Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

Diversity Statement of Informed Beliefs Chugg, Christine Instructor: Dr. LueLinda Egbert EDUC 204: Families, Communities, and Culture On-line

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS Abstract Teaching is a profession of great importance in the lives of all they touch. They are a students first educator outside of the home, they enable a student to grow, thrive and flourish in an

environment that is a collaboration of parent, family, school, and community. The importance of all these systems in a childs education is critical. The teaching style chosen by the instructor controls the classroom atmosphere enabling a student to surpass everyones expectations as long as the students individual needs, abilities, and backgrounds are considered. The students need to receive the support and push required to make them achieve their academic goals and help them understand and learn the diversity in our world. It enables them to succeed not just in school but in life.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS Statement of Informed Beliefs

The opportunity of every teacher, child and school system when greeted and trusted with a new student and family is not a gift that should be taken lightly. The childs potential is hidden by color of skin, race, culture, religion, bias, temperaments, abilities, and past life experiences. This means that each child is a blank slate waiting to be drawn on, shown the world to, and encouraged to grow and blossom. Families, schools, and communities all contribute, mentor, and foster these young people to become what they may with encouragement, tutelage, and guidance that enables them to see and chose their paths. Teachers, parents, and everyone has the potential to work together to give the best possible environment for success in each childs life, and their education. This is an immense opportunity that gives one the chance to make a difference in a child life. I want to take that challenge on and I have enlightened my system of informed beliefs in the following points. All Students Can Learn Students are capable, ready and anxious to start their academic path and wanting to see it completed successfully. This is strongly influence by parents, teachers, peers, siblings, and communities. The accomplishment or failure of this journey greatly rests on the opinions of the macro, micro, meso , exo, and chromo systems with the parents, and the teacher being the strongest mentors and role models for the student. It is vital that all these systems be included in the plan for achieving the goals of the child. The attainment or miscarriage of this is very dependent on the backing the student receives from their local support group. The support coupled with the childs unique abilities and limitations can make or break this students selfesteem, willingness to try and the ultimate fulfillment of their educational goals.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS Teachers fulfill one of the most important roles in this education journey. Socialization

occurs daily in the childs life. They are constantly learning from their immediate environment. It is one of the strongest ways they learn in the early years. Teachers help children by allowing them to begin modeling their behavior or the behavior of those closest to them. Jean Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development (Berns, 2010) claims that each child learns from his own actions and those closest to him. The childs social interaction and cognitive development are mingled together, and the students learning the ability to take responsibility for their behaviors. The atmosphere in the classroom can include positive and cooperative experiences by using the authoritative approach. This would allow choices to be made by the student so they have an active role in their educational direction. Objective praise and criticism would exist, and the teacher would be an active participant in the days activities. It would be a student-directed teacher-controlled schoolroom with students having feelings of self-worth, and freedom while still being directed by the educator. The child and teacher would be getting to know one another well enough to enable the teacher to know the childs motivators and concerns. This would ensure that the educator could work specifically with this childs abilities noting any bias that would be specific to the individuals involved and using that information to avoid difficulty in the learning process. Teachers could certainly use modeling to influence and encourage their student to perform at their very best standard. Within this mesosystem a teacher can greatly influence their own and the students expectations of what the learning experience should be. This is critical in keeping spirits and motivation for both parties at their very highest. Chronosystem influences on the schools effect

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS how technology, mathematics, learning and our world affect the students. The hormonal fluctuations within the students themselves may create a major effect on their learning experience. Students Social Ecology Theory

Everything a student lives in life, experiences and learns they take with them as a unique and very individual package for the school system, administrators, educators, and support people to use as a guide to best help a student achieve their academic goals. A childs temperament effects their choices, others perceptions, and the success of their journey. This individual factor influences the best way to socialize, teach, and interact with the child. Their immediate family microsystem would be affected by their bias and temperament greatly. The larger scale macrosystem may not affect their success as strongly as the microsystem but because of the local proximity it would have an influence on their social life, and educational success. Families, schools and communities all influence the success and outcome of the students experience and their success. All aspects must be connected and considered when educating a specific child. The mesosystems are of vital importance in the positive outcome for each child, depending on how they work together, their individual goals and how well they mesh to form a united objective for each child, and their future education. Childrens experiences deeply affect their learning as told in Jean Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development (Berns, 2010). Their behavior is greatly influenced by their life experiences. The routines in which positive

outcomes have been established reinforce to a child the best way of handling things in the future. A childs study habits and belief in the importance of homework being done can be greatly

