Running head: DIVERSITY STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS 1

Diversity Statement of Informed Beliefs

Field, Laura

Instructor: Dr. Egbert

EDUC 204: Families Communities Culture

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Diversity Statement of Informed Beliefs

Children need guidance and that’s what teachers are there for but children learn in

different ways, come from different backgrounds, and in every other way are different. Teachers

have to find the right way to teach every student in their class and that can be hard but each

teacher has their own beliefs to be able to reach the hearts of students. This belief comes from

study of theorists, personal experience or just observation of their students.

All Children Can Learn

All children learn in different ways. The different ways of learning are intentional

learning, unintentional learning and even the media and internet but children also learn in their

own unique way within these broader categories. One child may learn intentionally by reading a

book while another child learns by listening to a lecture. Another may unintentionally learn by

watching their parents do a task around the house while someone else unintentionally learns from

a song that they learned. Media and the internet are a major example of both of these ways of

learning. A child may learn intentionally from a how to video on how to do a certain math

subject while another child is learning unintentionally to be greedy by watching a video with

children getting everything they want. All children can learn no matter the situation. I am going

to make sure that my students learn by making sure that I touch on all the different ways that

students learn. I will make sure that I know how my students learn the best whether it be with

visuals, hands on activities, or doing listening activities.

Erikson discovered through his studies that children develop an ego identity. “Ego

identity is the conscious sense of self that we develop through social interaction” (Cherry, 2016).

Erikson believed that the person’s ego identity changes with each new experience and
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information that the person gathers. These experiences could be through intentional learning or

unintentional learning and every one of those experiences helps shape the person that we

become.

A teacher’s expectations can reflect on the students learning in two different ways. A

student wants to work really hard to meet the teacher’s expectations or the student thinks that the

teacher’s expectations are too high. In thinking this the student proves it to be true because the

student thinks that it is too hard so why try. Educational goals are very important and needed in

the classroom. The reason they are so important relates to the hopes for the children that are set

out at the beginning of the year.

Students’ Social Ecology Theory

The principal of connecting a student’s learning to the social ecology of life is very

important because it connects learning to every part of the child’s life. The microsystem is the

smallest group and it refers to the relationships that they build with their friends, community, and

other close people. The chronosystem is the biggest group and it refers to the temporal changes

in our systems. The family and the culture that a child is raised in has a great influence on a

student’s learning. There are good examples and bad examples. A good example could be a

supportive family who helps with homework and tries to answer any questions that the student

might have to further their learning. A bad example could be that there is a lot of stress in the

student’s home life and that can interfere with the way the student focuses at school so they can’t

focus.

Spritz conducted a study where he compared the development of infants in a foundling

home with caregivers to a home where the infant was raised by their mothers in prison. The
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study focused on the nurture of the children and what they had in their lives (Berns, 2013). A

child needs love and affection in the early years. Without that love many things could go wrong.

Children who did not have that love and affection in their lives had learning disabilities or,

worse, turned out to be cognitively challenged. Children who get that love and affection have

normal development in all areas including socially, emotionally, and in there behaviors.

Discrimination and Learning

I will make sure that I touch on all culture by having culture day and the students can tell

the class about their culture and/or they could bring their parents in to help with that as well. I

will make sure that I treat everyone equally and show by example that everyone is equal and

special in their own ways. Cultural pluralism is the mutual appreciation and understanding of

various cultures, religions, and different languages. This is very important to incorporate into the

classroom because there is going to be a lot of diversity. Every person needs to understand that

there are many different cultures and religions in the world and they all need to be respected and

they all go for the classroom as well. Assimilation is the process of taking in and fully

understanding information or ideas. Many people are trying to complete this process in today’s

society. Individualism is the principle of being independent and being able to choose for

themselves in things such as their careers. Collectivism is emphasis on the group over the

individual. The groups could be their culture or religion.

There are many different types of curriculum and instructional models that are used in

today’s education. These include individual, competitive, cooperative, or learner- directed to

name a few. Children all have different ways of learning. There has to be a balance between all

of these models to be able to help each student.

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Equitable Education for all Students

Low Socioeconomic statuses bring a lot of problems in education and affects the students

in many different ways, Poverty, divorce, dual income families can bring a lot of stress to a child

and affect the way they perform in school. A child who doesn’t have a stable home life or a

home life that brings stress can have a hard time focusing on the lessons in class and don’t retain

the information as easily. I want my classroom to be a place where students feel comfortable

being. My classroom is going to be calm and fair for all students to learn. I want my students to

be comfortable so that they can learn from each other and participate in the things that they

enjoy, such as music, art, and physical activity. I want to use these things to help improve the

lesson. I will make sure my students know that I care for them and that I want to help them in

anything. When a student is comfortable, learning comes easier.

Jean Piaget was a theorist that helped shape how we should teach children. Piaget had

four stages that he said that each child went through. The stages were the sensorimotor stage, the

preoperational stage, the concrete operations stage, and the formal operations. Each stage has

specific things the child should do at each stage and help people understand children a little

better. The preoperational stage is when the child uses their senses and motor abilities to interact

with their surroundings and they only understand the here and now. The preoperational stage is

when the child uses symbols to represent objects. The concrete operations stage is where the

child can use logical, systematic principals to experiences but they can’t distinguish between

facts or fables. The last stage is the formal operations stage and this is where the child can think

logically about abstract idea and hypotheses and concrete facts (Berns, 2013).
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Conclusion

Children are bright and smart but they need some help to uncover the brilliance within.

That’s where teachers come in but teachers have to know all the factors that are a part of the

situation. Teachers have to know what socio-economic status a child is in so they can understand

where the child is coming from, and they have to know how best the child learns so they can use

those techniques to help. Theorist like Erickson and Piaget help us to understand our students

and each teacher has to figure out what works best for each student to learn.
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References

Berns, R.M. (2013). Child, family, school, community: Socialization and support (7th

ed.).Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.