Appreciating diversity in Ugandan classrooms

Diversity and inclusion are concepts that have for a longtime resided at our workplaces. At their mention, one would be tempted to think along employee lines, however the same principles are as dear and critical in a classroom environment.

In a research article by Nwabueze Akachukwu on Management of Students Diversity for Academic Competitiveness in secondary schools, he notes that diversity in students may include not only members of differing races, ethnic origin, gender and race but also differing physical and learning ability.

However, some of the strategies employed in certain schools raise concern over whether we are cognizant of the fact that students are different.

Characterised by academic assemblies where the academically superior are hailed and the weak counterparts are subjected to humiliation before the entire school population. Notwithstanding corporal punishment, harassment and other forms of humiliation all in a bid to attain better marks.

 While all this is done with a good motive of encouraging better performance of both those excelling by motivating them to maintain the great performance and push those that are not performing well to better their grades, the consequences may be far from the intended.

Dr Kenneth Kalani, a psychiatrist and senior medical officer working with the Ministry of Health, says there is an increase in mental ailments among young people in the country due to multiple reasons notable of which is academic pressure on children sadly imposed by both parents and teachers.

He says: “This is due to the general misconception that success in life is directly linked to school grades.

Smartness has been reduced to academic excellence, he added while schools also strive to maintain their ranks in the papers”.

Owing to this importance attached to academic excellence, one can then understand why the pressure imposed by schools is heavy but we need to be appreciative of the fact that children have different abilities in a number of ways as Dr Kalani elaborated. “Some children are not wired to understand as fast as others but this doesn’t make them less smart”.

 He further highlights that some may, for instance, be adept at technical, social or problem solving skills and many others needed in the real world of work even when they may not be academically strong.

Therefore, it is catastrophic to label children as weak, dwarfs, dense and all else in that nomenclature basket on top of subjecting them to other forms of both physical and psychological violence in an effort to have them live up to the expectations of both their parents and teachers because it may only lower their self-esteem that is on many occasions buried with these remarks and torture which gradually produces a sense of inadequacy.”

These crude methods used in attaining academic competitiveness make children more prone to depression.

We must appreciate that depression is not only a conversation held in adult circles only that children have limited room for expression of emotions or are not even allowed to be depressed in our society because of the general assumption held that they are not dealing with as much, Dr Kalani adds.

In consideration of that, Dr Kalani recommends an individualised approach to education because we are different and we have got different genetic make-ups and learning abilities.

Also, children are going through different situations. There are those battling with death of parents and guardians and those whose resource basket is not as adequate and struggle to fit in with a host of social challenges among other problems.

Therefore, owing to these diverse backgrounds and phases children carry upon their shoulders even our approach to academic management cannot be blindly based on one fact that all poor performance is due to negligence.

An individualised approach then embraces the fact that we have distinct learning abilities and focuses on identification and building every child’s strength while supporting them through their weaknesses rather than consideration of a homogenous group and approach for that matter.

The writer is a Ugandan citizen passionate about parenting