Multicultural Literature Classroom Analysis

A multicultural classroom needs to provide a safe and accepting environment for successful learning, prevents prejudices and discriminations from the class, and have a strong cultural consciousness. (E.K. Garcia, 2016) To accomplish this, teachers should be integrating a diverse list of reading materials, introduce

Transgendered people in America have made many great strides since the 1990s. They have encountered violence, lack of health care, and the loss of homes, jobs, family and friends. There have been many phases of the struggle of being transgendered in America over the years. The current phase we must be in now is equal rights. There are many variations of discrimination against the transgendered community. In our society we simply do not like what we do not understand. It is easier to discriminate than to try and understand. We are all created different and we should appreciate our differences. The change must come by addressing the views of the public. There is much justification in the unequal rights of transgendered peoples. The Human

In her book “Gender Outlaw: On Men, Woman, and the Rest of us,” Kate Bornstein goes over a lot of the major issues regarding gender awareness and identity politics. She talks about the ideas of labeling ones self, understanding gender differences, how people view laws, behaviors, and the medical and scientific privilege that make transitioning challenging for a lot of people. Bornstein touches on many of the issues today that affect trans people. She includes poetry, pictures, quotes, essays, and a play to raise questions and discuss the idea of gender. This is a great book to introduce and discuss the issues that affect the lives of trans people as they navigate and explore the lines that define gender.

Gender reveal day. A blue middle is exposed by the slice of a cake. Dad perches on a ladder and lathers the nursery with the same sky-blue paint, Mom standing in the middle, rubbing her belly, “He’ll play football just like you, our little man.” So when the little man grows into a big one, will he play football because of the sports mobile turning above his crib, or because something in himself innately gravitates toward masculine activities? The mechanisms of what creates someone’s gender identity doesn’t have an easy answer. While gender is something that is self-identifiable, most people live their lives being told what it should look like or be. Scholars and scientists debate over the heaviest influences on an individual’s gender;

Therefore, we cannot assume we know all about that person. An example of this can be the language. Many times, we assume that people speak Spanish because they look Hispanic. I accept that my first thought when I heard someone said that they don’t speak Spanish is because they were ashamed to speak it. However, Melinda’s story has opened my eyes with her personal story. Perhaps some people are ashamed, but other people did not learn to speak their parents’ or grandparents’ language because they were afraid to face the same discrimination. As a future teacher, I believe the prejudices that I have must be gone. I cannot be assuming how my students and their families are based on their cultural background. Therefore, instead of having prejudices, I will learn about different cultures to become more aware and not judge

Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, Seventh Edition, by Donna M. Gollnick and Philip C. Chinn. Published by Prentice-Hall/Merrill. Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.

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,

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

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

While completing coursework at CSUMB for the Liberal Studies program, the researcher was inspired by its classes to be a Diversity and Multicultural Scholar and a Social Justice Collaborator. By evaluating their own and others’ experiences as influenced by social identities, socialization practices, and societal institutions from both historical and contemporary perspectives it helped the researcher open their eyes in how they want to be in their classroom as an educator. In the researchers LS 380: Teaching for Social Change, LS 394: Multicultural literature , and LS 398: Social Foundations of Multicultural Education classes, the researcher critically examined the value of diversity and multiculturalism which interested her in the teaching

Since I started this class, I have a learned a great deal about cultural diversity in the classroom and abroad. My perspective has changed slightly but my knowledge of this subject has improved. In my family, my father taught me about the civil rights movement and the evils of segregation in the U.S. My parents taught me to be tolerant of all humans, no matter what they look like, how they dress, or their sexual orientation. My family has always been liberal thinkers who taught me the dark history of racism and bigotry in this country. As an educator I would be accepting to all race, creeds, and religious peoples.

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

Interviewing Michal gave me a small introduction to new cultural knowledge and understandings. The interview introduced me to a very small portion of the students I may have in my classroom and see in the school. One important piece of information that I learned through interviewing Michal is, he occasionally brought up stereotypes and racism that he constantly heard and received from his elementary school till now. In James & Cherry A. Banks text Multicultural Education Issues and Perspectives, Banks discusses that school reformation should be antiracist and antibias and having an antiracist and antibias perspective is at the core of multicultural education, “many people find that multicultural education automatically takes care of racism, but that is far from reality” (James & Cherry A. Banks, p.316). Michal discussed many stereotypical statements not only said from students, but teachers as well. For example, a common stereotypical question that kids did and still do tease him about, are the typical African-American meals that they eat. When he was little many students, especially Caucasian students, would tease him about eating “KFC, watermelon, and Kool-Aid”. Although they found this as a joke, he mentioned that at a young age it made him feel uncomfortable. Many students, especially here in College joke around about these types of stereotypical thoughts, but these are the little things that may marginalize a student in the classroom.

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.

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