Culturally, Linguistically, and Economically Diverse Students A Few Things to Think About Based on Marina Michalski’s 2007 SDE DI workshop

Some Starting Thoughts Since 1990, the ELL population in US public schools has increased 101% Many are “economic refugees” These are not the only students struggling with poverty & cultural differences – Many native born students face these same obstacles

Linguistic Diversity Obstacles to everyday communication Obstacles to academic language See Michalski’s bibliographies for online language & linguistics resources and for multicultural read-alouds

Cultural Diversity Eye contact – to make or not to make? How to address teachers & other adults How to behave in a classroom – stay in seat, etc. How/when to communicate with the teacher – absence work, conferences, concerns

Cultural Diversity How to work in groups – copy or own work Different nonverbal communication – thumbs up, wave with palm showing, etc. The meaning of laughter Personal space Keeping face & failure Naming traditions

Economic Diversity The underlying characteristics of generational poverty have surface representations at school – see Michalski’s charts Ex.: Important relationships & the reliance on people to survive = Students decide if they will work in the classroom based on whether or not they like you.

Economic Diversity Rules of the middle class & high society It is difficult for those students suffering from generational poverty to interface with the middle-class culture prevalent in most public schools (Michalski & Payne)

Michalski’s Core Elements of Teaching in a Diverse Classroom Organized, colorful environment Student-centered classroom where they feel safe & comfortable working together & learning from each other Their experiences appear in instruction Photos, music, films related to content Group & pair work – contribute what can

Michalski’s Core Elements of Teaching in a Diverse Classroom (cont.) Culturally diverse literature, music, etc. Cultural, national, international, & global perspectives Supplementary materials Similarities & universals of human experience

Resources Michalski, Marina. “Are We Speaking the Same Language Here? Considerations in Teaching Linguistically, Culturally, and Economically Diverse Students.” SDE National Conference on Differentiated Conference, Las Vegas, July 2007. Payne, Ruby. (2001). A framework for understanding poverty. Highlands, TX: Aha! Process, Inc.