Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the importance of children being allowed to have diverse experiences within the school environment and then addresses the challenges that currently inhibit children from having these experiences. The paper focuses on today's classroom culture, teaching styles and standardized tests to demonstrate that gaps in achievement result from the classroom's non-minority-oriented stance. The paper concludes by describing the methods that create an environment in which all students can flourish and diversity will be respected.

From the Paper:

"From the streets of urban centers to the rural locations across the United States, children are subject to a host of culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse situations. Even those children defined as non-minority cannot be said to have no minority influence in most areas of the United States. Because diversity is a positive trait, it is important that these children continue to have diverse experiences. In the future, this will make them better problem solvers, more accepting, and more apt to help achieve progression when progression is needed. Thus, it is of the utmost importance that children be allowed to continue to have diverse experiences within the school environment. However, there are many challenges that currently inhibit children from having these experiences. These challenges come in the form of classroom culture and teaching method problems. Because classrooms are still focused on the experiences of majority students, minority students have trouble becoming acclimated. This creates an achievement gap, effectively insuring a segregation of some kind. When certain groups of students appear to be more favored than others, the climate is not ripe for diversity and diverse experiences to grow. Majority children may be afraid to engage in ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse behaviors because they fear discrimination. There are many methods that teachers can employ, however, that dilute or rid the classroom of this effect."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Background Knowledge Matters." The Education Trust. 2009. 30 July 2009. <http://www2.edtrust.org/edtrust/>
• Bdone, Fracoise. "Race and Culture in the Classroom: Teaching and Learning Through Multicultural Education--Book Review." Find Articles. 2003. 30 July 2009. <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NQM/is_3_42/ai_108442654/>
• Garcia, Michelle Marsh. "The ABCs of Culture in the Classroom." Teaching Tolerance. n.d. 30 July 2009. <http://www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?ar=915>
• Heath, Shirley Brice. "Linguistics and Education." Annual Review of Anthropology. 13. 1984: 251-274.
• KewalRamani, A., Gilbertson, L., Fox, M., and Provasnik, S. (2007). Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Minorities (NCES 2007-039). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.

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