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For more information about Pauline Clardy's work, review her profile.

Pauline Clardy: Diversity as a resource in the classroom

By Lauren Huffman

"I focus on differences but also on the things that bring us together. I think that we have the greatest country in the world because of our diversity, but I don't think that all teachers view diversity as a resource in the classroom. That's why I teach future educators to recognize the linguistic and cultural diversity that children bring into the classroom as the resources that they are." — assistant professor, Curriculum and Instruction and coordinator, Bilingual Education Program

(December 13, 2010) For Pauline Clardy, teaching is fun and a natural fit. Easy to say when you love what you are doing, and you are good at it.

Though not her first language, Spanish came naturally to Clardy. She loved it from the beginning of her first class in high school, and loved it so much that it became her major in college. She worked very hard throughout college to master the language, though in high school it was not her first choice. Originally, Clardy wanted to take French language, but the classes were overcrowded. She decided to take Spanish, and never looked back. "That was such a blessing for me, because it changed my life," she says.

Clardy utilized her bilingual ability and started off as a social worker. When seeing the children that she worked with in situations of despair, neglect, and abuse, it really troubled her. She knew she wanted to continue her career with Spanish, and to continue to work with children. That is when a friend suggested that she take an exam that would grant her provisional certification to be a bilingual teacher.

"Literally, I became a teacher overnight by taking that test and passing it," she recalls.

Transitioning from social worker to teacher was a huge relief for Clardy, and it enabled her to pursue her passion in another outlet. "I left the field [of social work] because I saw a different way that I could help children. But then with my social work background, it really enabled me to understand some of the social issues that students are confronted with outside of the classroom. I think that made my teaching more impactful for the children."

Being bilingual has opened up many doors for Clardy in her life. Self-admittedly, it has helped her gain nearly every job that she has held to this day. But it is her understanding of cultural and linguistic diversity that enables Clardy to teach a unique approach to the pre-service teachers who will go on into diverse schools. And as the demographics in schools today change, this type of knowledge is particularly relevant.

"With the growing numbers of culturally and linguistically diverse students in our schools, bilingual education offers teachers knowledge and a set of skills that will make them successful in any classroom."

Clardy encourages students to consider the bilingual elementary education program at Illinois State. Not only is the program distinctive in its interdisciplinary focus, but 100 percent of bilingual education majors who seek teaching positions after graduation obtain employment.

Among the perks offered for bilingual education majors is a unique opportunity to study abroad in Cuernavaca, Mexico, that Clardy has been involved in planning. "It's a language program, but it's also to teach the students about the culture, history, and politics of Mexico and why children and families immigrate to the U.S."  The program commences in Little Village, spending a week there to observe bilingual children in Chicago Public Schools. The trip continues to Cuernavaca, where students focus on issues of social justice in Mexican public schools. Additionally, students are enrolled in language classes assigned by level of proficiency.

In her classroom, Clardy makes it a priority to teach students about the political and economical situations in Mexico. She teaches her students about the needs of diverse children, and the socio-cultural needs of the children and their families. But Clardy's unique approach focuses a great deal on understanding the cultural backgrounds of the English language learners, and their reasons for coming to the United States.

Clardy describes a course on diversity that she taught to suburban Chicago school teachers. Clardy presented her experience at a meeting of the Oxford Round Tables, a reputable academic conference promoting education and the arts by means of presentation and publication of scholarly papers. "Many of the teachers expressed on the first day of class their resentment for the Mexican students who had come into their communities, but they said that they were there because they were good teachers, they were good people, and they wanted to become better teachers," she recalls.

Clardy knew that she had her work cut out for her after the first day of class, but appreciated their honesty and realized that the teachers just needed to become more informed. "They wanted to be better teachers. They wanted to be better people, but they admitted their prejudices and they felt resentful because they thought that those families had taken away jobs from them."

Clardy approached the teachers by educating them about the needs of the students, including the cognitive, academic, and linguistic needs, but really emphasized the socio-cultural part. "I would say through the activities that we did and the readings that they had, they ended up learning more about themselves and about the connections that they had with the students that they didn't even realize."

Perhaps the biggest achievement for Clardy was when she realized a change in the teachers. "I remember them coming in maybe halfway through the semester saying how ashamed they were of their comments they made on the first day, and how they had changed, how they really saw their students in a different light. They saw their needs, and they were better able to meet those needs. So that, I thought, was a real accomplishment."

She teaches her Illinois State students to embrace the differences in the classroom because many English language learners "don't really see their culture reflected in the curriculum. Teachers look at these students from a deficit perspective, like they're at risk, or they're limited English proficient. And they speak to them along those terms. The children internalize that."

By incorporating the cultures of English language learners into the curriculum and class activities, she believes that teachers will enrich the lessons for the class overall. "I want my students to be able to see them as individuals, and see whatever they bring into the classroom, whatever the language, the proficiency levels, the culture, to see all of those as assets instead of liabilities, and to know that they are to build upon those assets they bring in because you really have to connect to prior knowledge. So much of their prior knowledge is encoded in the language and the culture, and you have to make connections to their existing schema so that they can learn."

Clardy continues her unique approach to education not only in her classroom, but in her research as well. She recently co-edited a book entitled, Tedious Journeys: Autoethnography by Women of Color in Academe. She co-edited the book, wrote one chapter and co-wrote one chapter. In it, she employs a research method known as autoethnography, which is a form of autobiographical personal narrative that surveys the writer's experience of life.

Though already she has accomplished so much, it is apparent that Clardy is just getting started. She certainly has a unique perspective to offer to pre-service teachers, and a positive message that everyone can benefit from.