1. All of us deserve dignity & respect
Classroom Diversity
All of us deserve dignity & respect
Everyone in this room deserves dignity & respect.

2. The right way to talk
Believing there is a right way and a wrong way to ‘talk’ cultivates an environment of hostility. No degrading name calling & no cussing. That’s all that is necessary.
The only right way to talk is with respect. Sentence structure is not nearly as important as the dignity with which you treat your fellow classmates & your teacher.

3. The RIGHT WAY TO TALK
Cultivating an environment where there is a ‘right way’ or a ‘wrong way’ to formulate sentences during class-discussion or on individual-homework-assignments increases division in the classroom environment.

4. The RIGHT WAY TO TALK
If you talk differently than your neighbor, or if I talk differently than you: TAKE HEART – the entire global community speaks differently. You are in the majority if you are an individual.

5. Words of Wisdom

6. In class discussion
Can you tell who these people are by looking at their outside?
Do you know how to interact with these people based on:
what they are wearing?
ethnic identity?
age?
You cannot securely tell who these people are by looking at their outside self.
You cannot securely base interaction with these people based on what they are wearing.
You cannot securely base interaction with these people based on their ethnic identity.
You cannot securely base interaction with these people based on their age.

7. Micro-expression diversity
Everyone has a range of intensity of facial expressions:
Sometimes people looks somewhat happy, sad, angry, etc.
Other times, people look extremely happy, sad, angry, etc.
Micro-expressions are the small facial expressions that last less than ½ a second which shows how someone is truly feeling.
You can only gauge who others are on the inside when their micro-expressions reveal what is behind closed doors. ****COOL NOTE*** The F.B.I. trains their operatives to evaluate micro-expressions.
Micro-expressions do look differently on different faces:
Everyone make a pretend mad face & look around the room. Does everyone’s mad face look the same?
Everyone make a pretend sad face & look around the room. Does everyone’s sad face look the same?
Everyone make a pretend happy face & look around the room. Does everyone’s happy face look the same?

8. Why is mrs. Perkins telling me all this?
She wants me to know that she cares about the classroom climate.
Unless I am culturally sensitive to others, I will walk around with my eyes shut to life.
Choosing to value certain ways of communicating is okay, but it is not a standard with which to measure others.
Eventually I will become an adult, and the world is a diverse place; I need to be equipped to handle diversity with dignity.
She does not want me to think ‘different from expected culture’ will prevent me from success in this classroom.
She wants me to be effective & well-adjusted in all I seek to do.
Do not try to steal away anyone’s dignity or choice to communicate effectively for them in my classroom. That will not happen while I am here. It does not facilitate healthy levels of classroom engagement needed for everyone to be involved in the classroom learning environment.

9. That’s all I gots ta say
About that.
Ya hear me?