If you take a look at my scores, I got below expectations on writt

If you take a look at my scores, I got below expectations on
written communication. I also got a 1.28 in another area. Please
make sure you look at this. However, I just felt like there was
too many mistakes
Shlonda,
Overall, job well done. The biggest area of improvement is
proofreading. Have you started using Grammarly yet? If not, I
suggest doing so, especially because you get a premium
account. See my announcement posted on how to get set up.
Additional comments on doc.
Two weeks left, you got this,
Dr. Allar
( 3.00 / 3.00) Describes the Advantages and Disadvantages of
Inclusion
Distinguished - Thoroughly describes the advantages and
disadvantages of inclusion.
( 3.00 / 3.00) Identifies the Challenges Faced by Learners with
Special Needs
Distinguished - Clearly and thoroughly identifies the challenges
faced by learners with special needs.
( 1.28 / 2.00) Summarizes the Requirement for Improved
Performance of Students with Disabilities Under the Every
Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
Below Expectations - Attempts to summarize the requirement
for improved performance of students with disabilities under the
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA); however, significant
details are missing.
( 3.00 / 3.00) Examines how Common Core State Standards
(CCSS) are Impacting the Learning of Students with Special
Needs
Distinguished - Comprehensively examines how Common Core
State Standards (CCSS) are impacting the learning of students
with special needs.
( 0.16 / 0.25) Written Communication: Control of Syntax and

Mechanics
Below Expectations - Fails to display basic comprehension of
syntax or mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written
work contains major errors which distract the reader.
( 0.22 / 0.25) Written Communication: APA Formatting
Proficient - Exhibits APA formatting throughout the paper.
However, layout contains a few minor errors.
( 0.25 / 0.25) Written Communication: Page Requirement
Distinguished - The length of the paper is equivalent to the
required number of correctly formatted pages.
( 0.25 / 0.25) Written Communication: Resource Requirement
Distinguished - Uses more than the required number of
scholarly sources, providing compelling evidence to support
ideas. All sources on the reference page are used and cited
correctly within the body of the assignment.
Overall Score: 11.16 / 12.00
Overall Grade: 11.16
1
Name: Course number:
Student ID:
1. Courses I am taking this term – Describe the first eight-week
course (Course title, course number, and course description
from the catalog)
2. List Outcomes from course - List course outcomes
(objectives) as written in the course syllabus for this course.

3. Apply your work experience to the course – correlate your
job responsibilities with the course outcomes listed above.
Job Correlation assignment (total 250 words)
Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read the assigned
chapters in Introduction to education: Choosing to teach by
Krogh. Chapter 4 gives insights into student differences and
diversity and Chapter 8 presents student responsibilities and
rights including school funding and school choice. In addition,
reading Inclusion—Not segregation or integration is where a
student with special needs belongs discusses integration and
inclusion of special needs children. Reviewing A common-core
challenge: Learners with special needs will give you insights
into lesson plans for students with special needs. Also, Not all
riders on the education express debark at the inclusion station
examines inclusion controversies. Finally, there are three
articles on Common Core standards to inform the impact of
student learning.
In your paper,
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of inclusion.
Identify challenges faced by learners with special needs.
Summarize the requirement for improved performance of
students with disabilities under the Every Student Succeeds Act
(ESSA).
Examine how Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are
impacting the learning of students with special needs.
Write a two- to three-page paper (not including title and

reference pages) describing the concept of inclusion as
discussed in Chapter 4 of your text and in your own words. Cite
a minimum of one scholarly source in addition to your textbook,
and format using the Introduction to APA (Links to an external
site.) resource in the Writing Center. Your paper must contain
the following:
Introductory Paragraph: Begin with an attention getter—a
powerful statement, an intriguing question, or a general
overview of the challenges faced by learners with special needs
and the teachers who support them. Develop your ideas and end
your introductory paragraph with a strong thesis. Use the
Writing A Thesis (Links to an external site.) resource found in
the Writing Center to convey whether inclusion is a benefici al
practice and why. This thesis should then be supported in the
body of your paper.
Body Paragraphs: (Use the Body Paragraphs (Links to an
external site.) resource found in the Writing Center to ensure
that each paragraph is well-developed)
Inclusion Defined: In this paragraph, define inclusion and be
sure to cite your source. Describe a minimum of three
advantages and three disadvantages to this approach. In addition
to the text, include a minimum of one additional scholarly
source.
Impact of Legislation: Summarize the requirement for improved
performance of students with disabilities under the Every
Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Use the Every Student Succeeds
Act (ESSA) (Links to an external site.) webpage developed by
the U.S. Department of Education to learn about how this
population of students is impacted. Speak about how the
legislation supports special needs learners and cite this resource
in your discussion.
Impact of Common Core: Examine how Common Core State
Standards (CCSS) are impacting the learning of students with

special needs. What are some strategies that are being used to
help students with special needs achieve these standards? Use
and cite at least one of the articles below to support your
discussion:
Common Core State Standards: The Promise and the Peril for
Students With Disabilities (Links to an external site.)
Access to the Common Core for All: Six Principles for
Principals to Consider in Implementing CCSS for Students With
Disabilities (Links to an external site.)
Conclusion Paragraph: Return to your most important points
from your paper (i.e. you might readdress the controversy) and
how they have combined to form your belief about the
effectiveness of the inclusion approach. Emphasize your thesis
statement again and bring your paper to a powerful close by
leaving the reader with more to ponder or consider. Do not
simply restate your Introductory Paragraph here. The conclusion
should reframe your thoughts in a different way.
4
A Closer Look at Today's Students
Photo of a Navajo boy using a pointer to count out the days of
the month.
Associated Press/Rebecca Craig
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to
List the major categories of student diversity and
implications for teachers.
Discuss the importance of focusing on both exceptional and
non-exceptional learners while not forgetting students in the
middle.
Describe familial and societal challenges that adversely
affect young people and the implications of these challenges for
teachers.

Describe multicultural education and its importance to
American teaching.
Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not
see.
—Neil Postman
So far in this text, students have been described based on their
cognitive attributes and in regard to theories of learning.
However, there are other attributes and influences that
contribute to children's ability to engage successfully in school.
Thus, it is important for us to take a look at the population you
will be serving. Today's students come from increasingly
diverse backgrounds. Rarely are students a homogeneous group,
nor are their families, as they might well have been in the past.
There is a greater range of cultural backgrounds, ethnic origins,
languages spoken, economic differences, parental employment
patterns, and family configurations. Such a wide range of
differences in the population makes relating to students more
complex and challenging, but also more interesting and
rewarding.
In any age or culture, students must face whatever problems
currently beset their society. And their teachers must be
prepared to provide acceptance and support, for it is naïve to
believe that the problems children face at home have little to no
effect in the school setting. Thus, in this chapter we also
examine some of the familial and societal influences that hinder
or help students academically and also affect their
psychological and social well-being.
Differences among students make teaching interesting. Student
differences should not present a problem; rather, it is how
differences are perceived that counts. To those who see
differences in a positive light, the notion of diversity is exciting
and educational.

4.1 Diversity in Schools
Classrooms are filled with a range of differences. At the surface
level, the differences are obvious. There will be boys and girls
and students who are tall or short and some who wear glasses
and others who don't. On another level, the differences are more
complex. When we speak of "diversity," we tend to think of
ethnicity or race. Although these are factors of diversity, it is a
rather limited view of the range of difference found in today's
schools and communities. In actuality, teachers must be
prepared and willing to work with a myriad of differences in
terms of language, learning style preferences, gender, sexual
orientation, social class, cognitive giftedness or challenges, and
disability.
The remainder of this section describes the various types of
students you might encounter in the classroom and the resulting
implications for teaching. As you read, take time to reflect on
where you fit into what is being discussed and on how you will
respond to the described populations within your own
classroom.
Ethnicity and Race
It is now known that race is a social construct, a culturally
determined label; "[t]hus, biological variation has no meaning
except what we give to it" (Better, 2002, p. 3). In today's
society, race is generally defined by skin color, but this has not
always been the case. In the United States, racial definitions
have changed over time. For example, Jews, the Irish, and
darker-skinned people from Mediterranean countries were not
considered white until more than a generation of immigration
had passed. The ethnicity of a group of people refers to common
cultural heritage, customs, characteristics (possibly including
skin tone), language, common history, and national origin, or
some combination of these attributes.

