Creating an inclusive environment is a priority for me as a teacher and as a person who advocates for the overall wellbeing of students, whether it be academic or personal.  During our Diversity in Learning course, we learned and discussed various aspects of diversity all of which we should be aware of as educators.  By incorporating diverse lessons, we are communicating a philosophy of education affirming that every student can learn and be successful. Helping students to feel included in the classroom by addressing their learning needs goes beyond their processing and understanding of information, it is also important that they feel like we see them as human beings and not just another statistic in the classroom.   

​

The lesson plan below outlines a detailed plan for helping students to examine their own identity and how their social, cultural and family values help to shape this.  The link between identity and English Language Arts helps teachers guide and be aware of and facilitating responses to the emotional and mental health needs of students. Our job as teachers is to create connections and relationships with our students and by linking our core subjects to real-life and relevant experiences we can draw students deeper into the learning. By helping students to develop their own identity and connect with their self-reflection we are promoting positive, engaging learning environments where students feel safe to explore both academic and personal aspects of their lives. Finally, by welcoming diversity into our classroom we are incorporating students' personal and cultural strengths into teaching and learning which provide students with agency and ownership of classroom tasks.