Advantages of Diversity in the Classroom.
Until recent years, diversity wasn't fully recognized as a necessary component of education. In years past, the United States has been thought of as a country whose people were mainly of two races, black and white. The truth is, America is a nation whose citizens come from every nation of the world, and practice every known religion. It's important to have diversity in the classroom because our society has become so diverse itself. While many people consider diversity to be a combination of different races, there are actually many different classifications of diversity, all having significance in a classroom. Some types of diversity include national origin, ethnicity, different languages spoken, religion, and even gender. It's important as an educator not only to teach some of the cultural differences of diversity, but also to show the similarities of all people from different backgrounds, and how we all fit into society as people.
Classrooms are becoming increasingly filled with students who were born in a foreign country. These students bring such a great advantage to students born in the United States. These foreign-born students have not only a perspective as an American, but also one from their home country in their own experiences and through their parents, who likely lived a good part of their life there. It's one thing to teach foreign culture from a text, but it's quite another to be able to have someone with firsthand knowledge. Saying this, it's important not only to bring the child's experience into the classroom, but also to make the child feel comfortable in his/her surroundings. Although younger children typically don't display intolerance, it's important to teach in an inclusive manner and make the other students aware that no matter of national origin, we"re all people and we all have to live together.
Having students of different ethnicities from within our border and learning how their perceptions and views may differ from other students in the classroom.