Teaching in Diverse Classrooms

The best part of this chapter is the suggestion to have team teaching as a way to "include different racial identities, talents and personalities" (Brookfield, 2015, pg. 102) to connect to a broad range of students and their different abilities.

I feel very fortunate that we have teachers of different races in our department, with different backgrounds, different trades and skills in piping, and a variety of age groups. Being the only woman in the department, I think that hiring me has expanded this thinking even further.

As more and more women are entering the trades, I think it can be quite intimidating for women to only see old white men (old boys club, as we call it) teaching them the skills required to be successful. Sometimes these old boy members don't think that women belong in trades. I cannot tell you how many times I have been told this my career, as well as being completely ignored, sexually harassed, and being told the "I belong barefoot and pregnant, not on a job site".

When discussing diversity in the trades, it is so important to have a diverse group of instructors to learn from. While I was an apprentice, I found that each person brings their own set of skills to the table, and that you can learn a least one thing from each person you train with.

I believe the classroom is no different.

Every instructor has something different to offer the students. As the trades are a very diverse place for learning and working, I believe the more diverse the instructor get, the more students are going to learn.

References:

Brookfield, S.D., 2015. The Skillful Teacher

San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Myself, and 2 of my female apprentices, both of whom now have their red seal plumbing tickets.