Improving Education

Education of diverse students in public schools

Education is a vital aspect in creating strong communities. One of the challenges that is increasingly facing public schools, especially in America, is the difficulty of educating a diverse population of students. With the rise of globalization, the number of students coming to school in America from other countries is constantly growing. This can be hard, because schools are obligated to meet these students' needs on cultural, linguistic, and other levels. 

Working at a local elementary school as a part of a PLU mentor program, I have seen the importance of having programs that work towards getting all students fully engrained in the public school systems, such as English Language Learners (ELL).  ELL works to keep students who are learning English as a secondary language up to the same proficiency level as students who speak English as a primary language, or who speak English in their home. In my estimation, many ELL students benefit greatly from the program and are happy to use the extra help they are receiving.  Anthropology is important in the implementation of these types of programs. It gives an opportunity to study and learn about the other languages that the students are coming to school with, to learn about the cultures that these students are coming from, etc.

This helps in building tolerance, which is an important component in creating a successful, diverse school environment for all. Learning about the different lifestyles gives anthropologists a chance to teach other non-foreign students and teachers things about the foreign cultures to which their classmates or pupils may belong. Integration and the teaching of tolerance for other customs is the only way to avoid ignorance, discrimination, and negativity, which are all too common in diverse schools.