Week 4 Reflection

Before addressing how individual schools could be re-organized, I feel the need to point out that, in the current education system, it’s difficult for some students to experience diversity when they’re not exposed to others of different backgrounds and identities. Without changing the entire education system, there’s only so much that policymakers or administrators or teachers can do. Another large-scale issue is that schools are constrained by their political context. For example, if NCLB requires annual testing on certain topics, teachers have little wiggle-room to teach about other issues.

All that being said, there are ways for individual schools to accommodate a diverse student body. Beginning at a young age, students should be exposed to diversity in many forms. Even if the student body isn’t diverse, students can read literature written by women and minority authors. Provided the curriculum allows for it, teachers can teach an unbiased account of history and encourage students to consider the perspectives of different groups involved.

Teachers can create classrooms where students are encouraged to share their unique perspectives, but not forced to should they feel uncomfortable. One strategy is the jigsaw classroom which involves cooperative learning and has been found to reduce racial conflict and improve educational outcomes.

https://www.jigsaw.org/