Diversity? Average, Lazy and Different

Recently I was struck by a Twitter post on Angela Aow in which she said, “diversity is a fact, a right and a valuable resource. Schools have a moral imperative to cultivate safe and equitable learning communities where all can thrive.“

Does every educator believe this? I have some doubts. I think about the policies, structures and systems in our schools.  I would challenge that so many elements of education are poised to create intellectual monotones, in which achievement is based on “standardizing” students, reporting on if they are “meeting” the expectations of these norms. If these students aren’t within the benchmark levels, then we are assume that there is something different (read: wrong) with them. Maybe they are “special” or they need “learning support”.  We are quick to label, to judge, to evaluate. 

In this same vein, let’s consider other language in which we describe students. One of the most disrespectful names you could call a child is “lazy”. If I could wave a magic wand, I would permanently stop teachers from saying it. Because it simply isn’t true.

Uninterested? -fine

Unmotivated? -probably

Disengaged? -that’s more accurate

But lazy, no–that word, in my mind indicates an inborn apathy and that the individual willfully chooses to avoid all effort and labor. I have never seen a baby lazy–I have seen them absorbed in learning– learning about their bodies, learning about their environment, learning about those they have a relationship with. Deeply curious and immersed in discovering what it means to be human. That is how we are born and that is how we remain, especially with the right education. Learning is innate. We all can do it and want to do it.

So, please don’t call a child lazy. However, you can admit that, as a teacher, you have been…

Ineffective.

Preoccupied.

Incapable.

Because if a child “can’t” learn, then we, as “expert learners” have a responsibility to reignite their spark for learning. It’s there! 

Pardon my rant. I have a pet peeve around this. …….

The hardest part of learning something new is not embracing new ideas, but letting go of old ones.
― Todd Rose, The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness

I love that quote. It makes me wonder about how we might go about this paradigmn shift as Angela suggests–that diversity is a fact –That everyone of us is unique and deserve to have an education that not only accepts this, but has it baked into our learning communities through disrupting systems and structures that try to create “avereage” students?

I think to pursue ideas that disrupt the habit of labeling students average, lazy and different-abled would be a worthy challenge and one that all of us take seriously.