Bay Path University

14 Bay Pathway Spring 2018 it perpetuates discrimination. When education is more inclusive, concepts of respect, empathy, community, and understanding are cultivated in students. Qualities they can carry on to adulthood. We Are More Diverse Than Ever There's another feature about Beth's classroom and the Heard Street Discovery Academy: it's remarkably diverse. Almost 50% of the enrollment at Heard Street is African American, Asian, Hispanic and Native American, while 45% is white. In Beth's classroom, the students reflect that composition—a compo- sition that is also an indica- tion of demographic trends in America. They are growing up in a very different America, one that reflects shifting neigh- borhoods. For example, data from a recent poll showed that 77% of Millennials prefer living in an urban setting. This is a dramatic shift from the decades that saw whites living predomi- nately in the suburbs, and minorities in the cities. Schools are already mirroring these changes as lines and barriers become torn down. More impor- tant, employers, educators and parents have recognized we are living in a global society. It requires a new level of understanding and appreciation—and the earlier students are exposed to these differences the better prepared they are to live in our communities and adapt to the next generation of the workplace. In the paper, How Racially Diverse Schools and Classrooms Can Benefit All Students (by Amy Stuart Wells; Diana Cordova-Cobo; and Lauren Fox), one of the assessments is particularly profound: "There is no institution better suited to touch the lives of millions of members of the next generation than our public schools." In Beth Grueter's class- room, the students don't sit in a row of desks, but gather in groups, or at work tables. There's a high level of energy in the class—the students are helping each other and they are curious. And as she threads her way among them answering questions or encouraging their efforts, they are learning and collaborat- ing together as one. That's the impact diversity and inclusion makes in a classroom. today's global society requires a new level of understanding and appreciation, and the earlier students are exposed to these differences, the better prepared they will be to adapt to the next generation of the workplace.

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