John's Letter: Multicultural Shouldn T Be Taught In Schools

I would like to discuss multiculturalism in education; I am particularly focused on the higher education aspect, and the effect of diversity on education. In reference to the four assigned articles that discussed reasons for and against a diverse learning environment in higher education and the effect on education and american culture.

However, there are questions as to whether or not teachers possess biases that would influence their teaching methods and curriculum. Taking a class in educational diversity is only a start in addressing those biases that may have been unconsciously created. It is the writer’s sincere hope that researching and writing a paper on multicultural education will be a stepping stone toward the critical examination of biases and practices in regards to diversity in the classroom that will continue to influence the readers throughout their educational

The United States serves as a culturally rich country who opens its arms to individuals from many different ethnicities, backgrounds, and life experiences. It seeks to be the melting pot of a blended group of people, providing opportunity and equity for all. Consequently, our educational system is the cornerstone for providing equal opportunity for all persons. Therefore, as the United States continues to be immersed with individuals from various cultures, the educational system must consistently seek to assure that educational opportunities are equally distributed to our students. In order for this task to be accomplished, developing a well-defined illustration of what multicultural education is necessary.

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

In this article, Black Studies, Multiculturalism and the Future of American Education, they are seen as topics that are been discussed in an in depth view of Manning Marable. However, African American studies as it’s been mentioned are viewed as the study of the culture and traditions of blacks throughout North America, Africa, the Caribbean, Brazil and Latin America. Furthermore Manning argued that there are three related topics that are brought up when questioning what exactly makes up African American studies; first is the deliberation of Black Studies and also what the definition of “multiculturalism” which is in relation to higher education, including the social context that is among in the discussions of racial diversity and pluralism amidst American society as a whole, and the future of race and ethnicity within American society.

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'

Multicultural education began with a civil rights movements of various oppressed minority groups. It was a result of “minority response to failure of compensatory education programs launched in the 1960’s” (McCarty 1993 p. 225). Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995), Lisa Delpit (2005) and John Dewey (1897) assert that there is a minimal representation of multicultural support to students of color. The methods by which they approach the lack of support for children of color is similar and they agree that something must change for success to occur with minorities. In this essay, I will discuss the lack of representation of multicultural education within the school system and several tools to try and implement changes.

how to present the material in a way so as to offend the least amount

As discussed in our lecture, when we debated the various positions that Arthur Schlesinger took on in terms of teaching multiculturalism in American schools. He was not wholly against the teaching of multiculturalism, however, he did not advocate for teaching multiculturalism at a young age, when children are sensitive to learning about the identity of themselves and others. He believes that every culture has their own history and their own historical perspective, but he believes that in American society, there is only one way to teach multiculturalism as to make sure that Americans stay unified, and children understand their roles as Americans. Of course, by other scholars, this perspective was to be disputed. By teaching American history through one historical perspective, it can leave out and sugar coat many crucial details about other historical perspectives and overlook the details of struggles of other persons involved and their contribution to American history.

Taking in consideration the peers’ critique and instructors’ feedback, I was able to recognize that in the second example of an anecdote of my paper, I took the quote “Today, Astilla asks his kids to compare Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, and Saddam Hussein. All used violence to stay in power, several suggest. ‘They used propaganda,’ one student points out. ‘Good one!’ Astilla says approvingly” out of the context and my explanation of this quote ended up not having any relation to the quote. Thus, I chose to remove this explanation “McGray’s argument that young Americans are uninformed and misinformed about the world beyond the United States borders” that according to the instructor’s commentary and my own understanding, it seems vague and lacks connection to the quote. Instead, I decided to

     When a child opens his (or her) first puzzle and the pieces fall to the

There are many factors that play a role in the learning process for every human being. Race, religion, language, socioeconomics, gender, family structure, and disabilities can all affect the ways in which we learn. Educators must take special measures in the delivery of classroom instruction to celebrate the learning and cultural differences of each of their students. As communities and schools continue to grow in diversity, teachers are searching for effective educational programs to accommodate the various learning styles of each student while promoting acceptance of cultural differences throughout the classroom. It no longer suffices to plan educational experiences only for middle-or upper class white learners and then

Multiculturalism can be defined as the view that various cultures in a society merit equal respect and scholarly interest. America is a proud example of being a multiculturalistic society, for there is a variety of cultures and each has their own traditions and values. Because I have lived in a multiculturalistic society for nineteen years, I can say that multiculturalism has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of multiculturalism are that it is educational and  promotes tolerance, but the disadvantages are that it can act as a barrier as a result of stereotypic presumptions and can lead one to lose their individuality due to assimilation.

All people I interviewed did not receive a formal multicultural education and they learned from their interactions with people at their home, church, working places as well as from their travels. They all agreed that knowing people from diverse cultural backgrounds had enriched their life experiences. However, they all agreed that similar human experiences are shared among different races and genders. “Implicit” test results told me that I hold more personal biases than I had thought. These unchecked biases may have potentially kept us from forming fair judgments toward others.

Multiculturalism is act of living all kinds of people with different kinds of religion, caste, color, race, and sex in a same society or community. There are billions of living organisms living in this planet but all are subdivided by how they behave and how they look. In this all living creatures, human beings have classified themselves as one of the most intelligent and well developed than others. As all we can say that human beings are superior to others. But there is a tradition that has been alive from thousands of year. All human beings are divided according to their culture, caste, religion, sex, and race. Although multiculturalism is a blessing, I argue that multiculturalism sometimes can be cruel and can have a bad influence of one’s own culture to other culture because of their beliefs and values.