It is probable that, as a teacher in the United States, you will
encounter a wide sampling of different races and ethnicities.
The views you hold of groups that are like and unlike your own
will matter. This is because the norms and attitudes of teachers
and peers (as well as family) can influence what students think
about themselves and their attitudes toward other cultures,
ethnicities, and races. Developmentally, these influences first
create simple awareness in preschool-age children that is then
followed by more complex identification and attitudinal
changes. Kindergarten teachers can expect to observe that their
children are able to identify and recognize members of distinct
racial groups. Throughout elementary school, this ability is
expanded, and complex racial attitudes are added to it. By the
end of elementary school, attitude crystallization/solidification
has occurred. In other words, attitudes have become definite and
hard to change. Thus, what happens in school can have
important implications for children's development (Katz, 1976;
Krogh & Morehouse, 2013).
What happens in school can also be important given the
influence of what has been called stereotype threat (Aronson,
2002; Steele & Aronson, 1995; Tyler & Tyler, 2009). When
students are in a situation for which there is a negative
stereotype, they might well respond to their awareness of the
stereotype by performing badly. This can be true even if they
are actually talented and highly capable. For example,
mathematically gifted girls might do badly on a math test if
their teacher communicates a belief that females are poor math
students. Research investigating stereotype threat has found that
this is frequently the case with a variety of groups, although the
largest number of studies has focused on African Americans.
One way teachers can combat stereotype threat is by explaining
to the class that an upcoming test is an evaluation of how well
they did in their teaching efforts, rather than defining the test as

an evaluation of the students' abilities or memory. A second
approach is to communicate to students that abilities, skills, and
intelligence aren't static or set in stone. Instead, students need
to understand that they can grow and improve. A third approach,
one that has proved successful in research projects, is to provide
critical feedback that makes a point of including favorable
comments along with needed corrections or criticisms. "I can
see that you worked hard on this," "Based on what I've read, I
know that you are capable of achieving a high score," or
"Overall, nice work" can help students feel confident enough to
overcome any threats that come from stereotyping (Tyler &
Tyler, 2009).
Well known for her work with students in diverse classrooms as
well as with their novice teachers is Gloria Ladson-Billings
(1994, 2001). According to Ladson-Billings, "No matter what
else the schools find themselves doing, promoting students'
academic achievement is among their primary functions" (p.
56). She gives several alternate hypotheses about why "some
students of color continue to reject school-based academic
achievement" (p. 59). One hypothesis is that this rejection
simply reflects the U.S. cultural viewpoint that being well
rounded is more important than being highly intelligent and
academic. A second is that these students don't see the value in
academic achievement when, for them, it may well not lead to a
job worth pursuing. And a third hypothesis is that other
minorities have managed, in the U.S. consumer-driven culture,
to acquire fast cars, expensive clothing, and shiny jewelry.
Ladson-Billings describes what successful academic
achievement should look like in a classroom, and her research
and writing back up the claim that the following are all possible
to attain, even for novice teachers (2001, pp. 74–75):
The teacher presumes that all students are capable of being
educated. When students are struggling, the teacher asks

questions about what adjustments she needs to make to ensure
success.
The teacher clearly delineates what achievement means in the
context of his or her classroom. In the classroom of a culturally
relevant teacher, the students know exactly what success
entails.
The teacher knows the content, the learner, and how to teach
content to the learner. Culturally relevant teachers adjust their
teaching to meet the demands of both the learners and the
subject matter disciplines.
The teacher supports a critical consciousness toward the
curriculum. Helping students raise critical questions and search
for multiple perspectives is an important aspect of academic
achievement.
The teacher encourages academic achievement as a complex
conception not amenable to a single, static measurement.
Students have an opportunity to demonstrate what they know
and are able to do through samples of their work, performances,
and exhibitions. No one-time assessment seals the academic fate
of students.
Language
Census data in recent years indicate that the United States is an
increasingly diverse society and is expected to continue to be
even more so. For example, the Hispanic population is projected
to double its share of the population from 15% to 30% by 2050.
The African-American population is expected to increase
slightly from 14% of the population to 15% and Asian
Americans from 5.1% to 9.2%. Whites, according to
projections, will comprise 46% of the population by 2050,
rather than the 66% of the mid-2000s (Nieto & Bode, 2008).
The increase in the Hispanic population is due to both
immigration and birth rates. Thus, the increase in non-native
speakers of English will continue. However, Spanish is most

definitely not the only language immigrants bring with them.
The most recent estimate of the United States Census Bureau is
that at least 300 languages other than English are spoken at
home (Ryan, 2013). An increasingly diverse society means that
classrooms will see an ever-increasing range of students whose
native language is not English. These students, regardless of
their English proficiency level or the number of languages they
already speak, are called English language learners (ELL).
(From Chapter 2 you will recall that the educational term is
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages [TESOL], or
more traditionally, English as a Second Language [ESL]).
ELL students face certain obstacles that may impede their
success in school. For example, students who are ELL are more
likely to come from poor or low-income households (Garcia,
Jensen, & Scribner, 2009). Oftentimes, students do not have
fluent English-speaking role models at home to support their
English language development. In multilingual schools, teachers
are generally unlikely to be able to speak the native languages
of all of their students. There is some debate as to the best way
to teach English. There are, however, several models to choose
from, typically known by the umbrella term sheltered
instruction. For example, in a school with a large influx of
immigrants, there might be classrooms specifically for
beginning English language learners who are mainstreamed into
regular classes as they are ready.
When there are only a few ELLs in the school, administrators
might choose to place students in the regular classroom and
provide them with specially designed academic instruction in
English (SDAIE). These instructional programs focus on the
essential vocabulary related to a subject, ensuring that the
English learners don't miss out on the subject's primary material
and skills. If done well, the material is not watered down and
the students learn both subject matter and the English language.
Some schools and districts, often with the encouragement of

parent groups, choose to create dual language programs that
divide the day between two languages so that all students
become bilingual over time. These programs may be observed
most often in elementary schools. At the middle and secondary
school levels, the ability to read and speak academic English
becomes important to students because of their need to pass
subject area tests and courses. A popular approach to helping
these students is sheltered content instruction. While extra
attention is given to teaching academic English vocabulary,
students are taught important content in their native language
when teachers are available who are able to do so. Otherwise,
students are taught the English language through the content.
Whether students are English language learners or members of
differing ethnicities or races, it is vitally important that their
teachers develop cultural awareness, sensitivity, and a strong
commitment to social justice. Sonia Nieto and Patty Bode
(2008) remind us that "social justice is not just about ‘being
nice' to students, or about giving them a pat on the back" (p.
11). Teachers should attend to the following four components:
Teachers encourage their students to work for equality and
justice both in school and out.
Teachers provide all their students with the resources they
need to be successful in school—both material and emotional.
In turn, teachers look to their students for sharing their own
resources with others, such as language, culture, and life
experiences.
Finally, teachers help prepare students for living in a socially
just democracy by creating an environment that fosters critical
thinking and the promotion of social change.
Each of these four components can be applied successfully in
the classroom, whatever students' ages. For example,
kindergarten children who had democratically elected a class
"leader" were concerned when he abused his power by bossing

everyone around on the playground. While the students were
unaware of such vocabulary as "equality" and "justice," they
understood the concepts and removed the leader from power,
electing a fair-minded replacement. In this case, the resource
the children needed (component 2) was the teacher's support
and, although she found herself somewhat surprised at such
young children's insistence on justice, she gave them her full
support (component 1). Teachers who respect and appreciate
their students' home lives (component 3) invite family members
to share with the class important and interesting information
about their language, culture, and life experiences. Teachers
who value life in a socially just democracy (component 4) do
not see themselves as the single voice of authority over a class
of students proficient at filling in the blanks on a multiple-
choice test. Rather, as proposed by Ladson-Billings (see the
subsection Ethnicity and Race on this page), they help their
students engage in preparation for life in a democracy by
allowing and encouraging critical thinking.
Working successfully with many kinds of students takes
practice; mistakes will be made, even with experience. For
example, a teacher might mistakenly conclude that those
students who respond in short phrases or speak in dialects are
less capable than the other students are. Or she may infer that
students who avoid eye contact with her are less cooperative
and respectful, when it may actually be that they have been
trained to understand that this is a sign of respect. All of these
mistaken assumptions have the potential to undermine her
students' success. However, if teacher candidates are open to
learning about the cultural backgrounds of their students, these
kinds of misconceptions are less likely to occur—and the
teacher is less likely to pass these misconceptions on to her
students. The changing face of the United States means that
classrooms of the future will continue to be filled with students
of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and languages. Although it is
not imperative for a teacher to have extensive knowledge about

all religions and cultures, knowing about those that are most
prevalent in his or her school district or community will help to
ensure that students achieve their fullest potential.
Religion
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution
prohibits the making of any law that seeks to establish any
religion. Over the many decades since the creation of the Bill of
Rights, just what that means in regard to public education—as
well as to other aspects of public life—has been discussed,
disputed, and legislated. Current thinking and accepted practice
is that public schools can teach about religion just as they teach
about other elements of cultural life. Anything that can be
interpreted as inducing students to accept the teachings of any
particular religion, however, is forbidden.
Photo of students demonstrating in support of prayer in school.
Associated Press/Courtney Sacco
The place of prayer in schools is a perennial issue, and despite
many Supreme Court rulings, it remains a topic of intense
debate.
This leaves the teaching of religion to students' families.
According to the most recent records (U.S. Census Bureau,
2012a), in a U.S. population of more than 228 million adults,
there are approximately 34 million who describe themselves as
having no religion. The rest belong to, or at least attend, a wide
variety of churches, temples, mosques, and synagogues. Among
those with religious affiliations, there are some whose beliefs
and customs may be in conflict with school activities and
expectations. Because of their religious beliefs and
requirements, these students and their families may ask for
accommodations based on their religious practices. Teachers are
expected to exercise sound and rational judgment when dealing
with these requests. Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals, for
example, might well find some of the school curriculum in

