Cultivating Diversity and Inclusion in the Classroom

Equality in the classroom is something of a recent feat. In a broad scope, equality is treating all people the same and giving them equal opportunities. In 1954, the landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education stated that school segregation was unconstitutional. From this point forward, schools were to be of equal opportunity for everyone, regardless of racial background. Cultivating equality in the classroom, however, is more than just integrating racial backgrounds into the same classes. 

Diversity and inclusion are two more modern terms that go hand-in-hand when discussing equality in schools. In the classroom, diversity and inclusion mean that every student has equal access and opportunity to thrive, there are open conversations about student concerns, and steps in place to handle difficult situations. Of course, all three of these practices are easier said than done. Every year, educators get a new group of students who walk into the class with different backgrounds and beliefs each year. These beliefs may include prejudice and bias that students and teachers may have picked up from family, neighborhoods, and social media. These biases cause certain students to feel unsafe in their classrooms. As previously stated, equality is treating all people the same: if students from different backgrounds feel at risk in their classes, how are our schools promoting equality? To cultivate a diverse and inclusive classroom, teachers can model respect for all, foster belonging for all students and their families, and instruct through a lens of diversity. 

For 18 years, I grew up in a town with a population of about 27,000, with less than 15 percent being of a non-white background. My school system, however, is less than four percent multiracial—the background that I identify with. Though I felt safe in my classes, I cannot recall one that focused heavily on promoting diversity or inclusion. In high school, especially, I started to feel like an outcast in my community. Rather than foster equal belonging for all students by integrating all aspects of school, minority students were often singled out and given different opportunities. Being singled out at a mere 14 years old made me feel ostracized from where I called home, and if I had to guess, I am not the only minority student that has experienced similar situations. 

Students celebrate the diversity of
cultures they have in their school.

Creating a diverse and inclusive school system helps eliminate these feelings that minorities may have, ultimately cultivating a more positive learning environment for all. Out of all necessities in the classroom, I put diversity and inclusion in the top five. If students do not feel welcome in their environment, it will eventually affect their grades and learning abilities, and classroom management will begin to falter when tensions arise between students. We should educate teachers on how to actively engage with students from multiple backgrounds and model what they learn. In that case, their students, in turn, can take what they know and apply it to their everyday lives—ultimately creating a learning environment that allows all types of students to thrive while teaching each other about other cultures different from their own. Allowing students to express their concerns, having group discussions about what they are going through, and group work with individuals from various backgrounds help promote critical thinking and creativity, all while fostering a safe environment for all students. 

Restorative Justice in the Classroom

Creating a safe environment for students in a place that they are required to be is step one to building community within schools. For years, these systems would implement suspensions and office referrals to discipline students when there are more effective ways to manage incidents that also curate a safe environment.

Students and community members
engaging in a Restorative Justice meeting

Restorative Justice is a system that has started to be utilized in the classroom to repair the damage done to the school and the greater community so students can focus on learning. Schools implementing Restorative Justice will hold meetings that include the offending student, those they harmed, and sometimes community members to fix this damage. These meetings aim to hold the offending student accountable for their actions and provide those they did harm with a safe environment to express how the events impacted them. Schools across the country are vastly different and face different levels of severity regarding behavior problems. Restorative Justice training teams recognize these differences and help schools develop a plan specific to the needs of their students and community. Some schools that have created a Restorative Justice plan have found that they can better foster an inclusive, social-connected community while managing classrooms that don't take away from learning opportunities. 

I had never heard of Restorative Justice until three weeks ago. My K-12 experience relied heavily on going to the Principal's Office and receiving in-school suspensions for acting out while in school. I never understood either option's point because it was just a way of preventing the student from being able to learn with the rest of their classmates. The students that faced in-school suspensions typically continued to get them throughout the rest of the school year because they got out of sitting in class. However, the more they receive in-school suspensions, the farther behind they fall in class. The system clearly doesn't work if students continue to receive in-school suspensions and never truly learn from their actions. A broken system is one of the factors in non-100% graduation rates, poor classroom management, and a lack of parent/guardian involvement in the school. Restorative Justice, I believe, is the key to combating all three issues. 

Many students who lack connection with their school, community, and family find themselves acting out to cope with their feelings. Many teachers and psychologists can pick up on cues as to when students may act out, but by that point, it may be too late. Restorative Justice training can help establish procedures to prevent poor behavior before it reaches that point. The type of students mentioned above only continues to feel distance from their school and community the more time they have to spend away from the classroom. Restorative practices eliminate the need to take students away from learning time by hosting meetings outside of the school day: students and parents/guardians who are occupied during the day can partake in conversations to repair relationships. Communication is vital to fostering relationships, and allowing students to express their feelings is the first step to creating their community. I believe that Restorative Justice programs are beneficial not only for the students in school but also for their parents/guardians. Keeping guardians in the loop about their student's behavior in school--a place they are required to be--will help them strengthen their relationships and keep them involved with the greater school community.