Diversity in Public Schools

This paper discusses diversity in the public school by dealing with the argument that "diversity" - which suggests alternative solutions - is opposed to the ideas of formal structure inherent in the education system. "Diversity" has a Greek root which means "to take different paths," which is another way of stating the concept of self-fulfillment. "Public schools", on the other hand, are institutions that are based on the idea of "convergence" (the opposite root of "diversity.")

Historically, it has been the goal of the public school system in America to make sure that students receive certain standardized curricula which have been determined to be solid standards of education. The paper also asks "Diversity of what?" Do we need a more diverse culture from which to draw students? Already there are certain schools such as Hollywood High in Hollywood California, where students from 113 different ethnicities that speak 17 different languages, attend daily classes that are only taught in four languages. The key challenge for educators is not to seek more diversity - as most of the literature suggests - but rather to understand and relate to the diversity that we now have in the public schools.

The challenge in discussing diversity in the public school system is that the two concepts are almost diametrically opposed. "Diversity" has a Greek root which means "to take different paths," which is another way of s

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er, and more potent kind of intelligence. Thus, it will cause teachers and their tests, and their grading systems, and their curriculum to change. It will cause college admissions requirements to change. It will cause everything to change (27). This was a challenge, not only to school boards who were certain that they knew the one best way to train and educate a child, but also to the teachers. The inquiry method is a valid one to consider, since it tends to foster diversity. Indeed, some would say that this method of teaching focuses on the process of learning itself and not on the final product of what has been learned, which means that the individual may continue to add to their education for the rest of their lives, rather than just ending the process at the age of 18. To Postman and Weingartner, good teaching is the realization that the "answers" are not in the books, but within the learners themselves. A subversive teacher, then, is one who questions the old truths about teaching - which did tend to focus on converging of students into one unified whole and accept new truths about learning. It would become subversive to plan a teaching act that was without the boundaries of the system's focus on product (predetermined

Category: Philosophy - D