conflict with their religious beliefs, and court decisions have
found in their favor. Both Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals
find celebrations such as Halloween, with its roots in paganism,
objectionable. When a school has just a few of these children,
arrangements are typically made for study at home on October
31. In the case of a large population within a school, it may
well be that Halloween is cancelled in favor of a fall harvest
festival.
Issues of religion involving schools often divide communities,
and part of a teacher's role is to build respect and bridges
between students and their differences. Since the attacks of
September 11, 2001, there has been a heightened focus on
specific minority groups and their religious practices. In
particular, "American Muslims face a rising tide of religious
discrimination in U.S. communities, workplaces and schools
nearly a decade after the September 11 attacks" (Morgan, 2011,
para 1).
A case study of students who are members of minority religions
demonstrated the important role that teachers play in making
school a safe place for them (Nieto & Bode, 2008). One of the
students, Nadia, was a 14-year-old from Syria and a Muslim.
She talked about how difficult she and her family found life in
the United States after 9/11, when people looked at them with
distrust or, as Nadia put it, "[T]hey all give us weird looks like
it's scary" (p. 346). At school, Nadia appreciated that after 9/11,
"[M]y friends stuck with me through and through. They know
who I am and they know my family and they've known I'm
Arabic and they haven't changed at all." Teachers' attitudes
were important to Nadia, and here she had mixed reviews: "My
teachers don't care at all. It's just every now and then you'll get
a weird look or you'll get a weird feeling . . . kind of feel
singled out sometimes," although she claimed that "it's nothing
too big at all" (p. 347). In addition, Nadia generally found being
both American and Syrian during the teen years difficult. Her

parents were stricter than others regarding hours out and talking
to boys, but at the same time she appreciated aspects of her
religion and culture such as praying and fasting during
Ramadan.
Nadia's experiences and feelings make it clear that, for mi nority
students, just being different in some way is an extra burden to
bear, particularly during the teen years. Thus, a teacher's
attitude and even "weird looks" have an impact. In pointing out
that "young people's activities in their religious communiti es
may be significant factors in their identity development," Nieto
and Bode also argue that such activities can actually support
student learning. "Rather than detracting from students'
academic success by taking time away from homework or other
school-related activities, such involvement helps young people
by channeling their creative and physical energy" (pp. 334–
335).
Nieto and Bode suggest a 2-week experiment as a way of better
understanding "students whose lives may not be easily
integrated into mainstream cultures" (2008, p. 339). In the first
week, consider and write down the habitual routines of your
daily life: your route to and from work, customary grocery
store, favorite coffee shop, usual exercise class, and so on. Note
what language you speak in all these. In the second week,
change everything. Take a new route to work, shop somewhere
you've never shopped before, stop in a new neighborhood for
coffee, and learn a few sentences in a language you've never
spoken. "This exercise," they say, "will help you imagine how
students may feel when their perspectives and identities are
negated or ignored" (p. 339). You may also realize how far a
friendly smile or an extra bit of patience in an explanation can
go toward making your day a more comfortable one.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification
The term sexual orientation is used to define the direction of a

person's sexual interest in others, whether it be toward the
opposite sex, the same sex, or both. Terms often used in
describing one's sexual orientation are "gay," "lesbian,"
"bisexual," "straight," "homosexual," and "heterosexual," to
name a few. Gender identification refers to one's internal sense
of gender, which may be incongruent with the gender one was
assigned at birth. Associated terms include "transgender,"
"transvestite," and "transsexual." An umbrella term for
identities that do not fit the "traditional" norm is LGBT, an
abbreviation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. Another
is GLBTQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, queer, and
questioning). Researchers believe that about 10% of the
population fits into these categories and that "this portion
represents every race, creed, social class, and degree of
disability" (Manning & Baruth, 2004, p. 44).
It is important to note that peer pressure in schools is very high,
and when someone's sexual orientation or gender identity does
not conform to that of the majority of students, he or she may
be a target for discrimination or bullying. Issues around
sexuality can be complicated and have the added complexity of
usually emerging during the years when students are already
struggling with issues of self-image and independence. A school
climate survey found that 86.2% of LGBT students had
experienced harassment at school in the past year; 60.8% felt
unsafe at school due to their sexual orientation, which led to
32.7% skipping at least a day of school in the past month
(Blackburn, Clark, Kenney, & Smith, 2010). Teachers need to
be aware that dealing with these issues is a politically sens itive
undertaking and requires patience, tolerance, and willingness to
seek out help and support from other school staff, such as
counselors and administrators.
Photo of young woman activist.
Associated Press/Mathew Sumner
Creating inclusive classrooms that welcome all types of

diversity is an essential skill for teachers at every level.
Pointing out that teacher sensitivity regarding students' cultures
should extend to LGBT students as well, Nieto and Bode (2008)
write that "in some cases, LGBT students may decide that
dropping out of school is the only recourse they have. . . . The
problem is likely not their lack of intelligence or a cultural
mismatch with the school, but rather the rejection they
experience in school as a result of the school's unwelcoming
climate" (p. 183). Nevertheless, they suggest that being a
member of the LGBT community is not as difficult today as it
has been in the past, and this is true for both teachers and
students. There are more resources available, including clubs to
belong to, and legal recourse to fight discrimination.
Because bullying and harassment are still common, however,
teachers continue to have a responsibility to provide a safe
haven for all their students. The positive results of doing so
were demonstrated in a study of almost 14,000 high school
students that included those who defined themselves as
heterosexual, those who identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual
(LGB), and those who were questioning their sexual orientation
(Espalage, Aragon, Birkett, & Koenig, 2008). Interestingly,
students who were questioning their identity reported more
homophobic teasing and bullying as well as greater drug use and
feelings of depression and suicide than did students who self-
identified as LGB. This was possibly because the LGB students
had support groups to turn to. Important to the study was the
finding that a positive school climate, as well as parental
support, made a positive difference in depression and drug use
among the LGB and questioning students. Ways to create a
positive school climate can include the following:
Build strong connections and keep the lines of
communication open so that students do not feel rejected.
Establish a safe environment at school, ensuring no one is

treated differently. School policies can include protections.
Create gay-straight alliances to help foster a safer school
environment.
Protect privacy by not disclosing or discussing issues around
sexual orientation with parents or anyone else.
For more information on bullying as related to sexual
orientation, see www.stopbullying.gov.
Learning Ability
Just as every classroom's students will have a wide range of
intelligences and learning styles, every classroom's students
will have a wide range of skills and abilities. Some of these
students will be considered exceptional, meaning they are either
above or below the norm—they either master new knowledge
quickly or struggle to maintain new knowledge and skills.
Gifted and Talented Students
While there is no universal definition, those students who are
identified as gifted and talented are considered to have the
potential to achieve beyond what is expected of their peers.
Students who are identified as needing gifted and talented
education (GATE) are not necessarily the highest-performing
students; rather, they are those who have the potential to
achieve beyond other students. Traditionally, students were
identified for GATE by IQ scores alone. However, the evolution
of theories such as multiple intelligences and constructivism led
to deeper thinking about what might constitute a gifted student.
One view came from Ellen Winner (1996), who identified three
characteristics of gifted children, particularly when taking into
consideration the broader views of intelligence:
Precocity: Children take steps toward mastery of tasks and
ideas at earlier ages than their peers do.
Marching to their own drummers: Students need minimal help
in learning new material and often refuse it; they would rather

devise their own, often novel, ways to solve problems.
Rage to master: Students are intensely motivated to learn,
often becoming obsessive.
Arguing for the identification of gifted students as early as
possible, the National Association for the Gifted Child (2006)
says that teachers of younger learners should look for
the use of advanced vocabulary and/or the development of early
reading skills, keen observation and curiosity, an unusual
retention of information, periods of intense concentration, an
early demonstration of talent in the arts, task commitment
beyond same-age peers, and an ability to understand complex
concepts, perceive relationships, and think abstractly. (p. 3)
Students can be gifted in one subject area alone or in multiple
disciplines. Thus, school programs may provide special
programs in specific subjects or might choose instead to follow
the traditional route of IQ testing for a more general
identification and program.
The emphasis on high-stakes testing, which requires improved
levels of proficiency in core subject areas, has increased the
pressure on teachers to spend the majority of their efforts
helping those students who are struggling. The lowest-
performing students are making gains under the No Child Left
Behind (NCLB) Act, while "academically talented students
[GATE students] are languishing in a system that has somehow
settled on a strategy of inattention" (Thomas B. Fordham
Institute, 2008, p. 56). (Recall from Chapter 2 that NCLB,
which was signed into law in 2002, aims at improving student
achievement in public schools across the United States by
increasing the standards for accountability and setting high
standards for student achievement.) Because GATE students are
seen as "bright" or "gifted," they are often given less attention
in the classroom. However, GATE students are at risk and need

