I began my teaching career in a rural district in Upstate NY. To say that there was very little diversity might actually be an understatement. Although there were many challenges that faced rural schools - including servicing rural poverty, providing for a wide range of needs with limited resources, and designing instruction that would move students and the community towards a new future - everyone basically looked the same, had similar backgrounds, and had similar experiences.
I chose to become an urban educator because I wanted to experience diversity. I knew that there was more that I could do as an educator to learn and grow if there were different challenges in my classroom and in my school. Boy, was I right! My first teaching position in an urban district was in a school with a population that was 95% African American. It was the opposite of my previous teaching experience, which was rural and predominantly white, but it was still not diverse. Everyone in my first urban school was predominantly from the same neighborhood, similar backgrounds, and very little racial diversity.
My first experience with a significantly diverse population - where there are students and families from a variety of backgrounds, religions, with different languages, and from different countries all over the world was extremely eye opening for me. I was able to be an administrative intern at the school where I am now a principal, and that was my first true experience with significant diversity. We have 25% of our student population receiving ENL instruction. There are 20 languages spoken by students and families who attend my school. While 53% of our population is black or African-American, 47% is a rainbow of colors, backgrounds, languages, and belief structures. Teaching in such a diverse population has significant challenges. Leading such a diverse school community through school turnaround and receivership is unbelievably challenging.
I have classrooms with a wide range of learners in their classrooms. As I reviewed data from our initial running records administration, I saw classrooms with ranges from levels PA to V at 5th Grade. I have 1st and 2nd grade classrooms with 16, 17, 18, or 19 students receiving ENL services. So, differentiation is a hot topic in our feedback and planning discussions. We have been talking about defining differentiation as the place where our deep content knowledge and our understanding the needs of our students comes together. When we understand our content and our students' needs, we can make decisions about how we can individualize the way we will deliver the instruction to our students. Even in whole group instruction, we must be aware of the ways we deliver our instruction and provide opportunities for individual students to access the curriculum.
The Teaching Channel has partnered with the Oakland Unified School District to provide important video resources of key practices for differentiation - particularly for ENL students. This overview is a key resource for teachers in diverse learning communities to gain insight into the ways that we can provide all of our children with access to proficiency with the new learning standards. In this video, supports for ENL students within the English Language Arts include a "talking rock" or a talking piece, which empowers students by providing them with the complete focus of the other students when it is their turn to talk. We have to remember that the curriculum does not tell us how to teach - it is not a script - it outlines what we need to teach in order for our students to be college and career ready. In our hectic and busy lives as educators (who are also trying to be spouses, parents, sons, daughters, friends, volunteers, and many other roles), we must keep learning as the focus. If we only think about teaching, we miss such an important opportunity to see our students in the driver's seat. Their learning, combined with our high expectations, is the key component. That is where the connection between our deep content knowledge and our knowledge of our individual students is the most vibrant: where our lessons reflect the kinds of differentiation that will ensure that all of our students succeed.
Here are some other resources that you might find helpful in your supports of diverse learners in your classroom:
http://www.casenex.com/casenet/pages/readings/differentiation/diffisisnot.htm
http://www.cdl.org/articles/differentiating-instruction-and-practice/
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/every-learner/6776
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