A Brief History of Multicultural Education from 1960 to Present
The United States (US) is considered a relatively “new” country when considering it in the historical context of the history of nation states. However, the idea of multicultural education (MCE) is certainly not new. Payne and Welsh (2008) posit that MCE originates from the results of struggles of humans throughout history, “from [the] Hammurabi Code to the Magna Carta, the British Bill of Rights, philosophers such as Locke and Montesquieu, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and various reform movements in different countries, such as Russia and China (Celik, 2012).” The challenges and changes in MCE, by the nature of what “culture” is considered to be, are difficult to
…show more content…
And therein lies one of the problems of MCE. There is no single, all-encompassing, everyone-agrees definition. When reading articles and books on MCE and even the history and development of the field of what is known today as “multicultural education”, each author defines the concepts to his/her meaning for each publication. For instance, “…Levinson (2009) calls multicultural education a ‘conceptual mess’ (p. 428) since different thinkers have attached various values and meanings to the concept, which are not clarified by or derived from multicultural education itself.” Readers must understand the author behind the publication and his/her position on MCE before reading the publication to understand the framework in which the information is being presented. However, there is some standardization and typically accepted tenants of multicultural education. These are generally represented by an organization that is considered to be a leading resource in the field of MCE, called the National Association of Multicultural Education, or NAME for short. NAME, understandably, views the definition of multicultural education so vital that they spend an entire page of their website devoted to defining the term. NAME recognizes the variations in definition and goals by individuals and states that, “continuing debate is healthy (http://www.nameorg.org/name_history.php).”
On page 238 in chapter 8 of Becoming a Multicultural Educator, by William A. Howe and Penelope L. Lisi, it states that, "culturally relevant education (CRE) was coined by Gloria Ladson-Billings (2009) to describe "a pedagogy that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes"". The five principles that are discussed on page 239 are used to guide teachers in the direction of having a culturally relevant classroom for their students to learn about how to participate in a democratic society. Each principle offers educators insight as to how they can use culture within their classroom and lessons they teach in order to help their students become culturally
Decaying Morals Terror swiftly invades the town of Salem in Arthur Miller’s book The Crucible as accusations and fear play with the minds of the bewildered and ignorant citizens. Because Abigail and the girls fear that they will be hung, they say what they did, which was dancing in the forest, was against their will, saying they were bewitched by others. Abigail and the girls then go on accusing almost everyone in the town. Arthur Miller reveals that fear and hysteria can destroy relationships and tear apart a society through Abigail Williams’s clever but deceitful ways of trying to avoid punishment. For example, in order to avoid punishment, Abigail and the girls accuse people in the town of bewitching them, and, in doing so, begins the
As mentioned in previous chapters the need to teach multiculturalism among young children. There are many misconceptions about multicultural teaching. For example, Bill Howe presents misconceptions about this theme and there were a few that were interesting such as, tour and detour approaches as appropriate in multicultural education. For example, Black history month is when many schools celebrate the accomplishments of African Americans. It is great to celebrate the accomplishments of the diverse population in the United States, but why celebrate it one a year. Maya Angelou once remarked that she will be glad when Black History Month is no longer necessary. When all Americans are sufficiently a part of our courses of study and daily instruction,
Multicultural education can be something that is as simple as a change in the curriculum adding new and diverse materials (2nd paragraph). As the world changes our ability to learn should grow. New things happen every day and the only way we can grow from these
Interning with the Fist Judicial District of Pennsylvania (FJD) has been a rewarding experience. I have been able to grow as an individual, personally, as well as professionally. I have improved my writing portfolio, by adding serious content and focusing on internal communications. Interning during the fall semester has been difficult at times; balancing an internship, full course load, and a job equals a lot of stress. Also, taking my capstone a semester early has added to a lot of pressure this semester. With all of my obligations, successfully managing my time has been extremely important. Now that it is the end of the semester, I am glad I took on many responsibilities this semester, because I was able to prove my hard work ethic to myself.
