Example Of Educational Diversity Language And Race Essay

Throughout my life I have learned a great deal about the diversity that exists within the educational system. In particular, language and race have stood out as two areas within which diversity can have a huge effect, both on students who are from ethnic minorities and those who are from ethnic majorities. My move from Hong Kong to China was exciting, daunting and problematic, all at once. There were times when I did not enjoy the diversity that existed within my education. However, through the experience I have learned to embrace diversity in the classroom and to welcome it.
I was born in Hong Kong, China. However, I have now lived in New York for seven years. There are many differences between the schooling systems in New York and those in Hong Kong. Perhaps most important is that Hong Kong schools are nowhere near as diverse as their New York equivalents. I really enjoy the cultural diversity in New York schools and it is a big change to what I was used to in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong schools, the students all tend to be of the same race. Furthermore, the teachers’ expectations and standards for their students are very strict. The teachers in New York are more personable and the lessons are less regimented. For example, tutors in New York sometimes allow half of a lesson for students to discuss ideas amongst themselves, where as in Hong Kong most of the lesson is conducted in quiet, listening to the teacher and responding in paper.
Despite the lack of diversity in the classroom, Hong Kong is actually supports diverse society in general. This is because Hong Kong is one of the most important cities in China, and therefore attracts people from all over the world; the geographic variation is significant. There are many ethnicities residing in Hong Kong, but not as many as in New York. Consequently I have always been around people of different races and cultural backgrounds, and have never considered such differences to be an issue.
English is not my first language as my native language is Cantonese. While living in Hong Kong I studied English for eight years, but never developed fluency in it. When I immigrated to New York, language differences were suddenly causing a problem for me, for the first time in my life. The attitudes of other people regarding my language and my accent made me feel both unintelligent and inadequate. To begin with, some people struggled to understand me when I spoke to them. This put me on the outside in a social respect as well as an academic one. In class, I sometimes struggled to understand what the teacher was asking me to do. Learning English as a foreign language, and then having to live and breathe it, are two very different matters. For example, I was in a class where the students had to work in groups. Students tended to adhere to their racial groups in this task, which was surprising. As I was Chinese and had recently joined the class, no one offered to take me into their group. I felt very excluded and upset that my race could have such a negative impact on a classroom task. My teacher ingratiated me into a group and I gradually gained confidence in it.
Having been in a classroom with people from so many different countries, I feel that race issues can and do exist. Even in this modern day, race is still affecting everyone’s lives and, in particular, those who are in the ethnic minorities in a country. Nevertheless, through the support of teachers and family members, I still view diversity in the classroom and in society as a positive thing. I honestly don’t know how I would live without such diversity now.
My beliefs have certainly changed over the course of time. When I moved to New York and had trouble as a result of my language and racial barriers, I started to view such diversity issues as negative elements of living in a country such as this. However, as time has gone on, and with the support of those around me, my attitude has returned to being a positive one which welcomes diversity on all levels, even where I am in the minority. My central ambition is to train and qualify as a high school math teacher. I want to bring my positivity into the classroom once more, but this time as a teacher, and allow it to inspire students to share the same positive views on diversity, particularly with regards to race and language.
Experience has been central to the development of my attitudes. Through both school and work, I have learned a tremendous amount about diversity on all levels. My most significant influence has been my English teacher. She has helped me to value who I am and has given me confidence that I can thrive in a country with a language so different to my own native one. I remember one lesson in particular in which she noticed that I was struggling with communicating and mixing with the other students. She set up an exercise where we had to discuss issues in pairs, and the pairs were constantly changing. Through this exercise I had the opportunity to speak with the other students individually and form relationships with them. This really helped in raising my confidence and in breaking down the barriers between the other students and myself.
When I first immigrated to New York, my new life was a shock to me in certain respects. I didn’t expect my language and my race to present such a barrier between me and my fellow students. However, experiencing these issues first hand has deepened my knowledge about the potential problems with diversity. I firmly believe that diversity in education, and particularly with regards to race and language, is a wholly positive element of life as both a student and as a teacher. By understanding the problems that can arise, we can work harder to eliminate them and to make diversity a positive and enriching experience for all concerned.