Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

Diversity Statement of Informed Beliefs

Courtney Rose
Instructor: Dr. LueLinda Egbert
College of Southern Idaho

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

Abstract
There are four goals set for all students going to school in the United States of America, and
those goals are put in place so that the students achieve success in their academic careers. These
goals are not specific to a certain type of student, but for all students, no matter what their
background may be. Even if the student is a minority, an English language learner, comes from a
single parent household, has a low socioeconomic status, or has a learning disability still has
every possibility to learn effectively within the educational system. We, as teachers, must
celebrate the differences in all of our students, and acknowledge the differences, so that any
barriers that had been built up between our students can be taken down. We need to focus on
creating diverse classrooms, and acting out in cultural pluralism. We cannot look down on our
students, approach them with personal biases, or expect that they are unable to learn because of
their background. Every student can learn.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

Diversity Statement of Informed Beliefs

Introduction
All students have the capabilities to learn anything they set their minds to. We, as
teachers, need to encourage our students towards their full potential. We need to see their
potential in the first place. We cannot be judgmental towards our students, or approach them with
biases or discrimination. We need to recognize that each student we encounter has immense
potential to be brilliant and can learn anything we teach them, despite their cultural background,
language fluency, religious beliefs, socioeconomic status, or whether or not they come from a
two-parent or single-parent household. Every student is capable of learning.
All Students Can Learn
The function of the school system in the United States of America is ran in a universal
way, which makes it accessible to everyone; in a formal way, which makes it methodical; and in
a prescriptive way, which allows it to provide directions based on the customs of each specific
community (Berns, 2016, p. 206). The school system of the U.S. has four specific goals for their
student body, which are: academic goals, vocational goals, social, civic, and cultural goals, and
personal goals (Berns, 2016, p. 206). These four national goals are set in place for each student,
despite their disabilities or giftedness, and they were established to ensure the healthy future of
each student that goes through the educational system. These goals would not exist if people
believed that not all students could learn, because they are based around every student.
As a future teacher, I will ensure that I am well prepared to teach my subject content, and
come armed with an open mind that is more than ready to teach, and learn from, my students.
Each one of my students will learn, because I am an energetic person that can find the fun in any
given situation, and allow others to find it too. I hope to teach mathematics in high school, so

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finding the fun in difficult situations is definitely a strong point for my future classrooms. Most
importantly, however, I want to know my students personally, respond effectively to their
questions, communicate openly and easily with them, collaborate with them, hear them out when
they have an idea, be a positive mentor to them, and a positive role model for them.
Jean Piaget claimed that once a child reaches the age of twelve they enter into the formal
operational stage of cognitive development (Berk, 2016). Children at this age can now think
abstractly, reason cognitively, have better impulse control, and can think about situations from
other peoples perspectives. This allows for the teachers to give their students abstract concepts
to think about and discuss. Discussion is vital for people to learn about and accept other peoples
differences, and that is important for a diverse school environment.
The expectations put on students by their teachers effects the way the students behave,
learn, and grow. If a student knows that they are respected and valued by their teachers, they are
less likely to act out disrespectfully, not do the homework, or talk back to their teachers, because
they respect the teacher in return. Teachers have the power to push students towards their full
potential, so we teachers cannot label, discriminate, form preconceived ideas about who our
students are, or talk down to them in a condescending tone. A teachers influence is so great,
greater than most even know, that we cannot abuse that power. All teachers, myself included,
need to recognize the strength and power that comes with our title, and use it to encourage and
influence our students in a positive way.
The four educational goals that were previously mentioned (academic goals, vocational
goals, social, civic, and cultural goals, and personal goals) are set in place by the government on
how they expect each student to succeed. As teachers, we need to set these goals for ourselves
and for our students. We need to verbalize our expectations of our students to our students, so

