Diversity In Today's Schools

   
 Some of the areas of diversity I've seen in my service learning classroom are 1. Gender Identity- the teacher in my classroom reads many books about both boys and girls being able to be anything they want to be when they are older. She has had parents come in to share what they do for a living.  Some of these included a male nurse,  and a women police officer.
     2. Exceptional Students-there is a blind student in our class. The teacher pre-plans her assignments so that they can be brailled  before they do the lesson. This way she can participate like everyone else.  She also has students volunteer to be her partner to help her with projects.  She teaches the students to call each other by their names so that she can become familiar with who her peers are.  She team teaches with  the special ed teacher to insure that she is being helped in all aspects of her education.
   3. Poverty- there are a lot of  students who come from low income families.  This teacher has bags filled with food that she keeps in her pantry and ALL the students know that they can grab one at any time to take home.  She treats everyone fairly and stresses that they all are special and can succeed. She also has a table of books that students can borrow to take home to insure that there are books in the home.

History of American Education

   

 Utah schools serve 51,249 (USOE Data Report, January 2014) K-12 English learners representing 134 languages. In my service learning placement, I have had the opportunity to work in the dual immersion  classes.  Because of Lau vs. Nichols, school districts receiving federal funds must help minority students. Allowing students with little or no English speaking ability to sink or swim is a violation of their civil rights.
     In my placement school, I see a tremendous support for the ESL students. For example, they take great measures to not only embrace their native language but to celebrate their culture. For the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead, the students dressed up and they had a program where they invited all the parents as well as the student body and sang songs both in English and Spanish as well as showing a short video about the holiday. The kids loved it.  Through various assessments, they have a plan for each child. Sometimes, this will involve an aid coming in and helping them with their math or reading. They have peers who are older students that come in once a week and read with them.  The dual immersion teacher, lets the students work collaboratively which increases interaction and communication.
     The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ensures services to children with disabilities. With Mia, who is a blind student that I am working with, this has been invaluable. The state has provided her with a Braille computer and typewriter. All of her lessons are exactly the same as the other students and her teacher turns them in a week earlier so that they can be brailled and she can do the lesson right along with her class. She is in her regular classroom 90 percent of the day and participates in everything that her peers do.