attention just as other students do (Thomas B. Fordham
Institute, 2008). Time Magazine reported that "surprisingly,
gifted students drop out at the same rates as non-gifted kids"
(Cloud, 2007, para 3).
One way to keep GATE students engaged in learning is, perhaps
surprisingly, the same as that described previously for achieving
engagement and harmony among races: group learning. When
individuals within a group are provided with assignments that
suit their capabilities and interests, they are most likely to
participate with enthusiasm, work well with others, and rise to
their ability levels (Krogh & Groark, 2013). In addition,
providing students with opportunities to achieve
collaboratively, as well as on their own, can often help in
identifying gifted students who might have otherwise been
overlooked.
A different approach to grouping GATE students is to place
those of similar abilities together. This can be done through
pull-out programs as well as by occasionally doing the same
within the classroom. Other approaches include acceleration,
which might be accomplished through grade skipping, early
admission to kindergarten or college, or registration in
Advanced Placement (AP) courses; curriculum compacting,
which condenses or modifies the regular curriculum to reduce
repetition, drill, and review; providing opportunities to work
and research independently; exposure to content in a higher
grade level; and, in general, providing GATE students with
rigorous challenge. All of these approaches are examples of
student-centered teaching as discussed in Chapter 3.
Students With Disabilities
Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions about students in
special education is that they are not capable of high levels of
achievement. This could not be further from the truth. Some
students who are in special education receive only speech

services or occupational therapy or simply need a different
environment in order to perform to their potential. Recall from
Chapter 2 that one requirement of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is that students who are in
special education have an individualized education plan (IEP)
that explicitly lists the student's goals and support mechanisms.
Typically, the team that determines a student's IEP is made up
of the classroom teacher, a special education teacher, any
individuals with expertise in the student's field of need if not
provided by the first two teachers, and the student's parents. As
appropriate, the student may attend as well as an administrator.
The IEP is a legal document that identifies the specific
disability that qualifies a child for special education services. It
also lists the student's goals and objectives and any
accommodations that must be made to assist in the child's
learning. Every 3 years, students are reassessed to determine if
they continue to qualify for special education services. Because
children with special needs often experience more frustration
and academic failure than their peers do, they require the
teacher to have a keen understanding of each child's needs and
to work in concert with other professionals at the site to ensure
success. Federal law requires that students with disabilities be
educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE), that is, the
environment that is as close to being with normally developing
students as they are capable of. Thus, you can expect to have in
your classroom students of many different levels of capability.
Photo of a young girl with Down syndrome.
DenKuvaiev/iStock/Thinkstock
The range and abilities of students in special education is
extraordinarily wide, with each student having his or her own
unique needs and gifts.
In addition to IEPs, which are required by law, teachers will
find useful a model known as Response to Intervention (RTI).

Although there are several versions of RTI, they are typically
created in three tiers (RTI Network, 2014):
High-quality classroom instruction, screening, and group
interventions. All students in a classroom are provided with
high-quality teaching, accompanied by screening to identify
struggling learners. Those labeled as such are provided with up
to 8 weeks of supplemental instruction.
Targeted interventions. Students who do not make adequate
progress during the weeks of supplemental instruction are given
intensive instruction based on their individual needs. Length of
time can vary but is typically over one grading period.
Intensive interventions and comprehensive evaluation. It is at
this level that the IEP may come into play, with assignment to
special education services provided. However, parents have the
legal right to request advanced testing and an IEP at any point
of the RTI program.
It may be a surprise to learn that group work is beneficial for
this population of students as well. While an IEP may indicate
much one-on-one interaction with a teacher or specialist, the
student with special needs may also be served by opportunities
to engage with others. This approach, known as inclusion, is
based on the philosophy that removing children with special
needs from the general population is not as effective as
including them as much as possible. (Recall from Chapter 2 that
federal legislation requires that disabled students be placed in
the least restrictive environment.) Individually appropriate
assignments can be designed that give the student the self-
esteem that comes with belonging and contributing while not
being made to feel inferior. Here is one example: A fifth-grade
class was completing social studies projects about other
countries. The class had been divided into groups, each with a
final assignment to create a book containing the information
they had learned. The teacher informed the class that a table of
contents would be needed and that only one of their classmates

knew how to do this. When each group was ready to do the table
of contents, it was to send a representative to this student. Prior
to this time, the teacher had instructed the student, a cognitively
challenged boy with an IEP, on how to create the table of
contents (a very straightforward and manageable challenge).
Now, for one part of one day, he became the most important
person in the room, even the most knowledgeable.
Students in the Middle
Perhaps this section title should identify these students as the
"forgotten students in the middle." Teachers, no doubt due to
administrative requirements as well as their own concerns,
concentrate their energies on serving the needs of students at
the extremes, particularly the needs of students who are
struggling. The average students may go about the business of
attaining sufficient scores simply and quietly to keep them
moving forward at a middling level of attainment. Yet, they too
deserve to be given attention and support. Suggestions can come
from the two groups of students just discussed.
First, from the theory of multiple intelligences or learning
styles, it may be possible to identify approaches to learning that
provide the average student with an opportunity to excel or to
find and explore an interest previously unrealized. Second, RTI
can be useful for average students as well as for those who are
struggling. Sometimes, the average student has just one or two
areas that are hindering his or her advancement. Through the
introduction of RTI Tier 2 activities, the problems might be
quickly dealt with and the average student might well begin to
excel. Third, as is the case with the other two classifications of
students, group work provides an opportunity to engage in
appropriately designed activities while collaborating with others
at all levels.
Finally, there is a program currently found in most states and
U.S. territories that addresses the needs of students

academically in the middle. Called AVID (Advancement Via
Individual Determination), its goal is to prepare all students
from elementary school onward for success in college and
career education. An important focus of the program is on
effort, and students sign a contract outlining their willingness to
work hard and setting their learning goals. AVID's philosophy
is that, when students are held accountable to the highest
standards and are then provided with the academic and social
support they need, they will rise to the challenge. An entire
school is typically committed to the AVID program, and its
teachers are provided with specialized training.
Assess Yourself
Take a moment to reflect on your own experience with diversity
in schools.
What groups were you a member of in junior high and high
school? Were you stigmatized because of your associations w ith
particular cultural groups? Or were you affiliated with groups
that were more socially accepted by your peers and teachers?
Do you think teachers differentiated their actions toward you
based on your gender, culture, sexual orientation, and so on? In
what ways?
How will your cultural heritage, ethnicity, or race affect how
you will relate to students? What other aspects of your
background will affect your relationships with students?
Have your intercultural experiences been minimal or broad?
That is, have most of your interactions been with people like
you, or have you had a variety of experiences?
Have you had the opportunity to travel extensively or perhaps
live in various places? If so, did this affect your understanding
and attitudes about different kinds of people in any way? If not,
have you found other ways to learn about the rest of the world?
What attitudes will you need to cultivate to effectively meet
the needs of a wide range of culturally and racially diverse
students?

What can you do now to broaden your worldview? What
specifically do you plan to do now that will better prepare you
for diversity among your students?
4.2 Social Challenges and Their Effects on Students
In so many ways, a student's school performance is affected by
much more than the child's inherent abilities, and too often the
influences are negative. For example, poverty and homelessness
are two problems that often leave students unprepared mentally
or physically for the challenges they must face. In addition,
some students face family problems at home as well as a range
of other societal problems. It is disheartening to discover how
many students are saddled with problems that children should
not have to bear.
Students whose life circumstances place them at jeopardy for
failure are often referred to as at-risk students. These students
are at risk for failure in life academically, vocationally, and
personally. Any number of negative influences might put a
student at risk: problems associated with poverty, difficult
family situations, unfortunate responses to peer pressure, or
poor life choices that have long-term consequences (early
pregnancy and violent behavior are two examples). The
following sections will deal with each one of these.
It is important to recognize that, although life can present many
challenges to children that are sadly unfair, there is much that
teachers can do to alleviate the problems. It is also important to
recognize that teachers are not to blame for the circumstances
of their students; most of the time teachers are relatively
powerless to change their students' situations outside of school.
However, teachers are responsible for what happens to children
while at school under their care. Teachers can make the
classroom a refuge for students, in addition to making it a place