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

influenced by their mesosystems. Their peers are a group they routinely look to for modeling their behavior. This can have a huge positive or negative impact of their education. Discrimination and Learning Diversity in the childs temperament, bias, routines, family rituals, traditions, and cultural backgrounds are key ingredients in joining all the systems together and making us all feel connected. Learning the cultural differences in all the students begins a bonding process that enables a sense of freedom in all parties involved and encourages them to share their own world with others in their classroom. It gives them all an assimilation of their individual experiences making them feel as though they are all part of the same group. The students could share show and tell time, giving of themselves and enabling the other students to know and feel their culture, traditions and rituals. Assimilation is the learning or adapting to ones environment. Cultural Pluralism speaks of appreciation of others language, religion, and lifestyle. Collectivistic is orientation toward ones group, and individualistic is orientation towards ones self. Bias is an opinion

based on prejudice. These would all effect the interaction, and ability to accept one another in a class room. Assimilation and cultural pluralism would be positive experiences with much learning and great bonding. Collectivistic, individualistic and bias would be more about fears, and insecurities that exist in the student and would need gentle encouragement and perhaps modeling after the teacher to open the doors to trust and friendship. This would enable great growth and learning in the classroom to occur with students coming to appreciate and like their fellow (but different) classmates.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

The Developmental Interaction Curriculum may be a good way to enable all students to thrive in an education setting. This takes the childs individual development into

consideration, and allows them to interact with peers and instructors. This would allow the individualistic approach and allow all the unique considerations to be factored into the educational plan of the specific individual. The Montessori Curriculum is also student driving. It focuses on a more student motivated plan with the teacher as the facilitator. There would be less individual freedoms with this, and it could possibly be difficult if there were any learning disabilities. Equitable Education for all Students All students deserve the right for a learning experience that is geared to them, takes into consideration their needs, and enables them to thrive, and learn. Educational competence can be greatly hindered by the influences in the students life. When families are experiencing money problems, marital problems, or any difficulty that worried the child this immediately become the main focus in their life. When parents are abusive, neglectful, and absent, if their peers dont accept them the students self-confidence suffers greatly and they dont learn at their full potential. Sigmund Freud (Bern, 2010) says they are experiencing learning fixation. This is

arrested development in learning or any process. He feels that this can occur because of a childs repression of feelings or emotions, and remains a possibility of occurrence at any time. In every childs life they have a right to accountability within the school system and with the teacher. The school curriculum offered should accommodate all students regardless of the nationality, religion, disability or difference. No Child Left Behind Act is meant to insure that discrimination and equal learning will be achieved by all with performance standards,

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assessments to measure achievements, and flexibility regarding disabilities, and language barriers. As mentioned before Jean Piagets Theory of Cognitive Behavior (Berns, 2010) references that all children learn by the actions of their own that they experience. These will be reflected in their assessments. The teachers hold a valuable place in the educational journey of the student. They and the school system influence the younger children in a way no one other than their parents do. Their ability to influence the student and have a positive effect on them, their education, and ensuring that they will remember the lessons taught to them, along with a positive approach toward education that the teacher has a chance to instill in the student as mentioned by Jean Piaget in the Theory of Cognitive Development (Berns, 2010). The ability to effect the life, and successful navigation through learning is a gift given to an educator and the school system. This is a privilege that is often not rivaled in any other way in each of our lives. A teacher with a caring, open curriculum that enables a student to be honest, learn to the best of their potential, and growing in their life skills is the best gift in a persons life. We should all have this opportunity.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS References Berns, R.M. (2010,2013). Child, family, school, and community: Socialization and support (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomas Wadsworth.