Editor's Note: Diversity in Our Schools
As our country’s population becomes more diverse, naturally so does our school-age population. Researchers Gary Orfield and John T. Yun of Harvard’s Civil Rights Project recently noted, "The public schools in the U.S. foreshadow the dramatic transformation of American society that will occur in the next generation. We are a society in which the school-age population is much more diverse than the older population." Think about this. Those of us in the field of education have an awesome responsibility and challenge ahead. How well our younger generation adapts to an increasingly diverse world may well depend on their experiences at school.
This issue of SEDLetter looks at some of the challenges schools will face with increasing diversity. We begin with an overview of the demographic changes in SEDL’s five-state region to help set the stage. Stories that follow take us to New Mexico and Arkansas to see how schools have successfully accommodated their growing populations of English-language learners. Another article updates us on the recruitment of minority teachers, a problem that was first discussed in the 1970s and continues to be a serious concern. We also take a look at how SEDL’s Organizing for Diversity Project provides teacher training on diversity issues and intercultural communication.
While discussing challenges and examining solutions is helpful, we shouldn’t forget there are many benefits and aspects to diversity to consider and take advantage of, as Gil Garcia, senior research analyst with the U.S. Department of Education, reminds us in his essay on page 10. As you read this issue, keep in mind some of the advantages a more diverse student population offers.
Here are just a few:
- Students who have experienced positive relationships with culturally different students tend to be more open-minded, develop positive citizenship traits, and experience greater intellectual self-confidence and engagement than students who have not experienced these positive relationships.
- Incorporating a variety of instructional practices and assessments to accommodate a classroom that includes linguistically and culturally diverse students can help those struggling learners who previously may have been labeled slow.
- Transforming school norms and structures to embrace a wider variety of learning styles and cultures can help create a community of successful learners that includes more students than those who previously fit the "ideal" student mold.
Diversity has many meanings and can encompass many education issues related to equity, race, culture, and language. We invite you to use this edition of SEDLetter to encourage thought and discussion at your school with regard to the increasing diversity of our schools. The topic deserves much more conversation than we can only begin in these articles.
Next Article: A Changing Nation: The Impact of Linguistic and Cultural Diversity on Education
