Kalina Kozarska

Professor John D. Beach

EDU 3200
St. John's University
June 21, 2016
Diversity in Classrooms

Effective instruction calls for a representation of diversity within classroom materials and
conversations. Students must relate to classroom discussions and texts in order to feel motivated,
encouraged, and accepted. With the vibrant diversity NYC teachers experience within the classroom, it
is absolutely essential that we address issues of race, gender, culture, and socioeconomic class. We
must analyze how language is interpreted and conveyed by different groups of students and how we
can differentiate instruction in order to cater to each student's unique learning needs. The majority of
this reflective essay will concern ELLs and how specific instructional texts, such as graphic novels, can
aid them in language acquisition. Furthermore, I will speak to issues of diversifying instructional
mediums, as well as LGBTQ representations in classrooms materials, and the positive differentiation
between English registers.
It was approximately 5 years ago that I graduated from high school, and I vividly recall that at
no point in my high school or middle school educational career, for that matter, was I presented with an
LGBTQ friendly text.This is a true shame because I believe the Eurocentric curriculums discourage
many young adults from accepting their sexualities and personal preferences. In fact curriculums that
focus strictly on Eurocentric classics perpetuate traditional status norms, force many young adults to
live in shame and fear, and discourage students from engaging with their learning. Although content
teaching is our priority as educators, a positive classroom culture might be even more essential.
Without an environment of acceptance, love, respect, and peace, students will feel afraid to use their
voices and pursue their educational interests. The classroom then becomes a place of fear and shame.
In his article, Roswell states that it is our strong contention that visual texts have the potential to

recruit students subjectivities, identities, experiences, and knowledge in important ways that allow for
participation in social, economic, and political activities in their societies (Rowsell, 589). It is only
natural that students will remain closed off to reading material and language that doesn't pertain to their
own interests and identities. This is why educators must incorporate a variety of texts into their
curriculums with the intended goal of student engagement. Although Roswell speaks primarily of
visual texts, which can be rather powerful when relating to serious LGBTQ issues, we can incorporate
all types of mediums towards this goal.
Furthermore, I believe introducing such literature is not only beneficial for LGBTQ students but
for all students in general. In order for us to be kind, fair, and rational citizens, we must be able to place
ourselves in the shoes of those who are vastly different from ourselves. We must empathize with their
struggles, fears, and failures. We must move past the visible differences and see that we are all human
and therefore have very similar life experiences. I believe that looking at specific themes, such as the
theme of love, is a great way to bridge over those differences and show students one major similarity
that all humans have in common. After all, we all have LOVE in common. Such themes are universal
and can therefore be found in all types of literature. In language and literature, we must consider
elements such as student race, ethnicity, language, gender, LGBTQ, class, immigration, religion,
ability, age, and place. Our goal is to make every student feel accepted, appreciated, and valued. This is
especially important for us NYC teachers as our communities are quite diverse and culturally rich.
As we address issues of diversity, we must reflect on our perceptions of language within
academic, professional, and casual settings. An educator mustn't assume that students are familiar with
the different registers and dialects of the English language. Such assumptions can create colossal
learning gaps as Fisher and Lapp suggest in their article. So how does an educator instruct students on
appropriate language without perpetuating the stigma that slang and non-academic registers are
unacceptable? Fisher and Lapp speak to this issue by stating: We studied various instructional moves

that suggested to our students there are different variations of Englishthat, for example, their home
language of AAVE or Black English Vernacular (BEV), which is rule governed at the syntactic and
semantic levels, has a long history of contributing to the artistic, literary, and political accomplishments
of African American people. We also acknowledged that many prominent speakers of Black English
also know and use an academic English variation when they decide it is situationally efficient (Fisher
&Lapp, 637). We must show students that no register is better than another. However, under certain
circumstances, one register might be more suitable than another. Lets use a clothing analogy to
illustrate this issue. Would you wear a track suit to a wedding? Would you wear a bathing suit to a
funeral? Would you wear your birthday suit to a job interview? You must assess the setting and
situation and allow your knowledge of the two to shape your outfit choice. In a similar way, students
must recognize that different situations call for different registers. In school and work, students are
encouraged to use academic language. However, there are exceptions to that rule. Students can use an
AAVE register in an academic setting, under the guise of poetry, music, art, or fictional literature.
Creative expression is not limited to academic English.
Kendrick Rowsell speaks to the issue of representation of visual texts within classrooms.
Although his theme centers more on male preference for visual media, I believe this also applies
directly to ELL populations. Roswell writes schooling neglects the myriad cultural forms that exist in
the world in addition to traditional academic texts and literaturefilms, dance, music, art, graphic
texts, video games, smartphones, and so forth (Rowsell, 2013). All these communicational channels
signal something about culture and ideological perspectives. Whats more, all these types of cultural
forms are visual by their nature and substance (Rowsell, 588-589). Although strict textual reliance
might have been the norm as some point in the past, it no longer serves our students. With the
consistent technological and societal advancements that occur today, it's imperative that we teach
students how to speak the language of technology. It's no doubt that technological innovations have

