The primary purpose of this paper is to discuss how my views have changed as a learner, as well as, a teacher in relation to multicultural education, culturally responsive pedagogy, and transformative teaching. Prior to this class, I believe I was a bit ignorant to the depth of multicultural education. I understood there were different cultures; I understood there were those who were privileged and those who were marginalized; and I understood that unfortunately racism, discrimination, and marginalization still exist today. However, I did not truly understand the extent and depth of it. I was also blind to the origination of it and who/what continue to feed it to allow it to still exist. At first I thought multicultural education consisted …show more content…
“Multicultural education is fundamentally based in a critique of school knowledge that has historically been Eurocentric,” (Au, 2009, p. 250). This reform of Eurocentric classrooms is to be done through culturally responsive pedagogy and transformative teaching. Teachers may only technically need to teach students the standards of their grade level and subject, but I have learned that teachers are in a position to teach so much more. Teachers have such a large impact on students they encounter every day; it is vital that the correct knowledge, content, and skills are being taught to them to become successful citizens of society no matter what their skin color or cultural background may …show more content…
Often times I caught myself viewing myself in their shoes, trying to imagine the struggles they may face due to culture and race. I also found myself wanting to get to know my students more and begin having discussions with them to see where their thinking is at currently in relation to diversity. After reading Alejandro Segura-Mora’s article What Color Is Beautiful? (2009), I wanted to investigate this idea of beauty and self-love with my own students to see how they viewed themselves and others. I asked my students the question: If your skin could speak, what would it say? Also, if you could change your skin color, would you? If so, what color? I was both proud and fascinated by some their answers; none of them were ashamed of their own skin color, although some wanted to be pink, blue, or rainbow. Let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to be one of those colors. Overall, I think my students had a good sense of cultural equity despite their diversities. I am challenged to dig deeper and find their more internalized thoughts and feelings on local and global equity and
These concepts are easily understandable for a student audience, and the examples provided by the author encourages a deeper understanding of the expectations I have when reading the books on multicultural education. This book fits within my understanding of education because the author’s ultimate argument reinforces the understanding I have for multicultural education. However, the author has given numerous examples in his book and also explored interesting concepts in multicultural education. This has challenged my understanding of education because I have learned a lot and after reading this book my perception on education has changed because I have gained great insights about the topic. I am ready to apply the concepts and ideas I have learned in my future classroom as a
Colorblindness is a defect in the perception of colors, caused by a deficiency in specialized cells in the retina that are sensitive to different colors. The term is often used today during political discourse, often by members of some factions of liberalism, when claiming that one’s race should be irrelevant to any decision making process. It is a form of moral posturing; that one should see an individual as simply an individual, but not as part of any larger group or culture. As if this philosophy will enable us to bridge any gaps between races, this thought attempts to focus on how we are all the same, rather than how we differ. Teachers and administrators are required to complete coursework pertaining to multicultural education with the purpose of enabling them to better understand the students whom they teach. It is believed that when one understands the culture from which a student belongs, the teacher will be able to reach that student in a more effective manner. But how does this notion of “understanding” a student’s race or culture, thereby individualizing that student based on their race, reconcile with the idea of being colorblind in the classroom; that people are people and we are all the same? To properly educate students, a teacher must be allowed to recognize and understand the race, culture or ethnicity of those students.
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.
Geneva Gay (2002) combines these two concepts of sociocultural consciousness and culturally responsive teaching in Restructuring Attitudes and Beliefs. Gay refers to culturally responsive teaching as a way of addressing “universal marginality, powerlessness, and disadvantages” within the classroom by taking a critical view of the curriculum (p.1). Culturally responsive teaching starts with the teacher’s identity and an awareness of their own ideologies and theories that influence how they act as a median between the student and curriculum. Similar to understanding their own identity, the sociocultural consciousness is how the teacher views the students’ identities in their community. Gay explains these relationship by saying, ”teachers’ instructional behaviors are strongly influenced by their attitudes and beliefs about various dimensions of student diversity” (p.3). The historical context of the community allows the teacher to use their individual students’ background as resources for scaffolding entire class’s curriculum and help meet the needs of the individual students. Assuming the role of public education is to act as an equalizer, culturally responsive teaching is a means of creating
We need to be aware of the diversity in the classroom. Cultural diversity includes: bi-racial, adoptive, immigrant, gay, and step-families. It is a large majority of the students today even in my generation. Focusing on making a balanced curriculum that exposes the students to all of these different backgrounds is very important. I know that it is likely that a teacher will not be able to cater to every student, but it is important to involve each of them. There is a large percentage of students that have dropped out due to the lack of having a connection with the curriculum. It is frustrating that we are lacking progress in our schools to help these children connect when studies show that each cultural group will soon be equal in numbers. We need to form a better
As we proceed further into the 21st century, multiculturalism becomes more relevant to obtaining a truly global society. Dr. James A. Banks defines the meaning of multicultural education and its potential impact on society when it is truly integrated into American classrooms. In his lecture, Democracy, Diversity and Social Justice: Education in a Global Age, Banks (2006) defines the five dimensions of multicultural education that serve as a guide to school reform when trying to implement multicultural education (Banks 2010). The goal of multicultural education is to encourage students to value their own cultures and the diverse cultures of those around them without politicizing their differences but rather, as Banks passionately explains in his lecture, “to actualize the ideals stated in the Constitution” (2006) forming “civil, moral, and just communities.”
