Working In A Multicultural Classroom

Multicultural education refers to a form of education that incorporates and teaches the histories, texts, values, beliefs, and perspectives of people from different cultural backgrounds. At the classroom level, for example, teachers may modify or incorporate lessons to reflect the cultural diversity of the students in a particular class. I define multicultural education as the process that permits students to express their individuality and embrace their culture in a classroom setting. This past semester, I had the privilege of working in a multicultural classroom at Multicultural Magnet School in Bridgeport, CT. Through this, I witnessed Mrs. S apply all aspects of school practices, policies, and organization as a means to ensure the highest

These students were spread out through grades kindergarten to eight grade (Connecticut State Department of Education, 2018). The school’s ethnic make-up consisted of 56.4% of students being Hispanic/ Latino, 24.9% White, 12% African American, 4.1% Native American, and 1.7% Asian (Connecticut State Department of Education, 2018). Due to half of the students being Hispanic and Latino, the dominant language that was spoken in school was between Spanish and Portuguese (Connecticut State Department of Education, 2018). 30.9% of students qualified for free of reduced lunch, which makes up 51.1% of the district total (Connecticut State Department of Education, 2018). The ethnic makeup of the educators at MCM consisted of 64.1% being White and 5.1% being African American (Connecticut State Department of Education, 2018). I was amazed with the student population consisting of mostly Hispanic/Latino students. The fact that most of the educators were White was a significant factor that stood out to me because I thought about how the White culture celebrates holidays other than the Hispanic/Latino culture and, due to that, most teachers aren’t educated enough on their student’s

74-75). Through academic success, we as current and future teachers can enhance all student’s intellectual growth through classroom instruction and learning experiences. A way I saw Mrs. S utilize academic success in her classroom was by providing clear instructions in the morning on the smart board so the students knew what to expect for the day. She allowed a brief overview on what the day entailed, which got all of her students very intellectually excited and gave them a sense of control when it came to the lesson because they knew some of the material beforehand. I see myself as a future teacher modeling clear instruction like Mrs. S because it is more beneficial to the students as it gets them excited for the lesson. Cultural competence as explained by Ladson-Billings is the ability to help students appreciate and celebrate their cultures. This also allows for students to be more educated on other cultures. A way that Mrs. S modeled this in my classroom was around valentine’s day when they celebrated both the American and Hispanic versions of the holiday. In the U.S., Valentine’s day is a holiday that you express your love and affection for your boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife. In the Hispanic culture, Valentine’s Day is referred to by a variety of different