I Am Diversity Poem

I Am Diversity, Please Include Me

I ‘m present in every place you go

Depending on your lens I’m friend or foe

I’m a force to be reckoned with

Like the winds of change I move. I’m swift.

I’m present when two or more are together

If embraced I can make the good even better.

I’m not limited to age, gender, or race.

I’m invisible at times and yet all over the place.

Don’t exclude me due to a lack of knowledge

Welcome me like the recruit fresh out of college.

Let me take my seat at the table

Even though I may be differently able

My experience, my passion the authentic me

Can help add value for your company.

Learn about me; improve my underrepresentation

And I can provide a competitive edge to your entire nation.

I exclude no one I am strengthened by all

My name is Diversity and yes I stand tall.

Recognize me and keep me in the mix

Together there’s no problem that we can’t fix.

I am your best hope towards true innovation

And to many, I reflect hope and inspiration.

Your lives and companies will continue to change

Thus the need for Diversity and Inclusion will also remain.

Do all that you can to truly embrace me

And experience life’s fullness totally

I’m the thought lurking behind the unfamiliar face

I’m the ingenuity that helps your team win the race.

I’m the solution that came from the odd question that was asked.

I stand out in the crowd when I, Diversity, am allowed to be unmasked.

I’m diversity embrace me and we’ll journey far.

I’m Diversity include me and we will reach the shining star.

Coupled with Inclusion our lights burn longer

Together we are smarter, better and stronger

I am Diversity

Yes, that’s me

-Charles Bennafield

It took many clicks to discover this poem, but such a powerful vision cannot be ignored. I selected to share this poem because it encompasses not only our goals as educators to enhance learning by incorporating diversity within our curricular goals, but the power of what multicultural education can transform our world to be. We imagine a life without racism, prejudice, bullying and stereotypes and  diversity is our solution. Cultural diversity enhances the future in each and every way imaginable. The time has come to transition from our old views and superficial traditions, and combust them to be bursts of potential, change, acceptance and genuine happiness. 

Insights Gained

What other significant insight(s) have you gained 

and how will this insight impact your personal/professional life?

When my sister and I were younger, we would always play house. Although her occupation shifted, I was always the teacher. For my entire life, my career passion has always been educating elementary students; however, it was not until this semester when I discovered my true reason for becoming an educator. I want to be an elementary teacher working primarily with English Language Learners. I came to this decision throughout the duration of this semester within this class, Multicultural Education as well as my ELL class. I feel almost ignorant for never acknowledging such a need. ELLs have the upmost potential to exceed their goals but their language acquisition is preventive of their 'higher educational learning'. I've always preached the importance of tailoring lessons to the needs of your students, but there is such a low interest in educators who don't want to 'deal' with accomplishing both language and content objectives. We are a growing nation consumed of cultures to wrap the world and back. Embracing cultural differences within a classroom is such a rich theory which should have been introduced decades ago. Education has come a long way from ignorance to acceptance, and I could not be more thrilled to be part of the movement to raising the potential of ELLs throughout the nation. Multicultural Education and my ELL class have changed not only my personal passion, but career choice, and I cannot be more proud of it. I know this is so cheesy, but thank you for opening my eyes. 

Social Issues

How can multicultural education affect broader social issues 

that impact our society? 

(e.g. intercultural communication/relations, prejudice, stereotypes, crime & poverty rates, achievement gaps, etc.)

As a future educator, my most significant goal is to ensure a safe and comfortable learning environment for my students and that begins with breaking down the 'negative' aspects of diversity. Children are sponges and their ears are always out and listening. They most likely do not even understand what they are saying, but they want to sound older so they say it anyways. This thought encompasses basic stereotypes, prejudice and racism which may exist in their innocent minds. The thought of introducing theories of acceptance despite differences and even embracing those differences as to what makes each individual person unique has the power to change the future where racism, stereotypes, prejudice and ignorance do not exist. Allowing students to see differences as a positive rather than negative has the ability to even demolish bullying, cyberbulling, and possibly death. Just because a student is a different race does not mean that they can only attend a low income school in the midst of poverty. As educators, we believe in the potential of our students, we want them to succeed and we will do whatever it takes to help them accomplish their goals; this is why we teach. To create a safe haven away from the negative effects of society. Multicultural education has the strength to not only enhance one's learning or perspective on life, but rather the majority views of our nation in the best way imaginable. 

Responsive Teaching

How does multicultural education reflect responsive teaching 

to help meet the academic needs of diverse student populations?

Video: Becoming a Culturally Responsive Teacher

Multicultural education and responsive teaching work together in order to successfully meet the needs of all diverse students within an educational environment. Multicultural education is to captivate your students various cultural differences by allowing these connections to reflect the curricular lesson plans. Being able to apply this connection to the academic needs of your students is exactly what responsive teaching tackles. These two terms work simultaneously  to not only emotionally engage the diverse needs of students, but educationally fulfill the requirements of Common Core and overall comprehension. 

Multicultural Education

What is multicultural education 

and what are the goals?

Multicultural education is a style of learning within a classroom which embraces cultural differences and promotes diversity throughout the curriculum. With a multicultural pedagogy, educators promote the various backgrounds of their students to build background within the content, as well as break down possible walls to enhance the classroom community. 

The goal of multicultural education is to make each and every student feel special and comfortable within a safe classroom environment. Many students are often shy as to how others may feel about them. Such thoughts can reduce confidence in the classroom as well as disengage students throughout group work or something as simple as raising their hand. Incorporating the multicultural diversity of the classroom only enhances ones' learning and personal perspectives/open mindedness. 

What is Culture?

What is culture?

Culture is a loaded word used to describe the components which define us as individual people of the world. Such characteristics include traditions, beliefs, morals, ethics, age, gender, socioeconomic status, career choice, education and personal experiences. Without culture, the world would not represent the diversity and uniqueness of our grand society.