Diversity

In most public schools, teaching leans more towards uniformity than diversity. In order for education to be successful teachers and schools need to find a balance between these two concepts. Often different cultures clash with the culture that is emphasized in schools. Also students who are diagnosed with ADHD may not be because they actually have the disorder but because they are not in tune with the way the teacher is teaching or stresses from life outside school. Cognition consists of two different stages, perception and the gaining of knowledge. This knowledge is then used differently by different people and how this affects the person is also extremely individualized. Students who share cultural experiences may have similar ways of learning. A student’s way of learning is a combination of genetics and the environment in which they grew up. As educators we need to accept the fact that everyone learns in a different way.
It is not new knowledge that people think and learn in different ways, however, it is overwhelming, as a teacher, to realistically teach to each student individually. I think that in order my sanity that I will have to cross mix both diverse ways of teaching and uniformity by allowing the same concepts to be understood in many different ways. I remember as a student being restless when a teacher was boring me so in order to be a successful teacher I need to make sure that students are interested in what I am saying and how it can be relevant to their lives by understanding their culture and history. I realize too that some students cannot help the way that they learn and act. In order to be successful I have to adapt to them and find strategies that help them learn the key concepts that I am trying to teach.