Classroom Diversity

The young man seated at the desk is paralyzingly shy. His IEP has *everything* checked. He definitely has *some* sort of learning disability, but he doesn't have trouble understanding science or expressing himself in terms of science. I'm his only gen ed teacher all day long. He scored a HIGH A on his last exam. I'm so tempted to give him an unmodified test. I won't, but I'm tempted. The girl with her back to the camera is an ESOL level 4 who has a serious attendance problem. She spends a lot of time in ISS and OSS. I'm not sure how taking truants out of the classroom is supposed to help. I really think that she has some serious body image issues. She is behind many of her peers in terms of physical development. That coupled with her behaviour in class makes me wonder if she doesn't spend her free time "trying harder".



The young man in the sweatshirt does not have a diagnosis, but has the worst case of ADHD that I've ever seen. His mouth is constantly in motion. It's not just a case of him being a verbal learner, he just cannot be quiet. We will goe through a rubber ball, skoosh ball, plastic slinky, rubber band, and a bendy pencil in one class. He has a twin who is dominant, popular and athletic. The girl kneeling to the left him is in constant need of attention. She will disrupt class at the slightest (or no) provocation. Her parents recently sent her to live with her Aunt until she brings her GPA up to at least a 1.0. She cares far more about social interactions with her peers than her schoolwork. (at least until 3 days ago)



These pictures were taken during a fractional distillation lab at school. The gentleman sitting on the desk is an ESOL and Spec Ed student. He has lots of challenges to his learning. Yet, he works very hard at making the most of his time in the classroom. He asks for help. He does extra work. He is a pleasure to have in the classroom. I think that his biggest struggle is the peer pressure to not participate in class to the extent that he does. Kids that try to do good work in school are pressured for being "not Mexican enough".


In order to include all of my students, I constantly self-monitor my language. I look for anything that might be racist, sexist or otherise biased. It it starts as a matter of trust between myself and the students. If I say something that makes them think that I have already judged them because of some group that they belong to or uniqueness that they have, I may never win back their respect and trust. My students that have trouble sitting still or doing mundane tasks are on 10 minute "check ins". Class goes a lot more smoothly if I ask them a question, have them perform a task, or anything every ten minutes. I try not to be too obvious about it. Right now, I'm having the biggest trouble providing scaffolding to my most disabled learners and providing challenges to my most gifted (and advanced).