where students can feel worthy and important. Ensuring that
your students experience personal and academic success in the
classroom will help equip them with the self-worth and
confidence they need to cope with situations outside of school.
We shall begin by discussing problems students face associated
with living in poverty.
The Challenges of Poverty
Chances are high that there will be students in your classroom
who are living in economic poverty. In fact, the 2010 census
report found that the poverty rate in the United States was at its
highest level since poverty estimates began being published in
the late 1950s. Currently, there are 46.2 million Americans who
do not have the resources to meet their basic needs. Perhaps
most alarming of all is that the poverty rate for children under
age 18 has increased to 22%, which means almost a quarter of
all children under 18 in the United States are now living in
poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012b). Projections are that, by
2020, the figure will climb to 27% (Banks, 2007). The United
States' poverty rate is higher than that of any other
industrialized nation.
Photo of a mother and a child on a playground in a housing
project.
©Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis
Poverty is a serious obstacle to education, affecting access,
learning environment, and learning capabilities due to poor
nutrition.
Poor children live in substandard housing, lack nutritious diets,
lack adequate health care, and may have physical and dental
problems. Some may even not have homes to return to at the
end of the day. As you might surmise, many homeless children
experience feelings of depression, alienation, and defeat. The
problem of homelessness in the United States has become
widespread since the 1980s, leading to a situation in which

families count shelters as their permanent homes. Even more
concerning: Some children spend their entire growing-up years
in shelters and then carry on the tradition to the next generation.
Such children find themselves held back in school and placed—
often wrongfully—in remedial programs (da Costa Nunez,
2004). In recent years, some cities are, among other
interventions, focusing on improving educational opportunities
for shelter-based children. In New York City, an after-school
program led to children making significant academic gains in as
little as 6 months, particularly in reading and math. In addition,
the children's self-confidence and behavior improved, 83% had
become more cooperative, and 92% had a high rate of daily
school attendance (da Costa Nunez, 2004).
What does this information mean for teachers? Research
consistently finds a link between poverty and children's health,
achievement, and behavior, placing children at risk mentally,
intellectually, and physically. Students whose families are
socioeconomically disadvantaged face significant obstacles to
achieving success in school. One obstacle is that they are often
more mobile than other students. For example, if they are
homeless, they may move from one shelter to another, then to a
friend's or relative's home, and so on. Or, if the parents are
migrant workers, the family may move from one part of the
country to another based on seasonal agricultural needs. One
elementary school principal in the northwest bemoaned the fact
that his students moved south to Mexico during the winter,
returning just in time for the state-mandated standardized tests,
an unfair situation both for the children and for the school and
its teachers. As it turned out, the same problem played itself out
in reverse when the children moved to Mexico.
Teachers can help students who live in poverty not only by
being sensitive to their situations, but also by helping as needed
and appropriate. For example, some teachers might take an
active role in helping certain students access resources such as

food banks, medical clinics, and so on. In any case, students
who live in poverty need a safe and supportive environment;
schools can offer stability and hope. It may be observed that, at
the end of the school year, some disadvantaged children are not
eager for summer vacation but would prefer to keep coming to
the safe haven that school provides. If the teacher can relay her
concerns to the proper officials, such as the school's social
worker, school counselor, or principal, the student and family
might be able to get the assistance they need. Sensitive teachers
also make a point of finding out the living arrangements of their
students so as not to create embarrassing situations for them.
Imagine a fourth-grade teacher who is unaware that one of her
students is living in a homeless shelter and decides to have her
students draw a picture of their house or bedroom. This type of
assignment could easily create emotional pain for that student.
Teachers also must be aware of biases or preconceived notions
about poverty. First, caring teachers are careful not to show
shock, pity, or disgust for a child's poverty. Second, many
students may not be obviously living below the poverty line but
may tell you that they are hungry and didn't eat breakfast that
morning or dinner the night before. As any teacher will observe,
a student's hunger will be distracting enough to ensure lack of
concentration on academics. Fortunately, there are government-
supported programs that provide breakfast and lunch at a
reduced cost, or even free. The teacher's task, in this case, then,
becomes one of ensuring that the student is cared for by the
program or by the school. Such action is essential, for if this
continues over time, the hungry, impoverished student may well
fail and drop out.
Family Challenges
Some basic statistics covering the last third of a century tell an
informative story about family structures in the United States.
In 2012, 64% of children under 18 lived with two married
parents, as compared to 77% in 1980. Of the remaining 36% in

2012, 24% lived with just their mothers, 4% with just their
fathers, and 4% with neither parent. The final 4% lived with two
unmarried parents in 2012 (ChildStats.gov, 2013).
A few other available statistics for 2012 delve into the story a
little deeper: Of the black population, 33% of children lived
with two married parents, as did 59% of Hispanic children,
down from 75% in 1980. In 2012, children with at least one
foreign-born parent totaled 24%, up from 15% in 1994. The
children in this last group (82%) were more likely than children
with native-born parents (67%) to live with two parents.
Statistics are notably lacking, but it has been estimated that
approximately two million American children live with gay or
lesbian parents.
None of these statistics by themselves automatically indicates
"family problems." Yet, there is a long-standing mythology of a
family structure that includes a racially identical mother, father,
and 2.5 biological children. However, because modern
households come in various forms, one cannot sketch a "typical"
family profile. Your students might come from any kind of
family configuration: nuclear, extended, blended, or single
parent, or from homes where grandparents or foster parents
assume parental responsibilities. Be careful not to stereotype or
judge a family based on its arrangement. Children whose
families do not fit the model may feel uncomfortable around
families that seem to more closely adhere to this norm. In
return, it may well be that they are made fun of or bullied
because of any differences. It is such discomfort and
mistreatment that teachers need to be aware of and deal with.
Photo of a boy looking out of a discolored, rusty window.
Albina Tiplyashina/iStock/Thinkstock
There is no single model for a healthy, functioning family.
When differentiating functional homes from dysfunctional ones,
many factors need to be considered.

What does a healthy, functioning family look like? Unhealthy
family units are not always discernible to the untrained eye;
therefore, when differentiating functional homes from
dysfunctional ones, many factors must be considered. There is
no such entity as a completely functional family; rather, there
are degrees of functionality. Each family unit must be assessed
individually to determine if the child will need extra support.
One family problem―common to all classes and races―that
negatively affects classrooms is the inordinate number of
children being raised in homes where expectations are
unreasonable: either too much or too little is expected from
children. The theoretical foundation for determining what might
be too much or too little was laid in the 1960s by Diana
Baumrind (1967) and has provided direction for other theorists,
educators, and psychologists since that time. Baumrind
suggested three levels of parenting styles: permissive,
authoritarian, and authoritative. Permissive parents endeavor to
involve their children in family decision-making and provide
explanations for what may be very few family rules. Parents
avoid punishment in favor of reasoning and manipulation.
Children from permissive homes are rarely expected to
contribute to work that is needed to keep the home running.
Authoritarian parents, on the other hand, expect obedience to
the rules they have created, and these rules are based on a set
standard, often a religiously oriented one. To curb children's
self-will, punishment is favored. Children from authoritarian
homes are often expected to contribute a large amount of work
as members of the family. Somewhere between the philosophies
of permissive and authoritarian parenting is an authoritative
approach. Parents who favor authoritative parenting listen to
children's objections and their reasons for them. However, while
self-will is accepted, parents also create set standards to live by.
Authoritative parents, while recognizing and respecting
children's opinions, also expect respect for their own position as

the adults in charge. While the three approaches to parenting
have been defined as if just one is favored in an individual
home, most parents rely on some mixture.
It is the home that is simply and highly permissive or
authoritarian that may cause problems for teachers. As would be
expected, children bring to school an understanding of adult
behavior based on their home experience. In authoritarian
homes where parents expect too much from children,
punishment may be frequent, harsh, or arbitrary. In contrast, in
permissive homes where parents expect too little from their
children, discipline might be lax, inconsistent, or nonexistent.
As is the case with most extremes, neither of these two attitudes
or approaches is healthy or productive for the development of
children. Students whose parents expect too much of them may
need help learning how to manage anger and resolve conflicts.
Children from permissive homes, on the other hand, may need
assistance adhering to classroom rules and procedures.
Some problems stem from the lack of adult supervision. If
parents are at work, they are unavailable when their children
come home from school in the afternoon. It has been estimated
that one-third of children between ages 5 and 13 are alone at
home for some part of the week. Between the ages of 12 and 14,
the figure rises to half of all children. Returning to an empty
house may put children at physical or emotional risk. Depending
on their age, most children need adult guidance and supervision.
Many "latchkey kids" have to assume adult responsibilities for
younger siblings, such as cooking, bathing, and supervising
homework. The results can be problematic. For example, eighth
graders who are alone 11 or more hours a week have been found
to be twice as likely to abuse drugs. They are more likely to
become depressed, smoke cigarettes and marijuana, and drink
alcohol. Teens who have sex most likely choose to do so at the
boy's house when parents are at work. Finally, latchkey children
are more likely to be victims of crime (Alston, 2010).

