I wanted to post this as a reply, but also wanted some replies to it so I posted this as a new thread as well.

We as future educators from Appalachian State University need sessions like we had on Thursday nights. This campus does not have a lot of diversity so the chances that diversity will happen in the classroom is very slim. I enjoyed Melvin and Trece's comments and were very happy they took time out of their lives to come and talk with us.
Now, as educators we do need to be aware of our student's cultural and economic differences within our classrooms. Only by being open and haveing contact with individuals will we grow and learn ways to work with heterogeneous classrooms. One point that I wanted to bring up Thursday night but did not (I taught all day and just could not talk any more) was the fact that not only can a classroom not be a cookie cutter classroom with a set of rules to blanket the diversity, but our special education programs must also not be a cookie cutter attitude. Yes, there are students that need extra help, but in addition to providing read-aloud tests, or teacher notes, or seperate room testing we must also consider the child. We MUST consider their life, their culture and their feelings. It is tough, but that is what will make an efficient teacher.