Ashley Lennon

ELED 310.003
Dr. Shin Ji Kang
March 2014
Attitude Adjustment : Developing An Appreciation and Admiration for Diversity

Prior to my learning in this course, I had a very biased and rather embarrassing viewpoint
of those different from me. My attitude towards individuals from a different culture and/or of a
different race was arrogant. I had been exposed to the stereotypes and racist thoughts from my
peers in public school, and sadly, those opinions had subtly rooted in my mind. Thus, during my
experiences volunteering in different classrooms and different schools and working with many
students, those stereotypical thoughts would quietly ring in my head. For example, when I
volunteered in a first grade classroom at Waterman Elementary School, I subconsciously would
adjust my attitudes and opinions about students depending upon the color of the students skin
and where I assumed they were from. When I worked with Caucasian students, I praised them
often and thought highly of them. When I worked with Hispanic students, my thoughts and
opinions of these students was less than those of Caucasian students. Regardless of how unbiased
I tried to be, those underlying thoughts continued to surface.
Those derogatory thoughts have now been very seldom thanks to the Diversity in
Education course. Reading the articles pertaining to race has enabled me to see education
through the eyes of those different from me. I have felt more compassion for all people different
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from me, and now desire to learn more about different cultures, religions, languages, and
experiences. One article that really fed my passion for teaching is Gloria Ladson-Billings article,
But Thats Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. Her article
features examples of humble teachers who sought better avenues for educating their students,
and found teaching to be most effective when the students cultures became the foundation of the
classroom. Educators traditionally have attempted to insert culture into the education, instead of
inserting education into the culture (Ladson-Billings, 1995). Teachers who do not recognize the
significance of students cultures and do not choose to intertwine those cultures into the
classroom culture do a huge disservice to their students. The cultures of students are practically
an innate aspect of the students, that if education partners with, can ignite a passion for learning
within the students; if students home language is incorporated into the classroom, students are
more likely to experience academic success (Ladson-Billings, 1995). It is absolutely necessary
for teachers to acquire as much information as they can about each students culture and create a
classroom culture from every students culture, which ties with respect and appreciation. When
the entire classroom is exposed to one anothers cultures, every member of the classroom
benefits, and their knowledge expands much more.
As I reflect on my experiences within my practicum class as they pertain to diversity, I
have realized that the number of times I make assumptions and categorize students has
drastically decreased. I am fortunate to have been placed within a kindergarten classroom whose
students come from different socio-economic statuses, whose families derive from different
locations and sometimes different cultures, whose skin color is different, whose religions are
different, who have different learning abilities, etc. Rather than make distinctions between
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students based on their innate qualities like skin color, I solely see my students for who they are
on the inside and for who they can become. I no longer subconsciously place a glass ceiling over
any of their heads, but rather, I work hard to help them grow and achieve as much as they can.
From my service learning experiences, as required by the Diversity in Education course, I
tutor pairs of fourth grade students every Wednesday in reading and writing in the After School
Tutoring Program at Spotswood Elementary School. In late January, the first pair of students I
was assigned to assist in reading comprehension were two Hispanic girls. I remember how I
subconsciously separated myself with these girls, whom I will call Ana and Mara. I remember
how I was slightly more impatient with these students than I usually am; when Mara got
distracted, mispronounced a word, and gave up, I was very stern, did not creatively reword my
directions to her, and I remember forming unfair biased thoughts about her abilities. I also did
not extend very many warm praises to them. At the end of the tutoring session, I remember
feeling thankful the time was up and I could go home.
At the next tutoring session, I was instructed to work with Eduardo and Stewart; Eduardo
is Hispanic and Stewart is Caucasian. At first I was hesitant and almost immediately the subtle
assumptions arose about Eduardo and Stewarts capabilities. However, these degrading thoughts
quickly faded away as I became immersed in tutoring these boys, who worked impressively well
together and made great advancements. I left that tutoring session elated and feeling very proud
of them both. At every tutoring session, I was instructed to work with at least one Hispanic
student. Each time I tutored, my racist and derogatory thoughts became less and less, and my
compassion and enthusiasm for each student I worked with grew. The last tutoring session I
attended, I could work with any student I wanted. I worked with Mario and Mara, and remember
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feeling so proud and impressed at Maras growth. From working with Hispanic students, I have
come to greatly appreciate each students culture, and greatly admire them for their perseverance,
dedication, and genuine passion for learning.
Another requirement of the Diversity in Education course is that we attend two cultural
events that are different from our own cultures. Recently, I attended a Muslim Prayer Service at
the Islamic Association of the Shenandoah Valley. I have been raised on the foundation of
Christianity and have a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. What little I knew about the Muslim
belief derived from history courses, two religion courses, and the misconceptions of my family
and the society within which that I live. All I knew was that they worshipped a deity, Allah, their
holy book is the Quran, they pray five times a day, Mecca is significant to them and they travel at
least once in their life time to it, women must cover themselves, they do not eat pork, they speak
