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An increasingly diverse population, reflected in student groups, has resulted in a need for teachers to pay more attention to the issues surrounding diversity and tolerance.
The following are some steps that teachers can take to promote multiculturalism and acceptance of individual differences:
Make the classroom a safe space. Teachers can start by establishing ground rules against bullying, teasing, exclusion, and other actions that are harmful, disrespectful, and intolerant.
Learn about each other. Teachers should take the time to get to know their students as individuals, and students should also be given enough time to get to know each other. This will help both teachers and students gain appreciation for how “uniqueness” brings added value to classroom dynamics.
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Encourage openness. Allow students to ask questions about differences. The teacher should respond to them respectfully and use own life experiences to place the answers in a context that can be easily understood.
Go on a field trip. Field trips to culturally or religiously significant places can broaden a student's worldview. In addition, research has shown that field trips can increase tolerance and improve historical empathy, or the ability to see a person, situation, or idea from the past through another person's eyes. Historical empathy encourages critical thinking and allows students to appreciate the consequences of actions made in the past.
Learn about each other's traditions. Teachers can plan classroom activities for cultural and religious holidays, and create opportunities for students to learn more about traditions beyond the scope of their own experience.
Teachers, in general, want their students to grow up in a caring and inclusive environment where tolerance is the norm and where skin color and religious beliefs do not hinder them from achieving success. Unfortunately, discriminaton still exists. Educators have the opportunity to turn the tide by teaching their students to go beyond tolerance, and not only accept differences, but embrace them.
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Hugh Guill is passionate about making a difference in the world through education. Subscribe to this blog for related articles and news.