They suggested that teachers needed to go beyond practicing multiculturalism in the classroom, they need to embrace it as a modicum of everyday life and find ways to get involved in organizations and events that encourage social justice. The techniques suggested by the authors were realistic and easy to implement in the classroom. The authors acknowledge that though white educators will experience some difficulties in teaching cross-cultural courses, these difficulties should not discourage them from teaching multicultural content. This article should be a required reading for all multicultural courses because it can provide a sense of enlightenment for all students, regardless of their cultural backgrounds. It exposed some of the trials and tribulations that white professors’ experience, and even acknowledges some of the thoughts that I would have as a black student being taught by a white professor. I think having this article as a required reading will impact white students by making them consciously aware of their white privilege and will influence them to explore it and their racial identity. For students of other ethnic backgrounds, it will help us to better understand the perspective of white people, and teach us how to better communicate with them so that they too may understand our
Diversity in classrooms can open student’s minds to all the world has to offer. At times diversity and understanding of culture, deviant experiences and perspectives can be difficult to fulfill, but with appropriate strategies and resources, it can lead students to gain a high level of respect for those unlike them, preferably from a judgmental and prejudiced view. Diversity has a broad range of spectrums. Students from all across the continent; students from political refugees, indigenous Americans, and immigrants bring their cultural and linguistic skills to American classrooms. Students not only bring their cultural and linguistic skills, but they bring their ethnicity, talents, and skills.
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.
Lawrence, Brooker and Goodnow (2012, p. 75) cite that 44% of Australians were born in other countries or are children of parents from other countries. This signifies the diversity and scope of different cultures within Australian classrooms. For all children to have a sense of belonging and feel that they are an inclusive part of their school community, all cultures must be acknowledged, accepted, understood and supported by educators. The educator who enacts the incorporation of these four aspects of cultural inclusion within the curriculum will provide an active voice for cultural acceptance and equality. Further, the educator who understands diversity and difference within cultures is observed by her students to be role modelling a positive stance on and embracing all cultures and setting an example of cultural acceptance and equality. This practice puts her students in good stead to hold an unbiased and just view of cultural diversity within society. On the contrary, the educator who places less of an importance on cultural diversity perhaps may place this issue in the null curriculum (Blaise and Nuttall, 2011, p. 92), which in turn is a disservice to our multicultural
In James Banks article, “Multicultural Education and Curriculum Transformation,” he talks about how a new and improved curriculum needs to be done because the United States is beginning to have a large number of students of color. This is true because if someone was to walk into a classroom they will see that fifty percent or more of the classroom is filled with students of color. Banks states, “… the widening gap between the rich and the poor, and the changing characteristics of the nation's student population make it imperative that schools be reformed in ways that will help students and teachers to re-envision, rethink, and re-conceptualize America” (1995). It is shown that schools need to take the time and reconstruct the curriculum because the student body is changing. By reconstructing the curriculum to the needs of the students, it will have an enormous impact on them mentally and socially.
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...
The 21st century has seen a major change in technology which has enabled easy interaction and movement of people around the world for better opportunities in jobs, school, business and family union. On the other hand, unfortunate situations such as natural disasters caused by climate change have displaced people from their natural habitats to safer places for refuge. In addition, wars, civil conflicts and other human rights violations have also caused the migration of people to other countries for security purposes (Coelho, 2012). Hence, this increase in mobility has resulted in the creation of multicultural societies, especially in European countries. Iceland is not an exception of this increased number of immigrants. Significantly, immigrant
According to David O. McKay (2013), multicultural education is constructed to prepare pupils for citizenship in a democratic society by facilitating them to take into account the needs of all individuals; it shed light on how issues of language, ethnicity, culture, religion race, abilities/disabilities, and gender are entwined with educational content and processes. A multicultural curriculum is needed to accommodate for diverse learning and teaching styles of facilitators and pupils and to expose biases, stereotypes, and policies that can restrict achievement. What is more, a multicultural curriculum is also needed to help pupils, faculty, and staff become advocates for multicultural awareness, to ensure that content is fair, accurate, and inclusive, and to prepare pupils for diverse workplaces and multicultural environments. In writing this paper, the author will describe key issues of culturally diverse students, recommend a curriculum approach to address the issues, and discuss the challenges and benefits expected. In addition, she will describe three key issues of male and female students recommend a curriculum approach to address the issues, and discuss the challenges and benefits expected. In closing, she will describe three key issues of students with disabilities, who are mainstreamed, recommend a curriculum approach to address the issues, and discuss the challenges and benefits expected.
According to Bennett (2015), “Multicultural Education is a complex approach to teaching and learning that includes the movement toward equity in schools and classrooms, the transformation of the curriculum, the process of becoming multicultural competent, and the commitment to address societal injustice” (p. 2). Teaching and learning in a multicultural system is designed around collaborative decision making, respect for all parties, and nurturing a cultural diverse society. Multicultural education recognizes and integrates cultural characteristics into the learning environment.