Diversity in Classrooms

 

	Description	Parents/Family Engagement Strategy	Environment Consideration
Single parent family	A family headed by a single parent.	Inventing Projects that can be done at home to accommodate the busy schedule of a single parent.	Abolishing parent-specific days such as dad or mom-days. Furthermore, different family types should be depicted on the walls.
Same-sex parented families	A family constituting LGBT parenting.	Avoid specifying gender when asking for signatures from parents.	Display collages of different family types in the classroom including LGBTQ families. Also, regularly sensitize students on family diversity.
African-American culture	This Entails the way of life, values, and beliefs of American people of African descent	Parent participation in schools is important (Blair, 2014). Hence, parents can be invited to participate in plays dedicated to celebrating Black History.	Displaying pictures in the classroom depicting the historic moments for the African-Americans. Students should be encouraged to discuss the significance of such pictures.
Native-American culture	The values, beliefs, and symbols of the indigenous people of the Americas	Encourage parents to share ideas such as the various aspects of their culture that they would wish to be included in the school curriculum (Kraft, 2017)	Displaying Native-American cultural artifacts in the classroom to promote cultural diversity and encouraging students to research about them.
Latin American (Hispanic) Culture	The various social values and beliefs held by American people from Latin America	Inviting the extended family of Hispanic families to school events in the embrace of Hispanic cultures such as familismo   Save your time - order a paper! Get your paper written from scratch within the tight deadline. Our service is a reliable solution to all your troubles. Place an order on any task and we will take care of it. You won’t have to worry about the quality and deadlines Order Paper Now	Regularly teaching about various foods including Hispanic cuisines and encouraging students to explore them and perhaps carry them to class occasionally.
Spanish Language	The language spoken by citizens mainly originating from Spain and much of Latin America	School reports for Spanish-speaking parents may be prepared in Spanish to enhance inclusion.	Hanging a chart with common Spanish vocabulary on the wall to arouse student’s curiosity.
Chinese Language	Encompasses languages spoken by families of Chinese heritage	Engage an interpreter for non-English speaking Chinese parents to encourage their participation. (Pratt-Johnson, 2015).	Allow Chinese-speaking students to converse in their first language during their class discussions. Different Chinese characters may also be placed on the walls to arouse curiosity
French Language	A romance language originating from France.	Introduce a French afterschool program in partnership with francophone families.	Having relevant French billboards hanged across the classroom. Students can be encouraged to participate in making the billboards.
Judaism	The religion of the Jewish People	Partner with Jewish parents to introduce aspects of Judaism such as teaching Hebrew.	Introduce the Jewish calendar and raise awareness in the classroom regarding the various Jewish holidays and celebrations
Islam	The religion of the Muslims	Regularly communicate with the parents concerning the acceptable practices for Islamic students.	Introduce the Islamic calendar in the classroom and teach on Islamic holidays and month of Ramadan

Classroom Activity to Respect and Honor Diversity

A suitable classroom activity to respect and honor diversity within my classroom would be a cultural night. Before this activity, I would encourage my students to research on their respective cultures. This should include aspects such as food, dressing, artifacts, and religious practices. During the event, I would encourage each of my students to bring various cultural cuisines to the school and dress according to their culture. I would also welcome the parents to participate in the cultural night. In addition to the food and dressing, I would also set aside time for presentations such as singing or plays to represent various cultures.

References

Blair, S. L. (2014). Parental involvement and children’s educational performance: A comparison of Filipino and US parents. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 45(3), 351-366.

Kraft, M.A. (2017). Engaging parents as partners in education through better communication. Educational Leadership, 75(1), 58-62.

Pratt-Johnson, Y. (2015). Stressors experienced by immigrant and other non-native English-speaking students in US schools and their families. Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, 24(3), 140-150.