Pluralism is an ideology that places focus on the recognition and acknowledgement of diversity within the classroom. It allows the peaceful co-existence of students from different cultural backgrounds in the classroom. Besides, it gives students the opportunity to express their ideas freely. Pluralism is important in encouraging and supporting diversity in the class setting. Pluralism in education not only involves student-teacher relationships but parents and community as well. This helps to prevent “misinterpretations and unnecessary disciplinary interventions” ( Weinstein et al., 2004 ). Therefore, it is vital to facilitate a safe setting that will facilitate both learning and play opportunities for students. Furthermore, an educator should be mindful of their cultural and diversity needs. Presently, the early childhood education sector consists of students from different ethnicities, races and economic backgrounds among others ( Liou et al, 2016) . Based on this, there is a constant need for instructors to review their curriculums according to the nature of diversity in each school. Thus, a professional should able be to work collaboratively with my fellow educators, parents and other relevant stakeholders in order to come up with current and meaningful content that is also inclusive ( Ennis & McCauley, 2002) . To effectively use pluralism in teaching and arrive at decisions about the learning and development of children, I will follow the three core principles that will demonstrate my social commitment; these are encouraging personal development, considering individual needs, and fostering cultural competency.
Encouraging Personal Development
Personal development entails acknowledging the actions of the children and what they say. I will let the students know that I have noticed by giving them positive attention. I will achieve this through comments and sometimes by sitting close to the child and making observations. Some of the useful comments that I can make include “thank for your help” and “you have found another way to solve the puzzle.” This technique entails the use of specific feedback instead of just of issuing general comments. Further, includes enforcing models for approaching problems, modeling attitudes, and behavior towards others ( Weinstein et al., 2004 ). I will the children instead of just instructing them. Demonstration of the right way to approach a situation and do something will involve the use of procedures that act as a guideline for doing things in a certain way. I will create challenging scenarios so that a task goes beyond the current abilities of the children. For example, I can lay out a collection of cards, count them together with the children, and then ask a small group to tell her how many were remaining after they observed her removing some of the cards. The children can then count the remaining cards to come up with an answer. To make the challenge harder, I can hide the cards after removing some of them; the children will have to apply a strategy to come up with the answer rather than simply counting. Such a strategy will foster collaboration between the students. Ennis and McCauley (2002) state that “developing trusting relationships between teachers and students is essential to maintaining an effective learning environment.” Moreover, asking questions will invoke the thoughts of the children. I will give information to the children by giving them facts, labels, and other relevant information. The aim of this strategy is to create an inclusive learning environment whereby each child is involved in activities.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Considering Individual Needs
This measure will entail encouraging effort and persistence instead of just offering praise and examining the actions of the child. I will give assistance to the students, like a cue or hint, to assist the children to work beyond their limits. Also, I will emphasize on building self-confidence, problem-solving ability, and self-regulation ( Liou et al, 2016) . This strategy will assure the students that their needs are being addressed equally thus giving them a sense of belonging and confidence to express themselves freely.
Culture
The strategy entails being nurturing, responsive, caring, loving, and joyous. The use of team work will enable the children to build caring and consistent relationships. Each member of the classroom will be respected and their opinions will be valued. Through the classroom activities, I will make the children embrace and celebrate diversity, thus reflecting the diverse cultures present in the classroom ( Ennis & McCauley, 2002) . Liou et al (2016) advise that “teacher–student mentorship for the purpose of promoting mentees’ self-awareness and access to higher education”, on that note, I will develop open communication and used positive collaborations with colleagues and families to reinforce the learning and development of the children.
The Effect of These Principles
The strategy will be will not only be effective in enhancing the learning abilities of the students; it will also enable them to feel comfortable and help them to interact and collaborate with each other. In regards to pluralism, I have learnt that a teacher should create an enabling and non-discriminatory environment them for students to learn effectively. When it comes to teaching, I have learnt that a teacher must be patient and understand the strengths and weaknesses of each child. During my lab, I will work to create an inclusive environment for all students.
The use of pluralism-based strategies will enable the classroom to offer both teacher-directed and child initiated learning experiences. I will remain observant and flexible by applying various techniques, including encouraging personal development, considering individual needs, and fostering cultural competency. Personal development will create an inclusive learning environment whereby each child is involved in activities. Considering individual needs will give students a sense of belonging and confidence to express themselves freely. Finally, fostering cultural competence will enable the children to build caring and consistent relationships.
Explanation of Sources
Source 1: Ennis, C. D., & McCauley, M. T. (2002). Creating urban classroom communities worthy of trust.
The source elaborates how teachers in urban schools can develop inclusive classroom. Urban classrooms are cultural melting, hence a teacher should strive to tap into the strength of each culture in giving instructions. The source reflects my personal philosophy of teaching without bias whereby I never alienate a student’s irrespective of their cultural or socioeconomic background. It also matches the group’s theme os leveraging the strength of each student to create powerful instructions.
Source 2: Liou, D. D., Martinez, A. N., & Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2016). “Don’t give up on me”: critical mentoring pedagogy for the classroom building students’ community cultural wealth
In similar fashion to the first source, this paper focuses on how a teacher should consider the needs and cultural background of all students in instruction. The best way to achieve this is tapping into the cultural wealth of each student. The sources is aligned with my philosophy since it emphasizes on on-discriminatory teaching practices. It also reflects the group’s theme of prioritizing the needs of each student equally.
Source 3: Weinstein, C. S., Tomlinson-Clarke, S., & Curran, M. (2004). Toward a conception of culturally responsive classroom management.
The source focuses on how a teacher can create a classroom that accommodates different cultures. The authors assert that this can be realized by teaching students about their cultural differences so that they can learn to appreciate each other on a deeper level. The source reinforces my philosophy of acknowledging the differences of each student to create an environment that suits their needs. It also strengthens the group’s ideology of using cultural differences as a benchmark for instruction.
References
Ennis, C. D., & McCauley, M. T. (2002). Creating urban classroom communities worthy of trust. Journal of Curriculum Studies , 34 (2), 149-172.
Liou, D. D., Martinez, A. N., & Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2016). “Don’t give up on me”: critical mentoring pedagogy for the classroom building students’ community cultural wealth. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education , 29 (1), 104-129.
Weinstein, C. S., Tomlinson-Clarke, S., & Curran, M. (2004). Toward a conception of culturally responsive classroom management. Journal of teacher education , 55 (1), 25-38.