and read in Arabic, and the Islamic religion is some how tied to the terrorist attacks on
September 11th, 2001 as well as the current War on Terrorism. Leading up to the event, I was
very reluctant to attend the Muslim Prayer Service. During the service, I felt completely out of
place, and the participants were very foreign to me; fear quietly crept in, my guard was up, and I
felt empathy for the young children there who, I thought, would be fed lies.
After the prayer service was over, my friends and I were invited to a questionnaire
session in which we had the opportunity to ask the Imam, or prayer leader, any questions we had.
During this session, my misconceptions were completely cleared. I began to have greater respect
for those who claimed affinity with Islam. I was thoroughly impressed with their dedication and
the respect they have for all individuals. While I do not claim affinity to Islam, and am still a
Christian, I gained greater respect for Muslims and a greater appreciation for what they can teach
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me. As I have been continually thinking of my experience at the Islam Association of the
Shenandoah Valley, I have adopted parts of their traditions and included them into my own faith,
such as praying intentional prayers at specific times, and when I pray, I pray with greater respect
to my God.
My revolutionized attitude and opinion as a result of my experience at the Islam
Association of the Shenandoah Valley reminded me of Margaret J. Wheatleys article,
Willingness to be Disturbed. As a visitor at the Islam center, I kept thinking in the mindset of a
teacher; how could I apply my experience as a future teacher? I may have students in my future
classroom(s) whose families are Muslim, I may work with people who are Muslim, I may just
interact with individuals in the future who are Muslim, and I may be able to adopt parts of this
belief system into my classroom, such as the intentional routines.
After my experience, once my subconscious had plenty of time to work through my
experience, a few quotes from Wheatleys article stuck out to me. Curiosity...We dont have to
let go of what we believe, but we do need to be curious about what someone else believes. We do
need to acknowledge that their way of interpreting the world might be essential to our own
survival (Wheatley, 2002). Initially, I was nervous the exposure to the Islamic belief system
would clash with my own beliefs, and thus I sought every way I could discredit the religion and
separate myself from it. However, the questionnaire session helped me realize that it is healthy
for my own development to dig deeper and seek more knowledge about things I do not know. I
realized that I do not have to believe in what the Muslim religion teaches, but it is so important
that I at least recognize its significance and existence. Additionally, finding out more about the
Muslim religion and all other things is extremely important to my survival as a teacher so that I
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may provide my students with the best possible education and be respectful of different cultures
and what others believe. As a teacher, I must be willing to move into the very uncomfortable
place of uncertainty so that I can acquire more knowledge to better support and teach my
students (Wheatley, 2002).
With the fresh change in my attitude and thoughts of other people, I hope to apply the
greater respect and appreciation I have for others into my pedagogy. No matter who I teach, or
where I teach, I hope to instill the same appreciation and respect into all of my students. Despite
having been required to go out and expand my knowledge of people different from me, I hope to
continue pursuing deeper knowledge of things I do not know or understand so that I can prevent
misconceptions from forming in my head. I hope my future students will earnestly pursue deeper
knowledge too as an extremely rewarding tool to become more appreciative and respectful of
others. To instill such positive attitudes in my students, I will establish an environment that
fosters and promotes respect, appreciation, and the passionate pursuit of knowledge. I will
scaffold my students in becoming advocators of these positive attitudes.
With my experiences, change of attitudes and heart, and my new addition to my
pedagogy having afore been said, I completely agree with what Susanne Herzman said in her
article, Finding the Right Track. She calls teachers to become the igniters of social change by
encouraging students. She claims, Teachers have power to create a positive tone in the
classroom (Herzman, 2002). If teachers do not invest in establishing an environment that fosters
appreciation, compassion, and respect, then the students will not take the time to invest
themselves in such positive attitudes. They will mirror their teachers attitudes; if the teacher is
not passionate about teaching something, the students will not be passionate about learning that
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same thing, but if a teacher displays a deep desire for something, the students will adopt that
same desire and become advocates for it. Additionally, the teacher is the students biggest source
of support. If a teacher does not consistently support and encourage the students to respect one
another, division will be created within the classroom and extreme individuality will be present
among the students. However, if the teacher consistently supports and encourages the students to
respect one another, appreciation and compassion will follow, as well as the creation of a
supportive community within the class. Attitudes, both positive and negative, are constantly
reciprocated. If teachers establish a classroom culture that values appreciation, compassion, and
respect, those same attitudes will continue to be emitted from every member of the class. As
Margaret J. Wheatley said, I need to learn to value your perspective, and I want you to value
mine (Wheatley, 2002).

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Resources
Herzman, S. (2002). Finding the right track. In L. Darling-Hammon, J. French & S.P. Garcia-
Lopez (Eds.), Learning to teach for social justice (p. 153-162). New York: Teacher College
Press.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But thats just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant
pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 159-165.
Wheatley, M. J. (2002). Turning to one another: Simple conversations to restore hope to the
future. San Francisco: Berrett-Koshler Publishers, Inc.
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