social and intellectual needs of newly arrived immigrant children?  

As with any human being at any age, these children require the guidance in introducing them to the community and respectfully showing them where things are where they belong and showing them how to do everything.  It is easy for adults to assume that children are intellectually inferior when they cannot verbally communicate with others--this is a trap to avoid.  Living in other countries, I observed countless times that young children do not see differencesamong other children who don't speak their language, eat the same foods, dress the same, etc.  There is a lovely universal body language understood by young children.  When children become older and learn from the adult environment that some foods stink, that some clothes are ugly, that children should speak only a particular language, that some children are rich or poor, that some children are smart and others are not, some children have parents in jail, some children have parents with addictions, etc. then the layers of protection (fight or flee) begin to be built.  A child should never be treated with pity or low expectations.  Young children love challenges and take great pride in their accomplishments--if you don't provide situations for young children to succeed with difficulties, they will lose esteem and hope for themselves.  Avoid rewards and punishments--genuine conversation from the heart that promotes self-esteem will plant the seed of love.

8.  What strategies or specific modifications have you used or were provided as a learner?  

First, help the child develop friendships and pleasant relationships with the community.  This can include reading books to the classroom community that describe the child's native land and customs.  Second, if possible meet the parents and visit the home with only the intent of welcoming the family to the community.  Third, assign a responsible buddy to help the child through the school day.  Finally, help the child learn English!  (please note: parents should always continue to speak their native language at home--young children have no problem at all learning two or three languages up to age 8 when the brain relocates the language center.)  Montessori materials are wonderful, so excellent in teaching all children English, both reading and writing.  I introduce the graphic symbols of the alphabet with Sandpaper Sounds (the letters are cut out of sandpaper and glued to blue cards for vowels and pink cards for consonants.)  The child traces the symbol, says the sound out loud, while looking at the symbol.  I find small objects that begin with that sound and put it beside the letter.  There is no need for a particular order of introducing these Sounds to the child--present what will make sense to the child, letters in his/her name, objects found in the room, etc.  Next, I have a series of Pink Boxes that each have objects in them that can be spelled with three-letter phonetic words in word families such as:  ham, cat, gas, map.  The child learns the names of the objects and then finds the letters in a Moveable Alphabet box to spell the word.  Many, many words are introduced in this manner.  Following this, there are picture cards of three-letter phonetic words to do the same.  Parallel lessons are to name and label objects in the room (you must connect auditory sounds with visual recognition of objects and words--play "I Spy With My Little Eye"), read out loud to the child often, create a library of very easy-to-read repetitive alphabet books that the child can take home when he/she has memorized them, sing songs, play "The Verb Game" (do an action and say the name: clap, laugh, jump, etc. and child mimics), set up a little library of Classification Cards such as a label card for "Farm" and then corresponding cards with farm animals; set up puzzles and card-matching games that the child can be successful with without knowing English, use individual-sized white board or chalkboard to draw and practice writing because it is easily erased and does not keep errors permanently in view of the child, use outdoor time wisely with community games and play.  Above all, remain cheerful, positive, and friendly without lowering expectations of behavior.  Continually check your self-projection so you are not an obstacle to the child.

Nonverbal Communication In addition to the need to deal with the actual acquisition of English, there are also nonverbal communications—the gestures and body movements we use to enhance our verbal communication—that need to be understood across linguistic and cultural groups. Sharing these ways of communicating and making a chart of what nonverbal communication signals mean can be interesting and add to understanding. For example, a teacher might ask students, “How do we show that we are listening carefully to someone as they speak? How do we show our respect if we are being corrected?” A child from Mexico will respond that he shows respect by keeping his eyes down and not connecting with an adult’s eyes. An Asian child will most likely respond in a similar fashion. However, an American student will explain that we are to make eye contact with someone speaking to us and that even while being corrected it is polite to keep one’s eyes on the speaker. Asking students how they indicate agreement nonverbally is also important. For Greek students, nodding the head up and down and clicking the tongue indicates “no” or “I disagree.” Moving the head from right to left signals “yes.”

Another area of cultural difference that affects how teachers interact with students and their families is the physical distance between persons engaged in conversation. Hispanic families are physically warm and often hug to show greetings and leave-taking. Hispanic children also often keep close physical contact with their friends and enjoy a hug from their teacher. Many Northern European and Asian families find close touch uncomfortable and prefer handshakes to other forms of social connection. Asian students, too, are prone to wanting more private space around their physical bodies.

Arab and Muslim cultures often separate girls from boys after age twelve, and some newly arrived families may find our mixing of male and female students and teachers uncomfortable. An example of how important it is to make these differences explicit comes from a school experience of one of our teacher friends in Virginia. Shortly after a family from Saudi Arabia arrived in the school, the father came to the school office asking that his son be moved to a different classroom. He didn’t want the boy taught by a woman. It was very difficult for him to understand how, in American schools, boys and girls were mixed in the same classrooms and that they would be taught by teachers of both genders. Something that most American teachers would never consider offensive was very difficult for this father to accept for his family.

If you have students in your classroom who come from a variety of cultural groups, it is important to be curious about their nonverbal communication signals and preferences. It can be an entry into an ongoing study of communication for your whole class. Most elementary students need to learn how to participate fully in a multicultural world; they also need to learn how to be productive members of their classroom community. Establishing a classroom protocol for talking and listening is useful to all involved. Small group discussions work well when children know to look at the speaker, give nonverbal feedback that is encouraging, and then respond in ways that acknowledge the ideas that the speaker shared.

Social and Intellectual Examples:

ELs will need additional time to think through the content and find ways to express their ideas in English. You will help students by giving them time to process ideas and information. You can encourage students to turn to another student who speaks their same language and talk together to make sure they understand. Establishing a supportive environment in which students can work together on class activities is important.

As we think about the language needs of students, we also need to think about the cultural expectations and values they bring that may be quite different from what we expect. For this reason, it is important for teachers to learn about the values and expectations of the cultures of each child in their class.

Many families come to our schools with more formal experiences in education. In many eastern European countries, students are taught never to question what teachers say; in addition, engaging in discussion of literature is not permitted. Students memorize the interpretations that the “authoritative theorists” have determined to be correct. When students from these contexts enter our schools, they are understandably confused. Why would teachers want to hear their opinions? Why would teachers waste time in discussion of what students think about literature?

Because we are experiencing a period of high immigration, it is important to become aware of significant differences in the approach to education among the countries from which students are now coming and those of our society.

Many of our newly arriving immigrant students are coming from Mexico. In many Mexican elementary schools, there is little emphasis placed on reading. In contrast, students spend a significant portion of their time learning to write, that is, learning to use correct handwriting and spelling. The formation of the letters and words is important; copying models from the board is often a task for students. Jiminez (2008) provides a clear explanation of these basic differences in the ways elementary schools prioritize their goals. Think of how confusing it must be for parents who expect to have their children practicing handwriting and instead find out that their children will be listening to teachers read aloud and be asked to discuss their own connections to the text ideas. In schools where handwriting and spelling are not a high priority, these parents can easily develop negative impressions of the education we provide."