Diversity and Teaching
DIVERSITY sounds like a good thing in education. But so does uniformity. I hear lots of complaints from professors that it is hard to teach a class because the students differ so much in ability. It is easier to teach all smart students or all stupid students than a mix, which is one reason required courses are tougher to teach— they get a random sample of abilities.
I actually have never heard a professor say a class was hard to teach because the students were not diverse. The closest is perhaps years ago when I heard Arthur Miller of Harvard Law say that the class dynamics changed a lot if he had even one or two outspoken conservative students in the class. I don’t remember if he thought the change was for the better or not.