Final Project for EDCI 559

The final project for my most recent grad class has taught me more than I could have ever imagined. The class is on Cultural Diversity in the classroom. What intensified the whole experience was that this course was a 15 week course crammed into a 3 week timeframe. Like most of the other students in class, I nearly lost my mind trying to complete all of the assignments, but I managed it with numerous hours to spare. ;)

The homework consisted of reflections on a variety of articles regarding cultural intolerance in America from the earliest days of the settlers until very recently as well as many other assignments. The reflects were certainly thought-provoking. It is astounding to me what one person can do to another in the name of fear, greed, hatred and/or ignorance.

In the classroom, sometimes children can feel "less" because their parents don't have as much money as others. The "haves" make fun of and alienate the "have nots". What we need to do as educators is help students to understand that wealth is not a measure of "good", "happy", "right" or "better".

T.S. Elliot has a quote that goes something like this: "Most of the world's problems are caused by people wanting to be important." I think that this can be taken a step further to say that, "Most of the world’s problems are caused by people who think they are more important than those around them."

Of course, the topic of diversity brings with it more than wealth and/or a desire for importance; it includes race, ethnicity, color, culture, geographic upbringing, disabilities and on and on. What teachers, parents and neighbors need to do is learn themselves how to live side by side with people who are different than they are and the children will learn from our examples.

Anyway, it was a very interesting class and I'm glad I took it - and equally glad that it's over. ;)