101.0002Chapter2Syntheses

Our class's synthesis of the six main questions for Chapter 2 in //Joy of Teaching.//

How are students with disabilities integrating schools?

In The Joy of Teaching, Gene E. Hall, Linda F. Quinn, and Donna M. Gollnick inform the reader that 13% of school children have a disability. These disabilities range from learning disabilities to mental retardation to speech impairment. It is important to recognize that these students need to be included in some way like with inclusion. When students with these disabilities are included in regular classrooms they achieve higher scores than if they were to be pulled out and put in an alternative classroom. Inclusion incorporates all students, regardless of disabilities, into the same classroom, and parents agree that "their children were best served by being in a regular classroom to develop academic and social skills" (p.83). An Individual Education Program is necessary to set the accommodations and activities needed to meet the needs of a student with disabilities. An IEP is developed by the teacher, the parents, special educators, and often psychologists or therapists so the disabled student can reach their full potential in a regular classroom.

What should teachers know about English language learners?

In the textbook, //The Joy of Teaching: Making a Difference in Student Learning//, Gene Hall, Linda Quinn, and Donna Gollnick stress the importance for teachers' appreciating and educating students who learn from a second language in Chapter 2 of Today’s Students under the heading of “What Should Teachers Know About English Language Learners”. According to the U.S. Census Bureau “over 48 million residents of the United States speak a language other than English at home, the immigration rate during the past decade has been nearly 1 million per year, over a million immigrants were admitted as refugees between 1991 and 2000, and another group of immigrants is approximately seven million unauthorized immigrants;” the text argues each of these points as reason for the necessity of bilingual and experienced ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers. These children have such diversity in socioeconomic status, religious and educational tradition, and cultural heritage not to forget the diversity of the situation and capabilities of primary and secondary languages spoken at home that it is essential for this educational market to continue to grow. Language diversity is crucial for international “commerce, defense, education, science, and technology” to operate in the globalized world (Joys of Teaching, 72). Education should be at the forefront to assist these families and coax appreciation for diversity into the globalized world.

What should teachers know about religion in school systems?

Since America is such a diverse society it enables school systems to have a diverse group of students with multiple religions. As teachers, we must be respectful of the different religions in our classroom. Even if the teacher has his own certain religion he must stay neutral on his feelings of religion out of respect for his students. The base of the different groups of religion are atheists who don’t believe in god, and agnostics who believe in some type of god. Respect for the different customs and holidays is important in the classroom for the students to feel comfortable in their environment. By showing this respect issues such as civil rights will be avoided in the classroom.

How racially and ethnically diverse are our schools?

As discussed in Chapter 2 of The Joy of Teaching by Hall, Quinn and Gollnick, the racial diversity in schools across the United States is increasing. Racial diversity is projected to increase significantly to the extent where 42% of the school-age population is of color. Presently, schools in the Western United states have the greatest percentage of racial diversity in their schools. New Mexico, California, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia specifically demonstrate strong diversity in schools, with 60% of their students being of color-The Mid-west houses the lowest racial diversity. Also discussed in the book are the differences in identity, corresponding with each race. For whites, the rejection of the concept of racism more often than not progresses to a feeling of guilt that may lead to anti-racist activism. However, the classification of race is also rejected, specifically by groups of Latinos who deny that race or ethnicity causes people to be treated differently. As students develop through the stages discussed in the chapter, these characteristics are exhibited.

How does socio-economic status (SES) affect students?

In //The Joy of Teaching//, Hall, Quinn, and Gollnick describe the socio-economic factors that affect a student’s performance in school. Students from lower-income families have lower expectations to graduate high school or college, mainly due to poorer health and financial instability within the family. Children from middle-class families have a higher chance at academic success, and their families are often more involved in their education. Students from upper-class families have many opportunities to further their education, as these students are often sent to private schools, hired tutors, and are given higher expectations of academic success.

How does gender influence students?

In the second chapter of The Joy of Teaching the authors, Gene E. Hall, Linda F. Quinn, and Donna M. Gollnick, introduce the vast diversity in schools today. Among the diversities covered was gender. The authors discuss how to maintain gender equality, stating; students should not be given different expectations based on whether they are a boy or a girl. Another point made in this chapter was that all students should be encouraged to excel in every subject and teachers should be cautious of the variation of learning styles. The authors pointed out that males learn more deductively as girls learn more inductively. Throughout the chapter the authors emphasize the importance for students to feel accepted for who they are, regardless of their gender and feel supported whatever their learning style should be.