Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS ESSAY 1

Diversity Statement of Informed Beliefs Essay

Eric Tarkalson

Instructor: Dr. Egbert

EDUC 204: Families, Communities, and Culture

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Abstract

Being a teacher is one of the most rewarding occupations that a person can have. A teacher plays

a big role in the future of our country. This occurs when a dedicated teacher fulfills his or her

obligation to prepare future generations of students to became leaders of this great county. There

needs to be teachers to ensure that every child receives the education they need and to meet their

personal ambitions. Every child has great potential and it’s our job as a teacher to help the child

reach them. Teacher’s should focus all their attention on the student. A teacher can create an

avenue for every child to see these opportunities. Every child need an education. The world is

very competitive and an education is crucial to be successful. What children learn in school will

allow them to meet their needs and assist them in becoming responsible adults in society. It is

important for a teacher to understand the needs of every student and be aware of them. Teachers

are a great influence to the children and through these efforts, shape our nations’ future. Students

are our future!

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Introduction

Teaching is a very rewarding occupation in which you can share the knowledge that

you’ve learned with others. I found a love for teaching while substituting at the local high school.

It has come to my attention, that working with students gives me great satisfaction, pure joy, and

a sense of fulfillment that I haven’t had in other areas of my life. This is a way, I can give back to

my community and help the students in my community reach the goals that they have set. I

know I will have great influence on the students that I teach. I will always be aware of the

student and his or her needs. A teacher has the responsibility to recognize the factors that shape

children’s abilities to learn. It is an educator’s responsibility to provide students with a quality

and equitable education.

How All Students Can Learn

The main role of a teacher is to help each student learn and reach their highest potential.

Every student has the ability within them to learn. When teaching, it is important for every

student to be responsible for his or her own actions in the learning process. As a teacher, it is my

responsibility to find the learning styles that are most effective for the students. Learning styles

is the aim of a teacher to understand how each child learns differently. This will help the students

comprehend what is being taught. I know that it is my responsibility to organize, create, and

maintain a positive setting in the classroom. I will maintain a positive perception of the

curriculum with each student by using a democratic leadership style. A style of leadership that

allows students to be actively involved in the classroom and creating equal opportunity and

responsibility for each student. I will use a cognitive oriented curriculum, giving the students

the opportunity to help plan the lesson activities. I have found this to be very effective when

working with students. Cognitive oriented curriculum is tied closely with Jean Pigets’ theory of
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cognitive development. The educational field attempts to blend the virtues of purposeful teaching

with opened ended, child-initiated activities with this type of curriculum (Berns, 2016).

It is very important to maintain a high level of expectation for the students. I have found

that both the teacher and the student need to set goals together that will create a vision of what is

to be expected of them. These goals need to include, as John Goodlad believes, “academic,

vocational, social, civic, cultural, and personal goals.” (Berns, 2016) When students, together

with the teacher, create the goals and set clear expectations to achieve them, it gives the student a

clear picture of what they are required to do. This is a contract between the student and the

teacher.

Students’ Social Ecology

I have the responsibility to help students become a productive adult in society. A teacher

has a great effect on the socialization of a productive student. The school educational system is

one of the many microsystems, which are small outside influences that help shape each student.

I know that my methods of teaching will have an impact on a student’s self-concept and can

shape the student’s perception of his or her identity as distinct from that of another’s. This has an

impact on the students’ self-esteem. The mesosystems around us such as our families, cultures,

and communities have a great impact on a student’s ability to learn, influencing the student, good

or bad. Some Children are surrounded by good influences like, loving families, positive role

models, food on the table, and a warm place to sleep. These influences will have a positive effect

on a student. Some children aren’t so lucky, they can lack all these positive influences and will

adversely affect them and their ability to learn. It is my responsibility as a teacher to recognize

these problems and make the need changes to assist them. The lack of positive influence will

cause physical and psychological stressors, which effect a student’s ability to cope with these
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problems. These stressors are caused by any situation, physical or mental that has the ability to

cause unneeded burden on the human body.

Urie Bronfenbrenner found that “children from birth to age 15 who were from low-

income families, who attended a quality child-care are more advanced cognitively that children

who do not.” (Berns, 2016) This suggests children with a poor home life, who can get a few

hours of positive influence from a teacher will have a more promising future. This is the goal of

an effective teacher. When anyone or anything within a child’s mesosystem, provides positive

influence, they give the child more empowerment, which enables individuals to have control

over resources affecting them. This is my goal as a teacher!

Discrimination and Learning

I know it is my responsibility as a teacher to understand, recognize, and respect the ethnic

diversities found in my classroom. It is imperative to be respectful of all variety of customs

found among the students. I will practice cultural pluralism in my classroom. This is a mutual

appreciation and understanding of the various cultures and a co-existence in a society of different

languages, religious beliefs, and lifestyles. Assimilation will also occur in this setting, but at the

minorities’ own pace. Cultural assimilation is a process whereby a minority cultural group

takes on the characteristics of the majority cultural group over a period of time. This will occur

over time at the pace of minority and is important that the students be respectful to one another.

When working with different cultures, it is important to recognize the different style of

learning that come with these cultural diversities. Language can be a factor that affects the ability

to learn. The Equal Educational Opportunity Act was passed in 1974, requiring schools to

take appropriate action to overcome language barriers of students who cannot speak English

(Berns, 2016). When working with students that have a difficulty speaking English, I will use an
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authoritative teaching style. I will direct the overall path towards the specific goal, which is

learning English. When teaching students with disabilities, I have found that they thrive more in

a one-on-one setting, allowing the teacher to assess the individuals learning style, whether it be

visual, auditory, or tactile. It is important for all teachers to make these adjustments for minority

and disabled students.

Equitable Education for All Students

Today, students come from many different cultures. They face difficulties at home due to

divorce, and poverty and some have no educational support at home. This makes it difficult to

meet their social, emotional, and cognitive learning needs. Cognitive learning helps a student

obtain problem solving abilities to their surrounding environment. Permissive parenting skills

lead students to be less self-reliant and have a lack of self-control. It will help change this cycle

of negativity by applying positive discipline, the guidance that they might lack at home. To help

these students an authoritative learning environment is most optimal. It will give boundaries to

the student and they can see that I will reason and work with them. I will give feedback to the

students, creating mutual respect. When working with students that have a wide range of

diversity, it is important to demonstrate understanding while expecting a good effort.

I have had the opportunity of observing many classroom settings in which I have seen

various forms of assessing the students learning. Authentic assessment would be more

appropriate in assessing a student’s accomplishments than that of a standardized test.

Standardized tests compare an individual’s ability to the norm on scientifically selected items,

where as authentic assessment assesses the student on their real performance, showing mastery

of it. Standardized tests are important have their place in assessing students, but it is crucial to

find what fits best for the students. Jean Jacques Rousseau theorizes, that children are innately
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good, need freedom to grow, naturally seek out appropriate experiences to grow and develop.

(Berns, 2016) When a teacher provides this opportunity, with guidance in a positive direction, all

diversities of students can reach their full potential.

Conclusion

My goal as a teacher is to be the best that I can be. I will use every tool possible to help

each student reach their goals. I had a teacher in the 4th grade that is my hero. She taught me

many things as a small child that I still treasure today. My hopes are to emulate those same

characteristics that she shared with me. I knew she cared, she pushed me, she held me

accountable for my learning and actions, and most of all I knew she was there for me. I want to

make a difference in the world. I will continue to gain the skills and knowledge become effective

leader and teacher in my community and school.

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References

Berns, R. (2016) Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support. (10th ed.)

Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.