Conversely, some children find themselves not at the mercy of
the latchkey, but rather supervised by "helicopter parents" who
hover over them. Problems that may emerge from this situation
include children with no opportunity to learn from their
mistakes, become independent, or make decisions on their ow n.
A lack of such opportunities has been found to lead to children
and young adults who are less open to new ideas and actions
and more vulnerable, anxious, self-conscious, dependent, and
impulsive (Rettner, 2010).
Perhaps the most difficult situation that children bring to school
from home is the problem of abuse or maltreatment. Such
treatment includes physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, as
well as medical and educational neglect. Definitions of each are
made by the individual states (Bethea, 2003). Factors that
contribute to abuse are the subject of debate but typically
include the following: a high level of domestic violence in the
United States; poverty; lack of parenting skills, including
unrealistic expectations about a child's capabilities; l ack of
behavior management abilities; emotional immaturity of the
parents, particularly if they are chronologically young;
fragmented social services; and lack of family and community
support. In addition, it is estimated that as many as 40% of
child abuse cases are influenced by parental substance abuse
(Bethea, 2003). According to the National Coalition for Child
Protection Reform (2003), of all the factors just listed, the
primary cause of child abuse is poverty. The Coalition points
out that abuse is 14 times more common in poor families, and
neglect is 44 times more common in poor families.
Assess Yourself
Were you a latchkey kid? Or did you have helicopter parents?
What effect, if any, did this have on you? What school-related
problems can you foresee for children who come home to an
empty house or who have parents who continually hover over

them?
When you were growing up, did you feel that your parents
held reasonable expectations for your behavior? If not, how did
you cope with their set of standards?
As a child, were you subject to any of the definitions of
abuse? Did you have friends who were? In either case, what, if
any, were the helpful responses from educators? What would
have been even better, or were the responses sufficient?
Negative Peer Pressure
In accord with psychosocial development, peer pressure—both
positive and negative—emerges as children enter the second or
third grade. While teachers of 5- to 7-year-olds can expect their
students to look to them for approval, the approval of friends
becomes as important, if not more so, in second or third grade.
Teachers can use this developmental stage in a positive way by
dividing students into groups for learning experiences and into
teams for academic and playground games. Nevertheless,
teachers of younger children can expect to see some negative
peer influence to appear as well, albeit without much difficulty
in dealing with it.
As students enter the adolescent years, they are likely to try on
new adult behaviors and should be encouraged to find their own
identity during this period. However, many troubled and
insecure youth, especially those who are not firmly grounded in
their values and beliefs, may become susceptible to negative
peer pressure in order to gain acceptance.
One concern in today's society is the availability of illegal
drugs. Substance abuse can be very destructive for young people
who are struggling with identity issues. When teens are trying
to fit into a group, they probably are not thinking about whether
they could be vulnerable to addictions. Teens are prone to think
they are invincible and nothing can hurt them; thus, an innocent

flirtation with alcohol or drugs could be the beginning of an
addiction. It may be useful to add here some recent statistics on
drug use among middle and high school students. In 2013, the
increasing popularity of marijuana, thought by many students to
be a safe drug, was largely responsible for that year's high level
of illicit drug use and for the decline in cigarette smoking. For
example, in 2013, 18% of 10th graders reported having used
marijuana in the past month as opposed to 13.8% in 2008. On a
more positive note, the use of cocaine and alcohol continued a
5-year downward trend. The use of other hard drugs such as
heroin and ecstasy remained stable at less than 2% across all
middle and high school grades (National Institute on Drug
Abuse, 2014).
The list of potential addictions also includes eating disorders
and gambling. A lack of impulse control can lead to reckless
behavior such as speeding, driving under the influence of
alcohol or drugs, refusing to use a seat belt, running stop signs,
having unprotected sex, and having sex with many partners. As
might be expected, teens who are battling addictive behaviors
will have little time or energy left for school-related activities.
Photo of a teen carrying schoolbooks.
Flirt/Flirt/Superstock
Adolescent students struggle to create their own identity while
finding acceptance in the society of their peers.
It should be noted, however, that not all peer pressure is
negative. Some peer groups or cliques have many positive
aspects; the degree of positive or negative influence mainly
depends on the motives or purposes of the group. Studies of
adolescents and the influence of peers have demonstrated that
activities both in school and out can lead students away from
problematic behaviors and harmful activities. These activities
might include team sports, drama groups, and faith-based
organizations. What is important is feeling a part of a famil y,

which partially accounts for the attractiveness of gangs. When
provided with more positive outlets, the students in the studies
"blossomed" (Nieto & Bode, 2008, p. 334).
To be safe, teachers who suspect that students may be
associating with the wrong crowd, experimenting with illegal
substances, or engaging in other dangerous behaviors should
probably refer them to the school counselor. It may be prudent
to talk over your concerns about a particular student with the
counselor before speaking with that student. Older students
may, for example, resist and perhaps resent a teacher's effort to
help. However, a counselor can summon any student for
consultation without informing the student of the referral source
or the suspected concern. Depending on the circumstances, a
report to social services may need to be made if a student's
behavior is life threatening. The counselor or psychologist is
trained to know what to do at this point.
Teen Pregnancy
In 1991, a long downward trend began in the number of births
to girls between the ages of 15 and 17. In 1991, the rate was 39
per 1,000 live births. By 2005, the rate was 21, and by 2011 it
was 15. There have been and continue to be racial disparities,
although the downward trend applies to all races. For example,
in 1991 the rate for Hispanic girls 15–17 was 66 per 1,000, and
in 2011 it was 28 (ChildStats.gov, 2013).
Although the statistics indicate that teen pregnancy is lower
today than in earlier decades, it is still considered a social
problem that demands attention. In the 1950s, a teen mother was
more likely to be married, and her husband was more likely to
be able to support a family without a formal education.
Government statistics show that, in 1980, 62% of teen mothers
were unmarried as opposed to 95% in 2011 (ChildStats.gov,
2013). Today's teen mother is not only less likely to be married
but is also at greater risk for poverty. Health care is a critical

issue for young mothers living in poverty. Proper prenatal and
postnatal care may be nonexistent for some teen mothers.
Although the reasons for the long-term decline in teen
pregnancy are not fully understood, it is widely believed to be a
combination of increased access to birth control and better sex
education (Healthy Teen Network, 2008). A primary goal of sex
education is to help students make informed life choices as well
as to avoid pregnancy. However, if pregnancy has occurred, the
primary aim is to keep the teen mother in school. Some schools
offer parenting classes for young mothers, and some offer day
care and nurseries for the children of their students in an
attempt to keep the mother in attendance. Life skills training
and sex education programs are prevention programs that can
prepare young people for adult roles and responsibilities.
Youth Violence
In the past two decades, school violence has, despite reports of
mass shootings, actually declined somewhat. In Chapter 1, we
referred to these incidents and a culture of violence. Indeed,
after reporting the decline that has occurred since a high of
violent acts in 1993, the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention stated that "much work remains to be done in
reducing this public health burden" and that "no state is immune
to the devastating impact of youth violence" (CDC, 2013a, para.
1).
Fortunately, many schools today have instituted school violence
prevention programs. To assist students who may become
victims of violence or who are potential offenders, teachers and
schools solidify ties with the local police, juvenile detention
officers, and social services representatives. Teachers can
include conflict resolution as part of the curriculum they teach.
A technique that has been tried over the past decade and that is
proving to be counter-productive is "zero tolerance," in which a
student is suspended or otherwise punished immediately upon a

first infraction. Schools that have dropped this approach in
favor of educating children in supportive ways report decreased
violence and even higher academic test scores (Neuman, 2012).
A caveat for future teachers may be in order here: Try not to
take students' antisocial behavior personally; they may not be
angry with you (even though it feels as though they are).
Separate the behavior from the person. Do not show fear. And
remember, chances are that you did not cause the student's
problems, so unless shown otherwise, you must not accept the
blame. Your primary responsibility lies in helping the child to
feel safe, secure, and supported while under your care.
Depression and Teen Suicide
Excessive hopelessness and despair in children, if left
untreated, can lead to clinical depression and sometimes to
suicide. Teachers must be alert for signs of depression in their
students. Regrettably, many children who are depressed go
untreated because families do not recognize the signs, or if they
do, they are unable to provide proper assistance to their
children. Parents may not know where to go for psychological
services for their children. In addition, medical health insurance
policies do not always provide equal benefits for mental health
needs, and antidepressants can be expensive.
Some depressed children go untreated because they were never
properly diagnosed. Many adults tend to equate child pain with
adult pain and fail to recognize the extent to which a child i s
suffering. To a pubescent, the break-up of a relationship can be
overwhelming; the loss of a pet may likewise cause distress for
a child. A child's loss should not be judged by an adult's
perceptions. Depression sometimes goes untreated because some
individuals believe that depression is a sign of personal
weakness and can be overcome through sheer willpower. A
limitation to this kind of thinking is that the person
experiencing the depression may become even more

despondent—thinking he or she is to blame for the condition.
Believing depression is a character flaw or the sign of a weak
person can heap more guilt on an already disheartened spirit.
Teachers should not judge a student's loss in terms of their own
experiences with loss. For example, if a child returns to school
after the funeral of a relative or friend, it is important to
recognize the feelings the child is experiencing. Teachers need
to acknowledge a student's grief and respect the pace of the
student's grieving process—children and adults grieve
differently and progress through different stages. Therefore,
teachers must be sensitive to students' concept of loss and
should not expect the same level of student performance as
before the death.
Teachers must also be sensitive to distinguish when a student's
actions are pleas for help. All teachers need ongoing training
about detecting suicidal behaviors. Teachers will need to feel
comfortable asking students about their feelings. They must not
assume that younger children are immune from taking their own
lives. If a teacher has reason to suspect a child is in imminent
danger, he or she must report this immediately to the school
principal, school counselor, or other personnel as required by
state law. Keep in mind, however, that reporting duties may not
be delegated. This means that if teachers hear something that
falls within their state's mandatory reporting law, they must
report as prescribed by that law, even though they should also
inform the appropriate school personnel. According to the CDC
(2013b), the following may contribute to the danger of the
occurrence of suicide; however, their presence does not mean
that suicide will actually occur:
History of previous suicide attempts
Family history of suicide
History of depression or other mental illness
Alcohol or drug abuse

