Diversity is one of those words that can – and should – have many definitions. At the very least, the word should have many interpretations. Limiting diversity to culture or race is a stereotype in itself.
Diversity is culture and race. It is gender, socioeconomic status, special needs, intelligence, language, and anything that makes us different. The thing is, diversity is all of these things and what is important is that we embrace them all.
I don’t mean this in a politically correct, “We Must Embrace Diversity,” kumbaya kind of way (although I’m not opposed to that). That is what the word has come to mean, I fear. But what I’m saying is we are all diverse. None of us is exactly alike and we should remember that when we are planning activities or lessons. My mom is an identical twin; and trust me the opinions and interests of my mom and my aunt couldn’t be more diverse.
What I have been learning over the last few semesters is that all students are diverse. Yes, they have different skin colors and some speak different languages; but they are all diverse learners and have different levels of intelligence and means of processing information. I have to write things down to absorb them into my memory. My friend Megan can hear a song one time on the radio and be able to sing it back to you a week later. Theresa and my brother both have amazing abilities to recall everything they read. This is diversity, just not the way we are told to think about it.
What has really made me think about diversity the last few weeks are the projects I’ve done for my other class – Media Programming. I’ve been working on my school-wide project and my two-year plan; both of which ask for activities for many groups around the school. This, I think, helps us think about diversity in programming. But Dr. Goldberg doesn’t limit us to thinking about certain cultures or races in either project. She wants us to think of activities for a wide range of groups within the school – all diverse and all important.
For the school-wide program especially, I tried to think of activities that fit within the theme – Adventures in Dewey – and worked with both state standards and a variety of different students. For example, I wanted art students working on Halloween masks that represented different cultures and religions. I had music students learning holiday songs in different languages. Special needs students read jokes and poetry, while at-risk students created a Valentine podcast for a loved one; and gifted first graders created a weather station. Different grade levels were included, different learning styles were embraced, and different ages did different levels of activities. But all of the lessons were aimed at celebrating the interests and ability levels of students.
And that is what I think we have to remember as media specialists especially. Because we are in the unique situation of teaching all of the students; we must encourage and support diversity through our ideas and actions. Everyone is diverse and each person has strengths and weaknesses. If we take a student’s diversity and use the strength of it, we will help that student achieve so much more.
So how do I define diversity, or diverse? The same way I do unique – something everyone is and should strive to be.
Holly -- Very well stated. I agree that everyone is diverse and each person has strengths and weaknesses. I feel that as a media specialist we need colleagues to critique us on how we are doing in the media center to make certain that we are meeting all areas of need. At our school we have a media committee. Many times, the media specialist will ask for input on areas that she feels is not her strong point. Since being in this program, she has questioned me about many areas that we could improve in our media center. I think the media specialist must always be looking for new ways to reach students.
You are exactly right, all students are different and each student learns in different ways. It is our job as educators to work hard and use the resources available to us to help meet the needs of our students. It is important for the classroom teachers to collaborate with the media specialists and technology specialists in order to learn about new resources and technology to use in the classroom in order to better meet the learning needs of the students. The teachers at my school work together to plan differentiated lessons and when possible we have the media specialist teach a technology lesson to our students. When technology is used in my classroom, my students get excited about what they are learning. Therefore, I incorporate technology every chance I get in order for my students to get excited about learning.
Great post Holly! I thought back to the 6466 project myself. We must all remind ourselves that diversity is many different things. As I teach I try and teach to all of the learning styles in my class. Sometimes it can be difficult, but we all learn differently and this was so apparent in the learning styles survey that I took in 7461 just the other day. I am more of a listener and hands-on learner. I try and use all of the technology that is available in my class. I have a Smartboard that I use each and everyday. I am lost when it is not working (which is not very often). I have a student response system that I am currently incorporating little by little in my lesson. I use songs each day to teach certain concepts and I use visual aids too. I feel that by using all of this technology and planning my lessons accordingly that I can teach to all of the learning styles in my classroom.
That assignment also opened my eyes to a broader definition of diversity. One example of this, is before that class, I had never thought about diversity including gifted students. My narrow minded definition was in the way students learn (ex. musical, visual, etc.), but I have since learned the definition of diversity is much broader.
As a teacher, I always tried to make sure I incorporated most of the learning styles into my lesson plans. I have continued this as a media specialist. However, the area of diversity I have always struggled with is varying my teaching based upon the levels of knowledge my students have. Hopefully one day, I will be able to accomplish varying my lessons to reach all students, so that my students will be able to reach that level of achievement that Holly mentions.
Holly, you make a wonderful point when you talk of diversity. As media specialists we are in a unique situation to affect all students. We have the opportunity to reach each one on an individual level. I hope that I will bring your enthusiasm and vision.