One hundred years ago, people did not leave their hometown, much less move their families into multicultural neighborhoods filled with diverse children from all over the planet. However, that is changing. With a more globalized world, minorities are finally represented throughout the country, and diversity is becoming more important than ever. In schools, some has been done to address this drastic reduction in prejudice and increase in opportunities. While completely integrating diversity into classrooms is a challenge due to differences in cultural behavior, and misconceived notions of diversity education, there are many studies which are benefiting multiculturalism and strategies created by these programs to create a truly globalized and united world. Stereotypes with Professionals When interacting with people from other cultures, there are many barriers that a teacher has to cross. The first is getting a job when the culture is very different to their own. One example of this is where some cultures value individualism and self-proponents, while other cultures value group efforts and fitting in. Due to these differences, a very exceptional person, might come across as average, while an average person could make themselves seem exceptional. Without the correct impressions teachers are more likely to hire the teacher they “are more comfortable with… because she’s like us”(Guerra 2012) rather than someone similar to Ms. Garcia, an exceptional teacher who did not know the correct social behaviors during an interview. This led to the above quotation, where a committee asked the principal to reconsider his decision to hire Ms. Garcia (Guerra, 2012). After that same study, the committee who initially did not understand Ms. ... ... middle of paper ... ...Classrooms. Multicultural Education Volume 8 (number 1). http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ759639.pdf Henkin, Roxanne, & Steinmetz, Leann,.(2008) The Need for Diversity Education as Percieved by Preservice Teachers. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Volume 8 (number 1) pp. 101-109. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ854829.pdf Katz, Jennifer., & Porath, Marion.(2011) Teaching to Diversity: Creating Compassionate Learning Communities for Diverse Elementary School Students. International Journal of Special Education Volume 26 (Number 2). http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ937173.pdf Ludhra, Geeta, & Jones Deborah (2008) Conveying the “right” kind of message: Planning for the first language and culture within the primary classroom. English Teaching: Practice and Critique Volume 7 (Number 2) pp. 56-70. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ832208.pdf
Adams, Maurianne, Bell, Lee Anne, and Par Griffin. Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice: A Sourcebook. NY: Routledge, 1997.
While differentiating instruction and being able to design lessons geared towards the needs of diverse learners are currently highly prized skills for teachers, this has not always been the case. The history of education in the United States is a history of segregation. Even today, schools and curriculum are designed to meet the needs of a core group of students, which does not include students with disabilities (Hitchcock, Meyer, Rose, & Jackson, 2002). In the past, learners who were different, out of the mainstream, or did not fit into the mold to which teachers taught (were not part of the core) learned how or lost out on learning. This is not to say that teachers of the past did not care about their students, about being effective teachers, or about student learning. However, as schools are mirrors reflecting mainstream societal norms (Chartock, 2010; Delpit, 2006)—and, given that our society has not always valued diversity in people, be it due to disability, class, culture, or race—teachers in the past have largely focused their efforts where they could earn the largest return on their investment: the average student .
Richards, H., V., Brown, A., F., Forde, T., B. (2006). Addressing diversity in schools: culturally responsive pedagogy. Retreived March 30th 2014from http://www.nccrest.org/Briefs/Diversity_Brief.pdf
The. Landsman, Julie G., and Chance W. Lewis. White Teachers / Diverse Classrooms: Creating Inclusive Schools, Building on Students' Diversity, and Providing True Educational Equity. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, 2011. Print. The.
The multicultural movement in education is deeply rooted, and the movement as we know it today dates back to the 1960s, when the civil rights movement was in full swing. Stemming from the Brown vs. Board of Education (1954) decision and out of the demand by ethnic groups to be included in public schools, colleges, and universities, the main thrust of the mo...
The world is made up of many different types of people, each one having his or her cultural background. Over the years, the United States has become increasingly populated with cultural diversity. This influx has prompted school administrators to recognize the need to incorporate multicultural programs into their school environment including classroom settings, school wide activities, and curriculum as it becomes more evident that the benefits of teaching cultural diversity within the school setting will positively influence our communities, and ultimately the entire nation’s future. The purpose of this paper is to share the pros and cons of multicultural education in the classroom. Additionally, I will express my views compared to those in the reading requirements for this assignment, as well as, new knowledge obtained through the research. Finally, I will share situations where I was challenged introducing a multicultural issue during a class.
In Adams, M., Bell, L.A. & Griffin, P. (Eds). Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice: A Sourcebook. New York, NY: Routledge.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once stated, “Most…think that education should equip them with the proper instruments of exploitation so that they can forever trample over the masses. Still others think that education should furnish them with noble ends rather than means to an end.” What Dr. King was getting at in The Purpose of Education is that education holds many different values for many different people. How can we go about determining one standard value of a college education for a country so recognized for its diversity? Also, is it really true that everyone in our divergent society has an equal opportunity to attend a university? We cannot ignore the fact that the characteristics that separate us will ultimately have a profound impact on both our individual opportunities for and values of a university education.
Robinson, K., & Diaz, C. J. (2006). Diversity and Difference in Early Childhood Education: McGraw-Hill Companies,Incorporated.
Manning, L.M. & Barruth, L.G. (2009). Multicultural education of children and adolescents (5th edition). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Incorporating diversity in child development is the focus of this essay. This essay explores three articles that discuss the effects of diversity assimilation in child development. Those who are teaching diversity needs to fully understand it to aid in children's development of diversity cognition from preschool through adolescence. Reading the sources, it is evident that every child needs to learn diversity in their early year. As this greatly contributes to the physical, social, and emotional well-being of themselves and others. This paper looks at the researches of Gonzalez-Mena and Pulido-Tobiassen, Shahaeian, and the Anti-Defamation League in diversity the classroom in relation to the teacher and the children present. These articles to suggest that all diversity should
Shore, Marietta Saravia. (2011). “Diverse Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners” Chapter 2. Educating Everybody's Children: Diverse Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners. http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/107003/chapters/Diverse-Teaching-Strategies-for-Diverse-Learners.aspx
The cultural diversity in society, which is reflected in schools, is forcing schools not to solely rely on content-centered curriculum, but to also incorporate student-centered lesson plans based on critique and inquiry. This requires multicultural education to a dominant part of the school system, not just an extra course or unit. Further, it demands that learning itself no longer be seen as obtaining knowledge but rather, education be seen as creating knowledge. Multicultural education should be seen as affirming the diversity of students and communities, promoting the multicultural ideas of the United States, and building the knowledge and behaviors needed for students to be a positive and contributing member of society and the global community as a whole.
The world is currently undergoing a cultural change, and we live in an increasingly diverse society. This change is not only affect the people in the community but also affect the way education is viewed. Teaching diversity in the classroom and focusing multicultural activities in the programs can help improve positive social behavior in children. There is no question that the education must be prepared to embrace the diversity and to teach an increasingly diverse population of young children.
The concepts included in providing a more diverse, multicultural education are requiring teachers to review their own issues and prejudices while expanding their knowledge of the many cultures that make up the classroom. These efforts help the educator recognize the various individual and cultural differences of each student, as well as gain an understanding on how these differences impact the learning process. The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon individual and cultural difference research and why diverse students struggle to succeed in school. Furthermore, I will share some instructional approaches I could implement in the classroom to accommodate diverse students. Finally, I will discuss the responsibility of educators in addressing the issue of how our o...