Diversity
How does everyone feel about students from all backgrounds in one room? I have had some cultural conflict in a few of my classes due to frustrations in cultural conflict. How do I resolve these issues in a general way?
i have also had this problem david and i am open to any solutions one might have to the issue.
Hi David,
My experience has been that I can reduce these issues somewhat through physical location. I create zones in my classroom for different work activities and this keeps my students seperated, even if it is only for a few feet. Since I base the seating location on work activities I don't have a problem with students themselves in terms of why they are setting where they are. I move them around as they complete their work.
I would suggest that you reinforce each day that the focus of the class is career training and strive to keep the students engaged in learning skills and try and reduce the social issues as much as is possible.
There is not a receipe for handling this situation. It requires hard work and common sense.
Gary
David,
My classes are very diverse--backgrounds, age, educational and personal experiences. It provides the arena for excellent group discussions. Likewise, the mix in age range, provides leadership, mentoring, etc.
Sometimes, there is a wee bit of frustration on the part of students in that they do not appreciate or understand why someone remains in a given situation.
Overall, I find it more of a positive to have this diversity than a negative.
Barbara
I like diversity class, I can learn some thing from them,
Hi Vu
What are some examples of the things you can learn through a diversity class?
Gary
I have had several classes with multiple cultures, It can be a real challange, however there are several ways to deal with the probles of each. 1st insure you have materials that each can relate to, such as a dictionary in their language to help them understand meanings of words and phraices. 2nd there is the internet. Vidieos ect. what ever will help that student understand they will thankfull for your time and effort.
Hi everybody,
I am teaching in Houston, Texas. Here the other teachers and I from our school do not noticed any noticeble cultural conflict in our classes. One possible exlpanetion can be the fact, our city is one of the highest multicultural in our country.
Viorel Florescu
I believe that having students from various backgrounds adds value to the class. It is very important that students learn to coexist in the classroom so that they can be prepared to deal with such occurrences in the workplace. In dealing with sensitive issues such as this, it is always good to provide education surrounding the subject and to remind the students the importance of leadership characteristics such as fairness, and patience that employers are looking for in todays professionals. Also, activities that will encourage participaton among the diverse groups will help the participants grow accustomed to the diverse involvement.
pretty much agree with you
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