We Teach Them All: Teachers Writing about Diversity

As our society becomes more diverse, so do our schools. As you look at the faces in your classroom, do you see the many differences-economic, social, ethnic, and linguistic-as gaps that separate you from your students and your students from each other? Do you ignore them? Or are you able to acknowledge these differences that create the individuals and support the talents and needs that diversity brings to school and society? Can you appreciate the richness that diversity adds to the students' lives as well as your own? In this collection of thirty stories, poems, and personal essays, twenty-two teachers from schools across Massachusetts examine their classrooms, their roles as teachers, and their schools through the lens of diversity. Each has developed strategies to increase the effectiveness of the teaching and learning in their classrooms. Here they reveal the understanding and practices that they find most helpful in creating classrooms that support diversity. We Teach Them Allfeatures: reflections on diversity-how it can be a positive, strengthening force in teaching and learning;effective strategies for teaching and learning within diverse populations;practical information about running a writer's retreat for teachers, including a sample writing workshop plan.Because We Teach Them All promotes the validation of writing as a tool for reflective practice, instructors of teaching and writing courses and those involved in organizations such as the National Writing Project will find this book useful.