People Are Different. . . So Get Used To It

In the beginning, God created Adam in His image, though with less muscles because the Almighty wanted Man to be humble. And God saw that it was good. And it did come to pass that God developed a sense of humor, and as proof created Woman to amaze and confuse Adam. And thus it was that before Adam knew what was happening Eve, the Woman, had taken over. And God saw that it was good.

And it did come to pass that God did not stop there, for he commanded Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the Earth. And thus came the existence of many nations and cultures, all from the same parents though not one of them will ever confess it. And with these nations and cultures came social structures and caste systems and new dialects and ethnic differences and alternative skin colors. And God did look down upon the many different peoples and did say unto Himself "Let's see how they deal with that mess."

Which brings me to today's subject: God's Sense of Humor. . . or as my Teacher puts it: Differences in the Classroom. Can you remember in all of your times in school if there was someone exactly like you (identical twins, you will please ignore that last question). Probably not. If we were the same it would be really boring and, as God would say, less humorous. Sooner or later one who is a teacher, as I am, will need to come to terms with the fact that there are many different kinds of people with multiple backgrounds and personalities. Now, as a teacher I could choose to acknowledge only some and treat the others as insignificant, which we all know would not end well. Not only would that be wrong, but expensive too. Lawsuits would be piled up against me and I wouldn't stand a prayer in court on a teacher's salary. So it would be much wiser for me to adapt the classroom teaching to respect all cultures.

Notice how I said "wiser" and not "easier." Remember, God has a sense of humor. Seeing as I haven't been struck down by lightning yet I will carry on with this train of thought.

In my classroom there will undoubtedly be differences. Lucky for me I'm teaching theatre, which historically has a pattern for doing things that are "different." It's my job to teach them how to artistically portray/show a person or idea. With Art, it really is about expressing what you are or what you feel. Those two things are greatly determined by where you come from and who/what you are. There are techniques and skills to acquire,yes, but when you think about it, the Oscar winners and kids singing in the Kindergarten are all doing the same thing: giving a part of themselves to their work. A teacher who dismisses or even squashes differences is, in effect, killing the giver. If, however, a teacher effectively opens the door, a flood of what I like to call "New Wonderfulness" will overflow into the classroom.


Now that's nice, you might be thinking. You should be asking: How are you going to do that? To be quite honest, I don't know for sure yet. Each student, each class, each day is different. Odds are the teaching adaptations I'll be using will have to evolve just like the cultures and ethnicities themselves have evolved over time. I do have a a general list of 'Do's and 'Don't's which should help.

DO show respect

DO NOT show favoritism

DO empathize and endeavor to understand

DO NOT expect to know exactly what it's like and never assume you do.

DO give everyone the chance to step up to the microphone and say what they feel or need to say.

DO NOT stop trying