altered the state of our language forever. This is exactly why, today's educators must successfully
incorporate an eclectic variety of materials.
Rowsell's article inspired me to delve into the topic of graphic novels within classrooms rich in
ELL numbers. ELL students face a variety of issues such as lack of confidence, lack of differentiation
and appropriate materials, cultural shock, standardized text pressure, and misunderstanding. One way
to overcome those issues is to incorporate a variety of visual texts that also speak to themes of
immigration, struggle, and social/racial/gender/class dilemmas. Graphic novels can garner a sense of
belonging and can subtract the anxiety ELLs face in learning a new language and adapting to a new
culture. In her article, Defining Identities Through Multiliteracies: EL Teens Narrate Their
Immigration Experiences as Graphic Stories, Robin Danzak explores the necessity of the graphic
novel towards identity formulation of immigrant students. She discusses the Graphic Journeys project.
This is a multimedia literacy project that took place over a period of six months in the ESOL
classroom of a diverse public middle school on the west coast of Florida. This project offered 32 ELLs
the opportunity to research their families immigration narratives and depict them as graphic (comic)
stories (Danzak, 2011, pg. 187). As teachers, it is essential that we learn about the cultural values, past
experiences/ tribulations, and values of our students. We must know the stories of our immigrant
children in order to develop optimum instructional strategies as well as to foster inclusion within an
unfamiliar community.
This project not only helps students to creatively engage with a new language, but it also
requires them to explore their identities. Students are required to directly engage with their immigration
experiences, instead of burying them six feet underground. The project is designed to show students
how immigration experiences can shape identity. As educators, it's prudent that we teach our students
the importance of remembering those immigration experiences. If such projects were introduced to
classrooms with high ELL percentages, we would see a stronger sense of community and belonging.

ELLs will no longer feel the need to hide their past experiences and cultural values in fear of rejection.
Relating such personal stories can also have a greater impact when told through pictures, especially in
this case. Images are more direct, easy to work with, and can incite a stronger response from the
audience. ELLs will not be intimidated to work with images in depicting their personal immigration
tales.
In Graphic Journeys: Graphic Novels' Representations of Immigrant Experiences, Michael
Boatright discusses the effectiveness of three graphic novels that center on the theme of immigration
and alienation. He argues for the potency of the combination of images and text that is central for all
graphic novels. Graphic novels make it easy for students with no personal immigration stories to
emotionally comprehend the experience of an immigrant. He informs us that some graphic novelists
purposely depict their characters as cartoonish and overly simplified (Boatright, 2010, pg. 472). The
novelist thus seeks to escape the shackles of religion, race, and socioeconomic status. This way, the
audience will have an easier time relating to the character. Boatright discusses Shaun Tan's The Arrival,
in order to explain how such a graphic novel can aid in understanding the immigrant
experience. He states that The Arrival could augment classroom discussions that address silences and
absences (Luke, 2000) in con junction with how Tan composed this graphic novel without words. After
reading Tan's work, teachers might find it useful to encourage students to illustrate their own
understandings of what immigration looks like, or perhaps even focus on other senses by asking
students what sounds are conjured or what aromas are stirred when they think about immigrants and
immigration (Boatright, 2010, pg. 474). This informs us that a student does not need to be bombarded
with textual work in order to delve out meaning. Graphic novels can encourage students to think
creatively by engaging all of their senses.
I believe incorporating graphic novels in classrooms can be very beneficial. Critics might
assume that graphic literature can be simplistic and can allow little to no room for interpretation.
However as the articles mention, there are ways to analyze the artwork within these novels as well. The

reader is required to analyze and comment on panel choice, artistic style, lettering style, color, etc..
Using graphic novels will teach students how to assess and comprehend meaning behind images.
Furthermore, the study of graphic novels can prove to be very effective for ELL students. The
supplementation of images to text can easy ELL students into understanding the language . Lastly,
some critics might believe that graphic novels can be detrimental to a student's imagination, as all
characters, settings and events are visually presented for the audience. How do we help students
maintain their unique ways of viewing and understanding text? Does imagination and visualization fall
apart in the graphic novel?
Lastly, how do we use technology to differentiate learning for ELLs? In their article WattsTaffe, S., et al. state that educators must have in-depth knowledge of students literacy needsboth
reading and oral languageas well as their strengths and interests. This includes valid, reliable, and
instructionally useful assessments of all children, as well as assessments of how children respond to
instruction ( Watts-Taffe, S., et al., 312). We must allow our knowledge of our students to shape our
instructional strategies. One concern of mine, was the difficulty of differentiating instruction and
materials for each and every student. The task seems impossible. However, we must realize that
technology can greatly aid us in making differentiation possible. If we are dealing with ELLs there are
many sites/applications that can accelerate language learning such as Speak &Translate and Scanner &
Translator. If students have access to ipads or smartphones, these applications are superb. If I have
students with very limited English skills, I can incorporate the app Speak&Translate. This app allows
me to directly communicate with my students in their native language. The teacher or student speaks
into the device microphone, selects the specific languages, and instantaneously translates the spoken
words. This allow for freedom of communication. If ELL students with limited reading skills are asked
to read and analyze an English text, they can use the application Scanner& Translator. This application
allows students to take images of the text and directly translate it into their native language. What an
excellent way for students to get access to content knowledge while eliminating the fear and frustration

that comes with learning a new language?

SOURCES
Boatright, M. (2010). Graphic Journeys: Graphic Novels' Representations of Immigrant Experiences.
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(6), 468-476.
Danzak, R.L. (2011). Defining Identities Through Multiliteracies: EL Teens Narrate Their Immigration
Experiences as Graphic Stories. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 55(3), 187-196.
Fisher, D. & Lapp, D. (2013, May). Learning to talk like the test: Guiding speakers of African
American Vernacular English. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(8), 634-648.
doi:10.1002/JAAL.198
Rowsell, J., & Kendrick, M. (2013, April). Boys hidden literacies: The critical need for the visual.
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(7), 587-599. April 2013 doi:10.1002/JAAL.184
Watts-Taffe, S., Laster, B. P., Broach, L., Marinak, B., Connor, C. M., & Walker-Dalhouse, D. (2013,
January). Differentiated instruction: Making informed teacher decisions. The Reading Teacher,
66(4), 303314. DOI:10.1002/TRTR.01126