Why Cultural Diversity and Awareness in the Classroom Is Important?

In the increasingly diverse and multicultural society, it’s more important than ever for teachers to embrace multiculturalism and increase awareness about different culture, whether one is teaching in elementary school, middle school, or high school students ( Blue, Mupinga, Clark, DeLuca, & Kelly, 2018) . Because lack of awareness and unfamiliarity with cultures, traditions, value, and beliefs of immigrants and culturally diverse students “can produce anxieties, hostilities, prejudices, and racist behaviors among those who do not understand the newcomers or who perceive them as threats to their safety and security” (Gay, 2003). Therefore, it is essential for educators to implement culturally responsive and multicultural teaching approaches in their curriculum because knowledge about others culture values, beliefs, and traditions lays the foundation for developing cultural pluralism, intergroup empathy, and the ability to think, work, and live with who are different from themselves (Drexel University, n.d.). Additionally, It is important to note that this kind of approaches helps students of diverse backgrounds to develop self-confidence and a positive attitude towards learning which could lead to higher academic achievement (Muniz, 2019).

The danger of a single story | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

It is human nature that we form our opinion after listening to a few stories or what others might tell us about a certain situation or group of people. This kind of generalization can be dangerous and may impact a person's ability to make the right choices/decisions. In the Tedtalk video, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks about how a single story can create stereotypes and what challenges students face when they find literature unfamiliar to their own culture.

What Teachers Needs to Know and Understand

• Every teacher needs to identify and address their own biases. As we know that “Every mind has a bias because everyone’s beliefs and worldview are shaped by their own unique experiences within a particular environment.” (Handel, 2020, n.d.). For this reason, all teachers need to reflect on their own biases because unconscious bias can, directly and indirectly, impact student’s ability to perform in the classroom.

• Teachers need to develop culturally competent teaching and learning because these skills can help them in understanding, communicating with, and effectively interacting with students across cultures (Hawk et al., 2017) . Some of the things that educators can do to enhance their cultural competency are to read books, attend cultural events of diverse groups, host family nights and collaborate with families, assign projects and assignments that focus on issues or concepts of their own communities or different cultural groups (CRP Teaching Strategies).

• The race, culture, and ethnicity often play important roles in defining individuals identities and contribute to their values, their behavior, and their beliefs. When these elements of students identities are ignored, teachers miss opportunities to establish a strong positive bond with learners. Therefore, in order to become responsive to individual differences, teachers need to have an understanding of how race and ethnicity influence the students learning (colorblindness, n.d.)