In a recent talk to a student, as we discussed the general topic of diversity, we agreed that to really embrace the fact that people have different needs and opportunities, we would need to reach a point when we do not talk about diversity. The more we discuss it, the more we set people apart. The more labels we have, the more categories we have, the fewer opportunities and the more we seem to segregate those who we perceive as different from us. Diversity is living it naturally when it’s no longer an issue.
As individuals we are all different, there will always be minorities, reasons to look at people differently – be it a biological, historical, religious, political or social difference, we belong to various groups that embrace some degree of diversity. As a society we have tried to give the minorities voice, to create rules to welcome and/ or protect the oppressed. But by making one group happy, we oppress others. In the classroom it is not different, by catering for the weaker students or the stronger ones, we may neglect the ones that do not stand out; by including differences that are somehow pointed out, we may risk excluding others.
The opportunity in the classroom is that by causing an impact on people, changing the way students look at each other, we are contributing to forming citizens who may, in turn, change the world, as Paulo Freire (1987) would say. That is one step towards a better world, where we may look at people just as people. We will not all love everyone around us, but to peacefully coexist, we all need to accept and to spread the habit of respecting those who are different from us, those we do not understand. In the classroom, a way might be to treat each student as they need/ want to be treated – people have different needs – and at the same time the group as a cohesive group with their peculiarities.
The general idea for us, language teachers, is to focus on opportunities learners in the group have to learn with and from the diverse group they are inserted in. In that sense, what we describe as ideal – a teacher not picking favourites, embracing all the differences and making an effort and giving chances for all students to learn – has to become our practice (Freire, 1996) not only in the classroom, but in the discussions we have about our learners with our colleagues.
In the group, we need to model how to look at everyone’s strengths and contributions to their colleagues – some will naturally contribute more, add more, but none should be left unattended. If we do not believe some can communicate in English, we may be neglecting those learners in class (have you watched Stand and deliver, Freedom Writers?). Cultivating and promoting empathy in class, respecting the differences, we may be helping learners see the world (and perhaps themselves) differently and work towards success in learning. In practical terms, we would be varying groups, approaches and activities to reach the entire group and the different learning needs. We would also be learning more about people and enriching our knowledge about students. The more you learn, the more people we will be able to reach and embrace in our lessons.
All in all, we are the ones that need to leave our own comfort zones or the autopilot we sometimes teach on and reaching higher. It is simple, not easy. If it were easy, anyone could be a successful teacher. It takes courage and energy to embrace the vulnerability we may face when teaching a group and its inherent diversity.
References
FREIRE, P. (1996) Pedagogia da autonomia: Saberes necessários à prática educativa. Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra.
_________ (1987) Pedagogia do Oprimido. Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra.
Freedom Writers (2007), directed by Richard LaGravenese (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0463998/?ref_=nv_sr_1)
Stand and Deliver (1988), directed by Ramón Menéndez (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094027/?ref_=nv_sr_1)
