An Indian Father's Plea

       I think the article “An Indian Father’s Plea” by Robert Lake, is very interesting. My elementary school was not diverse at all; it was a Catholic school where we had to wear uniforms. Therefore everyone looked and dressed the same, allowing no room to express yourself, your background, or your culture. This article in a way reminds me of that, in this elementary school it seems as if there is no room for the little boy, Wind-Wolf, to express himself and his culture. He is classified as a “slow learner” when in reality he is very knowledgeable, but not about the type of things that are taught in our school systems today. He knows many different Indian languages, has experienced many different types of healing ceremonies and has been taught different types of religion. These are things that are important for people of the Indian culture to be aware of, while it is necessary to learn the standard math, reading, writing, and science that is taught is school, it is also important to allow students to stay true to their culture. It is eye-opening that the little boy, Wind-Wolf, wants to cut his hair to fit in with the other children, and no longer wants to be a part of the ceremonies because he doesn’t want the other children at school to “judge him”.

        The way the teacher views Wind-Wolf is upsetting; the teacher tries to find a different way to say his name because he doesn’t find Wind-Wolf appropriate. Every child is different and has different interests regardless of where they come from. Instead of the teacher making Wind-Wolf feel bad about himself that he does not know all the basic things the other children know, he should try and incorporate the things Wind-Wolf does know, to make him feel like he does fit in and is smart. For example in the article it stated that he knows a lot about birds, the teacher could take this into consideration during a science class and have Wind-Wolf help explain the different kinds of birds. I feel that a teacher should be aware of this and know that diversity is such a large aspect of our society. It is very common that a child will have a different background or different beliefs and it is the teacher’s responsibility to make sure the child is comfortable in a classroom environment because they may have never experienced anything like it before. There are many resources and tips online that can help teachers if they feel like they are having trouble creating an equal learning opportunity for the students. Here is an example of an online resource, it gives eight examples of how a teacher can create a lesson plan that allows for diversity: http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/activities/choosing.html