Foundations and Assessment of Education/Edition 1/Foundations Table of Contents/Chapter 4/Chapter Introduction

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Diversity: Classroom Practice and Law[edit | edit source]

How well do you handle diversity in your everyday life? Would you be scared to work with disabled children? How would you approach a student who is dealing with gender identification problems? Would you be able to teach a non English culture student American history without offending his or her original culture? How would you be able to help a code switching student with a grammar problem? You should be able to come with answers to these questions after reading this chapter.

Schools are a miniature replica of the type of people our world consists of. Throughout the chapter you will be introduced to topics such as: inclusion, ADHD children, non American cultured students such a code switcher, students with gender issues and the challenge of the gifted. Like the real world, schools have laws by which they should abide by. Some of these laws are made to protect the student’s best interest during their educational years. Some laws are to protect the teachers, administrative, and principal personnel so that they are able to manage effectively the educational environment for students.

The objective of this chapter is to introduce to you school practices and law information that are used to handle the students mentioned above. After reading this chapter you should be able to develop a better understanding on how to handle and manage types of students within legal guidelines and school practices if ever encountered in a classroom during your teaching career. No matter what subject you will teach, you will be faced with at least one or more types of diverse students within a classroom. It would be in your best interest to gain the knowledge to be able to manage the situation and offer a positive learning experience for all. As teachers we are encouraged to become chameleons throughout our career. Learning for and from our students is the best achievement we should meet to become the facilitator they need to succeed.