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

that they know they are being held to a high standard, and that the teachers respect and believe in
them.
Students Social Ecology Theory
A child begins to learn from the moment that they are born. They immediately enter into
their microsystem, which consists of their parents and siblings, and start learning from the social,
facial, and physical cues that they are given. Bronfenbrenner theorized that children are
socialized through their microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems, and macrosystems over the
course of their life, which is referred to as their chronosystem (Berns, 2016, pp. 20-33).
Microsystems consists of family, peers, schools, and the media. Mesosystems are when two
microsystems interact together, such as when children have their friends over to their home,
seeing movies with their friends, or having parent-teacher conferences. Exosystems describe the
services that affect the lives of children, but the children do not have a say in these services.
They can range from the childs parents work, school boards, federal and state commissions, and
social services. Macrosystems include the society that the child is raised in, and the child does
not always have a choice in the matter. Such as race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, or
political ideology (Berns, 2016, pp. 20-33). It is so vital to have positive interactions that
children can experience within these systems. It connects children to their environment, culture,
and society, and allows the children to learn and grow with their peers.
Children are socialized throughout these systems. Their outlook on learning, as well as
their outcome in learning, can be traced back to how they were raised. A child coming from an
environment that is encouraging them to succeed and excel in their education, will find it easier
to do than a child who comes from an environment that doesnt value, or care, about education.
No matter what a childs home environment is, they can succeed in school. To combat a negative

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

familial outlook on education, these children must become resilient. Interacting with positive
role models, peers, teachers, coaches, siblings, and parents, improve a childs learning. If a child
does not have these interactions, they can suffer from social, behavioral, psychological, and
emotional problems, which will hinder their learning (Berns, 2016, pp. 261-266). Psychologist
Emmy Werner studied different at-risk children in Hawaii, in the year 1993, to study resiliency
(Werner, 1993). She found that one-third of the children who had positive outlooks on life were
emotionally healthy, had good friendships, and they succeeded in their education. Of the onethird of children with positive results, Werner (1993) found that they all had one similar thing in
common. They had a positive role model in their life that acted as a substitute parent. The twothirds of the at-risk children, who didnt get out of their negative or abusive home lives, ended up
with psychological, social, and academic problems. They did not have a positive adult role model
in their lives. This means that resilience can be learned by any child, from any background, as
long as they have a positive, older role model in their lives that they can look up to, and learn
from (Berns, 2016, pp. 261-266).
Discrimination and Learning
Each individual person has such a rich history and culture, despite what their background
may be. When I was a student in grade school, I loved learning about other cultures. Whether it
was from learning about them in my social studies classroom, or from the few diverse students
attending my school. I often wished my grade schools had a more diverse learning environment,
because I cherish differences in others. It is what makes us unique and individual. When I started
attending college, I found myself drawn to the influx of different cultures that I had never been
exposed to before. In my own classroom I will incorporate the different cultures amongst my

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

students, and celebrate the differences. I will attempt to make all of the other students respect and
engage in the different cultures and practices, while we are learning about each others lifestyles.
There are many aspects that influence how different ethnic groups and cultures can relate
to education, and one of these is called cultural assimilation, which is when a minority group
begins to act like the cultural group that makes up the majority (Berns, 2016, p. 212). This is a
grave injustice because it robs the culture, or the pride of a culture, from the different ethnic
groups.
A much better option to take when spending time with minorities and their cultures would
be to adopt the idea of cultural pluralism, which is an appreciation of different cultures,
religious beliefs, languages, and lifestyles (Berns, 2016, p. 212). Cultural pluralism is
understanding others, despite the differences we all possess, and then coexisting in peaceful
harmony with one another. This is the best option to take in a melting pot atmosphere, where so
many ethnic groups and different cultures are converging together in the same society (Berns,
2016, p. 212). We want an individualistic society, accepting of our differences, instead of a
collectivistic society, where we all try to act the same. We can all learn about, and appreciate,
each others differences. We need to celebrate them, and make a point to let our students know it
is okay to celebrate them too.
We cannot allow ourselves to have biases of our students; where they come from, what
religion theyor their parentspractice, or what languages they speak. If English is not their
native language, we cannot assume that they are unintelligent or behind in comparison to the rest
of the class. We, as the teacher, need to take a different approach to understanding that specific
students range of knowledge and point of view, in order to help them achieve all that they are
capable of.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

