Chapter 5 serves as the conclusion to Milner's work, but also serves the purpose of encouraging educators to practice his theory in their own classrooms to find success in bridging opportunity gaps and dealing with cultural conflicts. In concluding, he describes six White female teacher candidates and his conversations with them in regards to diversity. He talks about how some of the teachers attended homogeneous schools which served as the source of some of their struggles in completely understanding the relevance of diversity in teaching in today's schools. Milner also described that with this mindset, the teachers need to shift their thought process from why diversity matters to what teachers can do and how they can do it. Later in the chapter, Milner states, "Some societal wisdom would suggest that the best way to address difficult issues is to ignore them--and certainly not talk about them. Such a position--to avoid using particular words or to avoid certain topics--can actually result in unexamined mind-sets and practices that can leave teachers feeling hopeless" (p. 155). In stating this, Milner talks about how these six teachers had a hard time even saying the word "race", let alone embracing diversity in their classrooms. In overcoming these difficulties, it is essential that teachers learn about the history and roots of each race to gain a better understanding on the diversity they see in their own classrooms. The views of the teachers that were studied may have been skewed due to previous views established by their families and what they were led to believe growing up. Overall, Milner wraps up his work in stating the importance of leading by example in embracing diversity in the classroom. It is essential that teachers act as a role model for students so that they are encouraged in their efforts to work in community with one another. All teacher, not just white teachers, need to be prepared and must feel entitled to take on the role of teachers for diversity.
Reading the conclusion of Milner's work really hit home for me. The White teacher candidates described in this chapter sounded a lot like myself in their background educational experiences. I attended a homogeneous elementary school and a somewhat diverse high school. These experiences have shaped my views of diversity, but I do believe that my views are more accepting than the ones presented in this chapter. I have not been closed off to understanding diversity, however reading this book has definitely been a learning experience for me. I enjoy learning about diversity and am interested in using this opportunity gap framework in my future classroom. My experiences with diversity, although they may be less than most, have encouraged me in embracing diversity rather than wrestling with it as the teacher candidates in this chapter did. In applying the ideas presented in this chapter, I believe that Milner's ideas have encouraged me in pursuing further learning in regards to diversity. I want to develop further as a teacher for diversity and focus on the what and how rather than the why.
I like what your book says about how it is important to embrace diversity in our classrooms. In my book, "We Can't Teach What We Don't Know," it talks about how we need to change our mindset in order to encourage diversity. As we do this, other people will be influenced by our example and hopefully join in embracing it in their classrooms as well. As we do this, we have to remember how important it is to let our students know that we care about each of them as an individual and that we want to learn about their cultures and traditions. Allow them to have time to talk about their cultures in front of the class. Children usually enjoy this, and the other students get to learn more about their peers. This will also help to break down the barriers between us which allows us to gain a better understanding of each person's perspective. Overall, as teachers, we need to foster environments in which our students can feel proud about their cultures and willing to learn about others.
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