Stressful life event or loss
Easy access to lethal methods
Exposure to the suicidal behavior of others
Incarceration
Teachers must be watchful for the following warning signs in
students and notice the extent to which these behaviors are
exhibited:
Depressed mood, lack of emotion
Changes in sleep or appetite
Limited coping skills
Withdrawal from peers or few friends
Lack of family support
Difficulty interacting with teachers
Excessive alcohol and substance abuse
Overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, sadness, and despair
Preoccupation with death
Previous known suicide attempt(s)
Risk-taking behaviors
Psychosomatic illnesses
A final note: Some figures estimate that lesbian and gay
students are two to six times more likely to attempt suicide, and
they account for 30% of all successful suicide attempts.
Teachers must be sensitive to signs of hopelessness in all their
students, but special attention should be paid to this population.
Building Your Portfolio
Some at-risk students might be described as "disengaged,"
either being uninvolved in their schoolwork or exerting little
effort or energy. In applying for teaching positions, you may be
asked to describe your thoughts on engaging at-risk students.
Take some time to describe the implications of teaching and
working with disengaged youth and write down how you might
approach these students. Can you draw from a past experience

of your own? Some resources are available at the end of this
chapter.
4.3 Classroom Diversity
As noted in Chapter 2, many federal compensatory programs
have been developed to ensure all children have access to equal
educational opportunities. Head Start and Title I are just two
examples of federal initiatives designed to prevent
discrimination and compensate for any disadvantages. However,
simply having funding and making services available is not
enough; teachers play a crucial role. In this section, we will
discuss the methods and theories teachers can implement when
teaching diverse student populations. We will first focus on
diversity in the most common sense of the word—referring to
various races and ethnicities—before thinking about diversity in
the ways people learn.
Multicultural Education
The rise of multicultural education in recent decades has been
built on a foundation of a United States population that has
become increasingly diverse. While for most educators and the
population as a whole this educational development has been
positive, even exciting, it has not always been easy to give up
traditional approaches to teaching, reliance on literature written
almost solely by white males, or textbook illustrations
incorporating only the majority culture. The primary goal of
multicultural education is to help educators and students alike
remember that "one of the key aims of education is to be of
service to the richly diverse human family. In education a key
concern is how to foster in students a sense of compassion,
social responsibility, ethics, and morality" (Rendon, 2009, p.
91).
Defining multicultural education is somewhat complex. Most
often it is done within a sociopolitical context, as this example

demonstrates:
Multicultural education is a process of comprehensive school
reform and basic education for all students. It challenges and
rejects racism and other forms of discrimination in schools and
society and accepts and affirms the pluralism (ethnic, racial,
linguistic, religious, economic, and gender, among others) that
students, their communities, and teachers reflect. (Nieto &
Bode, 2008, p. 44)
Photo of a diverse group of young children in a classroom.
Blend Images/Blend Images/Superstock
While multicultural education is difficult to define, it is central
to our functioning democracy.
According to this definition, multicultural education is
antiracist, an attribute that must be kept consciously at the
forefront of curriculum planning. Educators—teachers and
administrators alike—need to be careful not to favor some
groups of students over others in school policy (e.g.,
encouraging only white students to work toward being in
advanced classes). Educators need also to be unafraid of
including the unpleasant aspects of U.S. history and culture
along with the heroic and beautiful. This means that the
curriculum should not be sanitized to be palatable and
undisturbing to everyone.
Although it may not seem like it, multicultural education can be
thought of as basic: "Multicultural literacy is just as
indispensable for living in today's world as reading, writing,
arithmetic, and computer literacy" (Nieto & Bode, 2008, p. 48).
Such an approach could include ensuring all students become
fluent in a second language and learn about the literature, arts,
geography, and history of other countries. Teaching with such a
global approach ensures that multicultural education isn't
simply an add-on or even a specialized subject, but instead

pervades the entire curriculum.
Basic to American education, in addition to the 3Rs and
computer literacy, is education for social justice in a democratic
society. Unfortunately, it is often true that students only learn
about democracy rather than experiencing it themselves. More
than a century ago, the philosopher and educator John Dewey
set about establishing schools that would provide students with
opportunities to govern themselves and learn to make individual
and group decisions. (You were introduced to Dewey in Chapter
2.) Students can learn to actively participate in democracy,
including experiences that reveal the need for social justice, at
any age.
Geneva Gay (2010), well known for her work in multicultural
education, speaks of the need for teachers to engage in
"culturally responsive teaching." Effective teachers, she says,
help students clarify their ethnic identities, honor other
cultures, develop positive cross-ethnic and cross-cultural
relationships, and avoid perpetuating prejudices, stereotypes,
and racism. The goal is to create communities of culturally
diverse learners who celebrate and affirm one another and work
collaboratively for their mutual success, where empowerment
replaces powerlessness and oppression. (p. 45)
Culturally responsive teaching, also known as culturally
responsive pedagogy or education, is designed to facilitate a nd
support the achievement of all students. Further, "the strengths
students bring to school are identified, nurtured, and utilized to
promote students' achievement" (Richards, Brown, & Forde,
2009, p. 4). The following are suggestions for classroom
teachers based on the work of experts in the field of culturally
responsive pedagogy (Richards et al., 2009):
Students' differences as well as their commonalities should

be recognized and considered. Because each student is unique,
learning needs will differ.
Classroom practices and materials should validate students'
cultural identities. This may mean adding materials to assigned
textbooks if the textbooks perpetuate stereotypes.
Students should be educated about the diversity of the world,
including the world nearby them. Activities such as pen pals
and interviews with people of other cultures can be productive.
Equity and mutual respect among students must be promoted.
Teachers have a responsibility for setting standards of fairness
and for being role models.
A positive interrelationship among students, families, school,
and community should be fostered. Teachers can visit students'
homes and attend community events.
Students should be encouraged to think critically. When
students learn to think independently, they learn to make
responsible decisions.
Students should be encouraged to strive for excellence
despite possible past experiences with failure or difficulties
navigating a culture that conflicts with their own. Low teacher
expectations may well lead to low performance, and the
opposite is true as well.
Assess Yourself
Do you think all teachers should be multicultural educators?
Why or why not?
Field experiences in multicultural settings would be the best
place to expand your current knowledge base and develop cross-
cultural skills. To do this, you might begin by identifying those
school settings you believe would offer optimal exposure to
students who are culturally different from you. Explain your
rationale for choosing those school settings. Follow through as
you are able to actually engage in experiences there.
If you do not have the opportunity to participate firsthand in
multicultural settings, think about other ways you can learn

about different cultures. For example, are there particular books
or movies that would help you gain this kind of exposure?
Differentiated Instruction
By now, it should be clear that most teachers' classrooms will
be diverse. In addition to students of different races and
ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, socioeconomic status,
and family backgrounds, there will be students with different
levels of motivation, different interests, and varying learning
styles. Tending to all these factors may seem overwhelming.
However, there are some key approaches and concepts that can
be used along the way that make the meeting of students' needs
manageable, realistic, and practical. But before we tackle those
important pieces, let's begin with questions that come up
frequently and will set the stage for our discussion of meeting
all students' needs: Does treating all students in the classroom
equally mean they are all treated the same? Does treating
students fairly mean they each receive the same work or
consequences for certain actions?
To answer: Rarely does a one-size-fits-all approach to
instruction work in the classroom, given the diversity of
students' skills, cultures, and backgrounds. Such an approach to
learning will have very little success in meeting each student's
needs. As teachers consider treating students fairly or equally,
they must make sure they give each student what he or she
needs, even when that means each child gets something
different in the class. Not all students learn in the same way, at
the same pace, and at the same time. Teachers therefore need to
find ways to meet students' individual needs. This elicits the
question "How do I find time, resources, and instruction to
effectively meet and maximize the learning for all students?"
Fortunately, there are some excellent answers, answers that help
teachers reach their goal of creating learners and thinkers with
21st-century skills.

