a) http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/tesl-ej/ej19/r6.html

This website is a review of the book Classroom Diversity: Connecting Curriculum to Students' Lives by Ellen McIntyre, Ann Rosebery & Norma González.  It was written by the TESL-EJ journal.  The book focuses on matching students’ backgrounds, not just their knowledge, to curriculum.  The authors focus on elementary and middle school grades, but this is applicable to my subject matter because learning a new language is like starting kindergarten all over again.  It encourages school-community connections and an appreciation for the cultural differences in students.

b) http://books.nap.edu/readingroom/books/earlyed/chapter1.html

This website gives a history of the role and meaning of culture in the education environment and it answers the questions:  “What roles does culture play in shaping children's earliest learning opportunities and experiences at home?” and “How do children's cultural and linguistic backgrounds affect the skills, knowledge, and expectations that they bring to school?” and “What do we know about whether and how the nature, language, or content of instruction needs to vary to assure learning and motivation for children from differing linguistic and cultural backgrounds?”

c) http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/celeb_culture/reports/diversity/diversity_ch5_class.html

This website is sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration of Children anf Families.  It cites the importance of multi-culturalism in the classroom and explains various approaches to including diversity effectively in the class.  It also provides statistics from on-site visits the administration had to several classrooms. 

d) http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin199.shtml

Interesting article discussing the state of the Hispanic culture in American education.  Gives advice for parents, teachers and schools on the current situation, the forecasted situation, and solutions to the gap in achievement of Hispanic students.  This will be useful to me since I have several Hispanic students every class cycle.

e)  http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/schools/schools005.shtml

This website was an observation of three inner city schools in New York.  I was reading through the article and came across an idea that I knew in the back of my head, but had not see anywhere in print (that I could remember), so this stood out to me:

CAN YOU SPELL R-E-S-P-E-C-T?

One of the first hints that something is different at these schools is the orderly way in which students pass from class to class. The students are nice to one another. There is no shouting, shoving, or pushing. Missing are the teasing and name-calling. Teachers are respectful to the students; students are respectful to their classmates and their teachers.

The article goes on with testimonials from teachers and students, but this concept could work for any student, any ethnicity, any ability, any gender, etc…  It is a basic form of a human need that transcends any advantage or disadvantage, and it is one that we should all remember-both teacher and student.