This comprises more than half of the class of 30 candidates. State and national exams that have served as gate-keeping mechanisms for the profession are not used to exclude potential teacher candidates since these have been shown to be culturally and linguistically biased. Additional ways of evaluation, such as demonstrated commitment to youth, community service, and subject area knowledge are emphasized for entrance. Celebrating Diversity, Unlearning Prejudice Teachers need to reflect on their own schooling and cultural experiences in order to acknowledge and understand the perspective that they bring to the profession. In recognizing that there are multiple perspectives which must be affirmed and embraced, teachers increase their capacity for compassion and can more equitably educate all students.
Teachers frequently display a lack of awareness about people different from themselves.
They need the self understanding and the skills to be able to counteract the low self-esteem many students bring to school because of internalized oppression. A skilled facilitator, using a compassionate approach, helps students to share their cultural experiences and also to recognize the inequalities which members of the group have experienced in life due to race, class, or gender. The goal of the facilitator is to build allies among future educators, across groups, by helping them to recognize their commonalities and differences. This experiential process of self and group discovery is essential for those who will be working with diverse groups of students and their families. As candidates acquire deeper levels of understanding about their own past, present, and future realities they are better able to create a learning environment in their classrooms in which all students feel listened to, validated, and empowered as both individual and collaborative learners.