Olyvia Post #4

Given your understanding of intentional and unintentional racism both through teacher - student interactions and curriculum development, how would you encourage diversity in your classroom?

I remember growing up in school, and not understanding why I wasn't being represented. I didn't see myself in independent books and we only talked about people like me in class for a maximum of two days. I felt down about myself for who I was because of these subtle things, not even having to hear explicit things and no one should feel this way. I think textbooks need to be reviewed and more added to it because there are many stories that need to be told. Even better I think there should be multiple resources available to the children so they are learning about more people than MLK, learning about the Chinese railroad workers in the North America Project, learning about all the under represented people who have helped build this country. I also think more children books that have kids who aren't white should be placed in classrooms for all of the kids to look at so that from an early age everyone is seeing and thinking about different faces and being ok with that. I think diversity among the teachers is important and not only will the students and teachers themselves learn from it, but a tone for the environment is being set. An environment where everyone can feel welcomed and also have the positive effect of seeing someone like them doing good and feeling like they can do good too. The intentional and unintentional racism from curriculum and teachers will leak into the students and influence them with their actions later in life. Because of that I think that talks should be held in classrooms where race (and even more like gender and sexuality) is talked about so from an early age so that from an early age kids know the effect of their words and what they should't be saying and understanding why. I believe ignorance and racism can be avoided if it's addressed at an early age.