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Cultural Diversity in Schools Essay examples

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Cultural Diversity in Schools

EDCI 401 Name Here JANUARY 31,1997

Since early American history, schools, like society, have addressed cultural diversity in different ways. In the colonial days, some attempts to adjust to cultural differences were made in the New York colony, but the dominant American culture was the norm in the general public, as well as most of the schools. As America approached the nineteenth century, the need for a common culture was the basis for the educational forum. Formal public school instruction in cultural diversity was rare, and appreciation or celebration of minority or ethnic culture essentially was nonexistent in most schools. In the
1930's, the educators were in the progressive…show more content…
The answer is clear: We must (Tamura, 24-25). Students need to understand that they are participating in many different networks. They are involved in social networks, not just ethnic or racial ones; however, their cultural background and experiences may indeed have an impact upon the nature of their participation in these other networks.
Students also need to understand they are also individuals with talents, skills, strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes (Ryan, 27). A goal for all students,
American born or not, is to develop cross-cultural acceptance, to have them develop strategies to work through their own prejudices and to sustain their own dignity when they become the targets of prejudice. We as teachers must work very hard to teach children to sustain and protect our democratic way of life and to build a world culture of human beings who resolve disputes in ways that protect the rights of all (Higuchi, 70-71). The curriculum at Madison is different than any other school I have been associated with. Mr. Warren and his staff base the curriculum on the needs of the students. As I have stated in my journal, the language arts is the area of study with the biggest deficits. Math, Spelling, and Reading are the main emphasis of the curriculum. I witnessed a one science lesson with the gifted students. Madison has made great strides to improve in the area of language arts, they have improved many students'
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