declaring that such a civilization is no better than primitive tribalism. We are opposed to this
One of the difficulties of accepting multiculturalists is that defining a multicultural society, or institution seems to be determined by one's perspective. A commonly held view suggests that being
I have grown up with Education being my catapult through life; I love it. I love to study children and figure out how they learn and how our educational experiences shape us as adults. Five years ago, I found myself accepting a position as a Toddler teacher in a government facility. To describe it simply, I was a fish out of water. I had experience with children, but not with children so small. This experience taught me a great deal about learning in our great world. I was amazed to witness the pure relationships between children of all races in that little toddler room. All color aside, the children seemed to embrace each other's differences and celebrate in their dedicated
With the shifting cultural texture and demographics of the United States (Banks, 2006b; Irvine, 2003), redefining multicultural education has become imperative. There are many views on the benefits and/or shortcomings of the multiculturalization of education. The question is not whether a multicultural education should be adopted but it is rather what we understand from multicultural education and how we are going to initiate such a reform within an educational system when we cannot even define ‘multicultural.’ “The awareness of one’s own assumptions, prejudices and stereotypes is a first step to be able to positively interact and learn from others. In this process
Cultural diversity, or multiculturalism, is based on the idea that cultural identities should not be discarded or ignored, but rather maintained and valued. The foundation of this belief is that every culture and race has made a substantial contribution to American history. However, many people remain opposed to the idea of multiculturalism, or cultural diversity awareness, while others often support it and yet have no clear idea of how it should be taught. The diversity of the United States is truly astounding, as many different ethnic and racial groups have contributed to the social,
and curriculum. The discussion of the historical and philosophical background of multicultural education teaches educators how race and culture influence educational policy and programs. Multicultural teaching and curriculum is also crucial for the development of equitable education for diverse students. The author asserts that multicultural education can lessen biases while also furthering democratic beliefs and practices among students. The text’s discussion of multicultural education is significant to the field of multicultural education as it demonstrates how multicultural educational practices help students become culturally literate and prepared for today’s diverse and globalized world.
During the late 1960’s, America had entered into a period of cultural definition especially with the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement. Although the term “multicultural education” had not come into play yet, the idea that the U.S needed to reexamine their efforts of educating diverse groups was emerging. During this time inequality especially among minority groups in comparison to the white dominant culture became a social issue (Banks 1999). Before the arrival of this reform multicultural education was displayed in the classroom as having minorities adapt to the predominant culture. Teachers during this time felt it would be more beneficial for minorities to adapt. However, many parents of these minorities begin to argue that the
Multicultural education is a philosophical concept built on the ideals of freedom, justice, equality, equity, and human dignity as acknowledged in various documents, such as the U.S. Declaration of Independence, constitutions of South Africa and the United States, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations. It affirms our need to prepare student for their responsibilities in an interdependent world. It recognizes the role schools can play in developing the attitudes and values
So we have learned that learning styles including gender are a big part of diversity and how as a teacher to incorporate effective learning into the classroom. Now we switch gears and think about a multicultural classroom. Multicultural refers to race, ethnicity, and culture. Race is a group of persons sharing a common publicly determined category often connected to genetic characteristics, physical looks, and heritage. Today, about one in three Americans are of color (Sadker, p. 76). Ethnicity refers to common cultural behaviors such as language, religion, and dress. Culture is a set of learned beliefs, values, symbols, and behaviors, a way of life shared by members of a society. This is a category altogether referred to as multicultural and is the common thought when diversity is said. Multicultural individuals were in the past and
Multicultural Education in the United States made its debut beginning with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s. Its intent was to become part of the cultural mainstream. The Civil Rights Movement brought to light the apparent concerns of discrimination, intimidation and inequality. During this period, pressure was placed on the Federal Government to examine their roles in the perseverance of inequalities when it came to Multicultural Education (Russell, Robert, The History of Multicultural Education, 2011). It can be compared to “Affirmative Action” where whites were asked to leave behind their own point of view and gain knowledge of the traditions of Multicultural groups (Taylor, Samuel. The Challenge of 'Multiculturalism'