Minority ethnic groups, English language learners, and refugees are not the only group of
students that teachers must tweak their teaching style, or lessons, for in order that the student
remains at the same level of education as their peers. Students who come from single parent
households, low socioeconomic households, as well as students with gifts and talents, or
disabilities, will affect the way teachers teach. They are all deserving of assignments that
challenge their intelligence, making them learn and grow. Teachers cannot use a permissive, or
relaxed, teaching style with these students, or they will all fall behind. Teachers much use an
authoritative teaching style, where they teach the students what needs to be learned, but allows
for student participation, and student-directed learning within their classrooms. This will give
each student the respect they deserve, and the power over their own learning.
Equitable Education for all Students
Every individual person has potential to do something great, despite their shortcomings,
disability, backgrounds, family history, or personal mistakes. Every person deserves the chance
to reach their full potential, and if they do not receive that chance, it is a disservice to the entire
world. I truly believe that.
Each student has different goals and learning outcomes for themselves, and the teacher
must help them achieve those personal goals and outcomes. In this fast-paced, modern society
that we live in, it is hard to slow down for others. We cannot let this be the case for the students
who need us the most. These students are coming to school from divorced families, dual income
families, poverty, homelessness, and wealth. There is a myriad of different backgrounds
throughout every school in the United States of America, and based on those backgrounds
determine, or can determine, how the students will learn.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

It is difficult for students to be social, when they dont speak the native language. It is
difficult for students to emotionally open up, if they are physically or sexually abused at home. It
is difficult for a student to focus on their education, when their families dont value, or
encourage, education. It is difficult for students to expand their cognitive learning skills, when
they are verbally abused, and told that they are stupid and worthless. It is difficult for students,
no matter what hardships they are experiencing in their homes, but as the teacher I plan on being
open and accepting, and letting my students know that I care, and I am available to help. I will
look out for telltale signs of abuse and hardships from my students, and also accept that many
will be good at hiding it, so I must treat everyone in the same manner. I will not be any easier on
the students that are less fortunate than others, but I will be fair and understanding. We are all
people, and life happens, so I will be sure to have that reflect in my classroom policies.
The degree that I will receive will be in secondary education, with my main hope being to
teach mathematics in the high school years. According to Erik Erikson, these adolescent students
are currently going through the identity versus role confusion stage of their development (Berk,
2016). They are trying to figure out who they are, and how they fit into the world around them,
despite being a part of a cultural minority group, or a student with disabilities. Every teenager
wants to figure out who they are. As their teacher, I will be sure to encourage this process with an
open mind.
Conclusion
There are goals set in place for every single student in the United States of America to
succeed in their education. These goals would not be set in place if all students were not viewed
as equally capable of achieving success. Everyone has potential to learn and grow, being a
teacher means that it is my job to help my students see their potential, and reach for it. No matter

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what a students background may be, teachers cannot and should not judge them, discriminate
against them, or hold them to a different standard than the rest of the class, because that will
harm the student in the long run.
I cannot wait until I have my very own classroom, and my very own students to teach. I
will be an honest and open instructor that encourages and builds up my students. They will know
that I am available to talk with whenever they need me. They will know that no matter who they
are, where they come from, or what mistakes they may have made in their past, I will always
have an open mind to hear them out. I know that all of my future students have great potential to
learn and go so far in their lives, and I am excited to meet them and help them achieve their
learning goals.

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References
Berk, L. E., & Meyers, A. B. (2016). History, theory, and research strategies. In R. Wilkofsky, &
T. Pauken (8th ed.), Infants, children, and adolescents (pp. 2-49). United States of
America: Pearson.
Berns, R. M. (2016). Child, family, school, community: Socialization and support. United States:
Cengage Learning.
Werner, E. E. (1993). Risk, resilience, and recovery: Perspectives from Kauai longitudinal study.
Development and Psychopathology, 5, 503-515.