By Andrea Kemp

 The United States is one of the most culturally diverse nations on earth, and rather than let our diversity destroy us, we should embrace it. This is something that should be taught in our classrooms today. Being different is not a bad thing. It is often that we find our differences, our diversity is where we find our strength. (Russell, 2012)  Diversity is an important issue in schools, it should be encouraged and taught on a regular basis. Without diversity we are all alike. Diversity teaches us that we are not all alike and that is okay. If you are diverse you are more than likely more well rounded. Every student needs to be well round which means every student should learn to be diverse. In this world diversity is all around us and students need to know how to handle and be equipped to this diverse and every changing nation.  It is vitally important that children’s reading reflects the influences of African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and the myriad other ethnic groups make up our rich culture. We should not forget that the true goal of recognizing cultural diversity is to bring about the inclusion of those diverse cultures into the wider circle of humanity. (Russell, 2012)  Today’s classrooms require teachers to educate students varying in culture, language, abilities, and many other characteristics (Gollnick & Chinn, 2002)

 From this book, Literature for Children: A Short Introduction, it is well written piece of work that does a good job explaining in general how important diversity in the classroom is and specifically in the subject area of literature. I think that this book is over all very helpful and useful for understanding how important diversity in our classrooms today are, or how important it should be.

 In this article, Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society it tells us about, Why do We need to Address diversity, What is culturally responsive pedagogy, The institutional dimension: What must the educational system do, the personal dimension: how do teachers become culturally responsive, specific Activities for becoming A culturally responsive teacher, the instructional dimension: how does instruction become culturally responsive and What Are the implications of culturally responsive pedagogy are the topics discussed in this article.

 From both of these pieces of writing I have gained a better knowledge of just how important diversity is in the classroom. The book and article were very helpful and would be useful for anyone in the teaching field. I know that my classroom will have to be a diverse one now after reading these pieces of literature and have helped to equip me in knowing what diversity really is and how its importance can impact my classroom.

 Gollnick, D. M., & Chinn, P. C. (2002). Multicultural education in a pluralistic society (6th ed.). New York: Merrill.  Russell, L. D.(2012). Literature for Children: A Short Introduction(7 th ed). Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Education, Inc.  Richards, V. A., Brown, F. A., Forde, B. T. Addressing diversity in schools: culturally responsive pedagogy