This paper explores teaching strategies to support K to 12 classroom teachers as they negotiate the ever increasingly diverse learning needs of students found in many Canadian contexts. I became interested in this topic of diversity when I was a new teacher, at an inner-city school. In this context, diversity meant students who were different in some way. Differences such as, having an exceptionality, ethnicity, speaking another language, being a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, Indigenous, or suffering trauma, pose stressful challenges to teachers. As I substitute taught in many schools, I quickly realized that there were diverse learners in every school, in every socio-economic neighborhood. The challenges posed to teachers due to diversity are significant as diversity does not only exist in inner-city schools but, in every school; therefore, this problem effects every learner and every teacher, everywhere. My assertation is that teachers feel overwhelmed and may struggle with the increased demands posed by teaching these diverse learners. I claim this because teacher burnout is at an all time high, and the diversity of students is not abating, it is increasing. These vulnerable and diverse students often get a diluted education because of these challenges. I further claim that employing the strategies described in this paper will make teaching this diversity easier for classroom teachers to manage and therefore easier for students to learn. In the practical setting of the classroom, there will be less: stress, disruption, and student failure. In the global context, once these strategies are applied, teachers will be better prepared to teach their diverse students, resulting in greater success in student learning all over the world. In closing, it is my hope that education for both teachers and students will be improved by the application of the strategies for diversity presented in this paper.
