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My beliefs about teachers’ embracing cultural diversity and perspectives in today’s classrooms

One may say being a teenager is the hardest stage in one’s lifetime. Teenagers struggled to find their identities and purpose in life. At this confusing stage teenagers are often clueless about what to do with their time. Some do nothing and just stare at the day as it goes by and feel life is meaningless. Many students have dysfunctional families, where they are unhappy at home for various reasons. When students at school, they are expected to act and think in a certain way. Therefore, lives are very hard for students, and teachers need to embrace cultural diversity and have multiple perspectives in today’s classrooms to teach students effectively. This will help students to learn and have fun while accomplishing the mission of school.

Since the mission of school is to educate students to think and to make decision for themselves and to become good citizens, it is important that teachers embrace cultural diversity in their classrooms. America has become a mixed salad that is composed of many cultural from different ethnic groups. If teachers are aware of cultural diversity, then they can influence some students’ point of view. Teachers can cope with their own fear of being different and also help students to do the same. If students are used to seeing and interacting with different ethnic groups, they can cope with their fear more easily. There are many reasons why students isolate other ethnic groups of students. People fear because they are not familiar with people who have different backgrounds, skin colors, religions, or culture than themselves. These fears caused people to act mean toward other groups. This happens not only for ethnic groups, but it also happens to many people within the same ethnic group. Fear can caused students to reduce interaction from one another. Some people even isolate themselves or ignore other groups. Differences within ethnic groups can create tension in classrooms, which prevents learning. A classroom can become divided into fractional groups, where it is hard for students to dialogue to exchange different points of views. As a result, there will be no community of inquiry. Therefore, embracing multiple cultures is very important to help students learn and to teach them effectively. It is even more effective if the teacher can embrace cultural diversity and understand ways of dealing with students when they are acting up.

There are so many situation can be happen in classrooms. Teachers need to have multiple perspectives in today’s classrooms and to learn ways to deal with unexpected problems. Today’s classrooms have become a prison/childcare where parents, political figures and many others adults place children. Many students, including me, have to deal with boredom in school. For instance, I had a political science teacher in high school who only post up notes for us to take and give assignments for us to do. She hardly ever lectured or even talked to us, yet she still got paid. She made schools become so boring for me, and it was hard to learn in her class.

Fortunately, most of my schoolteachers throughout my ten years of education in the United States are qualify teachers. My teachers were able to create the learning environment for their students, where there is little or no distraction. Therefore, teachers need to teach, and students need to learn. They asked essential questions that make us think and allowed us to dialogue in class. My teachers created the community of inquiry with the cooperation of their students.

Therefore, everybody’s minds set has to change their negativity about the school systems, teachers, and students. People need to have hope and to believe that schools can teach our students to write and to read as well as to think for themselves. Most importantly out of all is to have them to make their own decision, which is best for them and for their society.

Schools need qualify teachers. Students need school to give them real education. Schools need to teach them the foundation of necessary skills to survive in the real world. Therefore, schools need to focus on educating students to think for themselves and to challenge their minds so they will be prepare for unexpected discoveries or events in lives. This means that teachers need to embrace cultural diversity in their classrooms and understand different perspective of today’s classrooms in order to teach effectively and efficiently.

You have likely never seen the wealthy eating fine cuisine on the curb, or the poor consuming rice and water next to the ice sculpture; however, that's exactly the kind of scene organizers of the OxFam Hunger Banquet want you to envision. The Oxfam Hunger Banquet has been a part of the National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week (November 16-22), which is a national effort to promote education, action, and awareness about hunger in the world.

A student in the middle class share her beans with a lower class student. With nearly a billion people worldwide suffering from chronic hunger, OxFam strives to show the disparity between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots.' During the recent OxFam Hunger Banquet, attendees assumed an identity in one of various social classes (ranging from poor to wealthy) and ate food that would be considered common to that class. While some savored the delights of fine cuisine and exceptional service, others ate basic staples.

"We are here today because 1.2 billion people live in poverty," says Deidra Cody, emcee of the banquet. "Eight-hundred-and-forty-two million of these people suffer from chronic hunger. Every 2.9 seconds, a child dies from hunger and other preventable diseases. That’s 30,000 children a day. You may think hunger is about too many people and too little food. Not true. Our rich and bountiful planet produces enough to feed every woman, man, and child on earth. It’s about power. The roots of hunger lie in inequalities in access to education and resources. The results are illiteracy, poverty, war, and the inability of families to grow or buy food. Today, you join Oxfam’s fight against hunger."

As the guests entered the Commons, they randomly selected an identity from the lower, middle, or upper class. Their seats were destined accordingly to their economics status, which would determine their lifestyle. The high-income people represent 15 percent of the world's population, who made $9,076 or more per year, while the middle class people made up 25 percent of the world's population, who earn about $912 and $9,075 per year. The lower class people made up 60 percent of the world's population.

Peoples' lifestyles were determined by their economic success. The upper class sat at a fancy table and received a bounty of food, while the less fortunate ate rice while sitting on the floor. The people in the middle class ate rice, beans, and water for dinner.

Two speakers, a student at Berea College Gyude Moore from Liberia and John Payne, retired pediatricians spoke about the effect of hunger. Moore gave the facts of the prevalence of hunger in the world and shared with the audience his personal experiences in his homeland. Moore said, "We are human beings and we must be able and willing to help one another."

More than just a social gathering or mental exercise, the event will benefit local food banks with a donation of proceeds.

This event was co-sponsored by CELTS, Student Fair-Trade Committee, Dr. Janice Blythe's Service-Learning Class, and the International Center.

Oxfam members meet at 8:00 pm every Monday in the Cafe Lounge in Woods Penn. For more information about the Oxfam Group, please contact Gyude Moore.