University of Phoenix free essay sample

University of Phoenix Creating a plan for a culturally diverse classroom Classrooms are becoming more culturally diverse everyday and there are numerous ways to incorporate lessons and activities for all students, regardless of their background. I feel it is extremely important to teach students how to communicate and get along with other students, no matter what their cultural background may be.I look forward to the day when I can put my ideas and strategies to good use and help promote an environment of understanding and compassion among my students to carry with them throughout their lives as they go out into the bigger world and interact with all kinds of different people from themselves. In my classroom, I would go over the rules with my students at the beginning of the year. These rules would clarify that I will not allow disrespect, teasing, or harassing in my classroom. I will stick to these rules and I will follow through with the punishments that may be assigned if a student crosses the line. We will write a custom essay sample on University of Phoenix or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page By showing my students that I am serious about these rules, they will learn to get along with the other students before treating them unfairly in my classroom. I believe by setting a good example is the best way to enforce this attitude of respect for others. I would also show my students that I care about them and am concerned with their learning by the activities and group work that I assign. I want them to get familiar with one another and become familiar with different cultures and traditions. I believe even by the way I have their desks arranged in the classroom will contribute to their getting along with one another. I believe that by grouping the desks together, while this may create more opportunities for distractions or misbehaviors, if I was in a classroom with five different cultures and languages, I would go ahead and do this for the better cause, which is for the students to interact with one another and talk even if it may just be a simple question regarding their assignment. These are small ways that students can become more comfortable and familiar with one another.If I was in a classroom with such a culturally diverse group of students I would take time at the beginning of the year for the students to write a brief introduction about themselves and as hard as it may be, I would have them read it out loud to the class and allow the class to ask questions to the students as a brief introduction. I would encourage an environment of friendship and helping out one another. I feel it is important for students to have a brief introduction to everyone so that there are no â€Å"stranger† feelings, even though they may not know some students very well at all at the beginning of the year.I will stress to them that for the next year we will be working with one another and helping each other to accomplish our goals and to make the progress we need to. I would address to the students, in a way that they could comprehend, depending on the grade level, the differences of socioeconomic status and its implications on students and their schoolwork. I would make sure to address this topic in a comfortable way and allow the students to discuss their ideas on the topic and voice their opinions and thoughts. I would also discuss sexual harassment, as it is a problem that can occur anywhere, regardless of the geographical area.I feel it would also be important to discuss with my students ways to identify signs of abuse, drug use, or suicidal tendencies. I would want to make these discussions comfortable for the students and to reassure them that we can talk about any of these subjects in a responsible, respectful way. I would also allow them to talk to me privately if they had any concerns that they ever needed to share. I would make sure that I give them the feelings of privacy and trust so that they could feel comfortable coming to me if they had a problem and needed the help of an adult. I plan to have a bulletin board in my classroom that I would decorate every month, the way my teachers used to do. I would make sure that I include other languages and pictures that students from other ethnical backgrounds can recognize. I would, for instance, during the month of December, include the traditional Christmas tree and snowman for Americans who celebrate Christmas. I would also find out from my students any ways that they celebrate their holidays, or if they celebrate something similar to Christmas, I would incorporate that into the same bulletin board.If I had Jewish students, I may include â€Å"Happy Hanukah† on the bulletin board and other pictures or sayings that they are more familiar with. I would then discuss with the students what all these different things are and what they mean to each individual culture. This would be a nice class project where I could have the students from other ethnic backgrounds explain to the class how they celebrate their holiday s and what traditions they do differently. If we were to have a holiday class party, I would make sure that we included games and displayed ornaments that were a custom to other cultures as well.I believe that if a teacher creates a classroom and embraces all different cultures and traditions without holding one paramount to the other, this is the best example for students to see of how to accept other people and their beliefs, even if they are different from what we are used to. Classrooms already are diverse and will only continue to become more so in the next few years. I believe as teachers it is our responsibility to make sure that we are including everyone and not leaving any student out in the dark because we are not familiar with how to talk to them or deal with them.As teachers, it will be our responsibility to learn parts of their language if we have to, in order to communicate with them. As teachers, we will need to contact their parents and make sure that they are aware with how their children are doing in our cl assrooms and if their students need extra help in order to progress. As teachers, it is our responsibility to be a great example for our students that we treat all people the same way when it comes to race and religion. We will not discriminate against our students, and we will not allow it to go on inside of our classrooms, either.