Globalization and Diversity

With the world becoming more mobile and diverse, diversity has taken on a new significance in the culture of education.  We needed to broaden our understanding of the relationship of culture and diversity with a global perspective, because our students are representing countries, continents, languages, and understandings beyond our own limited experiences.
A perfect example of bridging the gap between the diversity within a school community is capitalizing on opportunities to acknowledge and celebrate the differences.  Such themes as "Multicultural Fair", "Holidays Around the World", "Where in the World..." and "Foods Around the World" embrace the community constituency and reciprocally make them feel welcome in the school.

As the school leader, I would consider engaging the faculty and staff in professional learning such as TESA (Teacher Expectation Student Achievement), which is designed to modify the way teachers interact with students through heightened awareness of how perceptions affect their expectations. Results of classroom research shows that use of TESA interactions improves student academic performance, gender and diversity awareness, attendance, classroom climate and reduces student discipline problems.  As an educator, I vividly recall teaching in a school where our student population represented five continents; our faculty and staff included visiting international faculty, translators for two different languages, and non-English speaking custodians; our school documents were translated into four different languages to accomodate the student and parent population. The mandatory year-long TESA training at the onset of a new school year helped each of us improve our interactions with our students, their families, and also with our colleagues.  My classroom practice broadened to acknowledge the diversity of my learners; I even acknowledged and learned new mathematics problem-solving strategies from some students who "learned it another way" in their native countries! The overall outcomes of the TESA training at that school were aligned with what the research shows.

When a school, its leaders, and even the school system itself removes the prospect of student diversity as a hindrance to student achievement, the potential for true learning is unleashed and students are allowed to flourish in their demonstrations of standards mastery.  In the end, isn't this the goal?

One of my favorite books, A World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman just may broaden your viewpoint on globalization and diversity.  Read most of it FREE OF CHARGE by clicking on the following link:  http://books.google.com/books?id=oSsIfoDQHhgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=a+world+is+flat&hl=en&ei=W_9cTanKEoqltwezpsCwCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
The world is flat indeed!