Differentiated instruction addresses the way teachers respond to
the different needs of learners in their classrooms. It calls on
teachers to realize that the best practices work for individual
learners (Tomlinson, 2001). Differentiated instruction has been
instrumental in developing classroom practices that focus on
meeting students at their point of need by maximizing their
learning and making the process that it entails realistic and
doable. The focus is on the individual learner and not simply on
teaching lessons that target, for example, the middle group, high
achievers, or low performers. The primary focus of
differentiated learning is, therefore, to ensure that each child
has the ability to learn at his or her potential by having teachers
in a classroom accommodate the differences in students'
readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles (Tomlinson,
2003; Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006).
Differentiation does not provide a step-by-step approach to
follow. Rather, it is a way of thinking and an attitude about how
best to meet students' needs, whether they are struggling
learners, high achievers, English language learners, or
multilingual students. The goal is to help students meet their
potential while ensuring the teacher's work remains manageable
and effective. Let's not forget this last point, because, as the
demands on teachers are large and often grow, teachers must
continually work smarter and not just harder. Differentiated
instruction is at the core of effective planning, is an important
component for ensuring students meet the standards they are
required to master, and focuses on the use of flexible
approaches to space, time, materials, the way students are
grouped, and, of course, instruction (Tomlinson, Brimijoin, &
Narvaez, 2008).
In the traditional classroom, a teacher typically prepares a
lesson and expects the whole class to complete the same
activity, often in the same way and generally in the same

amount of time. A differentiated classroom differs from a
traditional classroom in that there is often more than one way to
complete a lesson, different processes for students to engage in,
and varied levels of difficulty and pacing. However, the
expectations for students do not change. All students are
expected to achieve their potential. In a differentiated
classroom, the teacher does not create a lesson plan for each
student or 30 different activities. That would be overwhelming
and impossible to sustain. The teacher does, however, use pre-
assessments that play a critical role in what the lessons will
look like, how the products are developed, what the process will
look like, and how required standards will be met. Often,
students will be grouped based on various factors. In Case in
Point: Differentiation Through Grouping, we see an example of
how this can be done.
While grouping is one form of differentiation, teachers must
ensure that groups are flexible, that students are not in the "low
group" or "high group," and that they can experience rich
curricula, different learning styles, and collaboration with their
peers. Ensuring that struggling students and advanced students
receive appropriate access to learning is essential to having a
classroom where all learners will succeed. Sometimes teachers
differentiate instruction by reducing the amount of work that
struggling students have to complete and increasing the amount
that advanced students complete. This practice is not helpful to
struggling students because they are doing less of the material
that they are not grasping. It is also not helpful to advanced
students to complete more assignments that they already
understand. This approach seems to occur when teachers lack
clarity about essential outcomes and the meaningful basis from
which to differentiate (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006).
Summary & Resources
Chapter Summary

The subject of diversity in schools is complex. Students from
different ethnicities and races make up today's classroom.
Often, a student's family may originate in several countries or
cultures and be of mixed races as well. Other forms of diversity
include religion, sexual orientation/identification, and learning
ability. Teachers must take into account students' differing
abilities as they prepare academic experiences to meet every
child's learning needs. While the increasing diversity in
American schools creates an atmosphere that is interesting and
even exciting, challenges also can present themselves. At-risk
students are affected by family issues, negative peer influences,
and their own depression as they try to cope with what might
be—or seem to be—a difficult life. Multicultural education is
one way to provide students with ways to combat the various
challenges they may bring to the school setting. Another method
is differentiated instruction, with its focus on individualizing
lessons for the diverse population that exists in most American
schools today.
Questions for Further Critical Thinking & Reflection
What do you think former U.S. Secretary of Education
Richard Riley (1998) meant when he remarked that "students
today need to see themselves in the faces of their teachers. We
need teachers from different backgrounds to share different
experiences and points of view with colleagues. This sharing
enriches and empowers the entire profession and students from
all backgrounds" (p. 19)? Do you feel that Riley's words have
become reality? Why or why not? How can teacher education
programs recruit persons of diverse ethnic and cultural
backgrounds to the profession?
This chapter presented a variety of ways in which today's
schools are more diverse than in previous times. Are there
groups or cultures that you might find difficult to work with,
without some effort? Which ones are they, and why do you
think you would have difficulty? If none would cause extra
effort for you, why do you think that is?

Consider the needs of a diverse classroom. What is the
difference between fair treatment and equal treatment? Which is
preferable and why? (Consider all of the different scenarios that
you might experience in a classroom—physically challenged
students, mentally challenged students, non-English-speaking
students, culturally diverse students, etc.)
Web Resources
Center for Mental Health in Schools: Working With Disengaged
Students. Headquartered at the University of California, Los
Angeles, the center has a wealth of helpful materials for
educators, almost all of which are free.
http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/practicenotes/disengagedstu
dents.pdf
Center for World Indigenous Studies (CWIS). CWIS is
dedicated to research, education, and conflict resolution
conferences that will lead to the solving of social, economic,
and political problems throughout the Fourth World of
indigenous peoples. Some of the research is available on the
center's website. http://cwis.org/
Institutes on Academic Diversity—Differentiation Central.
Created by the University of Virginia, this website is defined as
a service for educators who hope to learn more about
differentiation. Podcasts and videos as well as publications are
available. http://www.differentiationcentral.com
National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME).
With more than 2,000 members, NAME advocates for social
justice and equity through multicultural education. Publications
and conferences are its primary activities. http://nameorg.org/
Stop Bullying—U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This website, sponsored by the U.S. government, provides

practical ideas for addressing bullying problems in school.
http://stopbullying.gov
Raising Small Souls. This website is directed primarily at
parents, but the tips are equally useful for teachers of younger
children. http://raisingsmallsouls.com/animal-school-video-
inspires-individuality-acceptance/
Additional Resources
The following may provide helpful information for teaching a
diverse population of students.
Flaitz, J. (2006). Understanding your refugee and immigrant
students. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful
teachers of African American children. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass.
Payne, R. (2003). A framework for understanding poverty.
Highland, TX: Aha! Process.
Quate, S., & McDermott, J. (2009). Clockwatchers: Six steps to
motivating and engaging disengaged students across content
areas. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Tatum, B. (2007). Can we talk about race? Boston: Beacon
Press.
Key Terms
Click on each key term to see the definition.
at-risk students
Students who, due to their cultural, biological, or social
attributes, might find school overly challenging.

differentiated instruction
Curriculum and teaching methodology created with students'
individual needs in mind.
English language learners (ELL)
Students whose first language is not English and who may be at
any level from beginner to highly functioning.
exceptional
In regard to education, a term that describes students who are
either ahead of the class academically or behind.
gifted and talented
A term that describes students with high IQs or unique abilities
in some form of creativity.
gifted and talented education (GATE)
Special programs created specifically for students who are
gifted and talented.
inclusion
In special education, an approach based on the philosophy that
children with special needs should be included in the regular
classroom to the greatest extent possible. (Inclusion is not a
term used in federal law.)
multicultural education
Education that attends to the needs and interests of students of

all cultures, ethnicities, races, genders, and other categories.
Chapter 4 Flashcards
1
3
The Inclusion Classroom
Your Name
Department of Education and Liberal Arts, University of
Arizona Global Campus
EDU 304: Introduction to Education
Instructor's Name
Date
Hint: In this template, you will find purple and orange “hint”
boxes designed to help you with the assignment. Please delete
all hints before finalizing your project. To do this, click on the
hint box and then hit the “delete” key on your keyboard.
The Inclusion Classroom
Include a brief introductory paragraph that includes a thesis
statement that will be the main point you support throughout
your paper.
Hint: To use this template, replace the text in each section with
your own content.
Hint: For help with the introduction, see this resource.
Hint: Do not use a quote for the definition. Instead, paraphrase
from the source you use and provide an in-text citation.

The Face of Inclusion
Definition
In this section, define inclusion using your own words. Then,
describe at least three advantages and three disadvantages of
inclusion as an educational approach. Be sure to examine both
sides, provide your own analysis, and include evidence.
Hint: Review this Fact Sheet to learn about how this population
is impacted. Cite this resource in your discussion.
Improved Performance
In this section, summarize the requirement for improved
performance of students with disabilities under the Every
Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Discuss how ESSA supports
special needs learners.
Hint: Use and cite at least one of the following: The Promise
and the Peril for Students with Disabilities or Six Principles for
Principals to Consider
The Common Core State Standards
In this section, discuss how Common Core State Standards are
impacting the learning of students with special needs. Then,
discuss some strategies that are being used to help students
achieve these standards.
Conclusion
Include a brief conclusion to your paper. Do not simply restate
the introductory paragraph.
Hint: For help with the conclusion, see this resource.
References
Use APA style to reference your course text and one additional

scholarly source. Remember, you MUST include in-text
citations throughout your paper to show your reader what
information you used from outside sources. For help with the
reference page, please see this resource.
Hint: In the final version of your assignment, be sure that you
have removed all of the prompt information and “hint” boxes
within the template.

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