When discussing the issue of multiculturalism in the American school system, the opinions are as diverse as our skin colors. Due to the huge influx of immigrants from all over the world coming to America, our politicians and educators are forced to figure out a way to appropriately deal with the situation in our society and our schools. As with any issue of this capacity, there are extreme views on the subject. Some believe that our country should devise strict regulations concerning immigrants like making illegal immigration a federal offense and building a huge wall in the southern part of our country to keep people out. Other people believe that we should let anyone come to America that wants to start a new life and we can all live together as one big happy family. In the real world, people usually try to come to a happy medium, which is where my opinion comes in.
I have read some very interesting articles composed by people with very different views on how to deal with the subject of multiculturalism in the American school system. Even though their opinions are very different, they both have made quite valid points from their perspectives. The pro-immigrant groups promote equal treatment and equal rights in a country that historically has had a very white-Eurocentric view of social, political, and educational issues. On the other hand, you have anti-immigrant groups that want to impose restrictions, arrest every "illegal", and build a 700 mile wall on our border. Since both sides have children in our schools seeking a fair and appropriate education I pose the question: How do we make this work in our school system?
Finding a system of fairly teaching multiculturalism is a difficult task. We have such a variety of ethnic backgrounds that we cannot reasonably have a "month" dedicated to each and every group because that basically goes against the whole idea of multiculturalism by bringing emphasis on one particular group. Teachers are already having a difficult time trying to develop fair educational curricula to meet the rigorous standards placed on them by the No Child Left Behind act. There are some advocates of multiculturalism that are a bit extreme when it comes to implementing their ideas in a realistic setting. Mr. E.D. Hirsch, a member of the Core Knowledge Foundation has some truly inspirational ideas about how to incorporate multiculturalism in the classroom, but his "Melvillian" cosmopolitan approach was intended to take up at least 50% of the curriculum. I believe that Mr. Adam Waxler, a middle-school social studies teacher has a much more realistic approach to include a variety of cultures in his classroom teachings. For each unit of history he teaches in his class, he divides the students into groups with each group receiving information on a different group involved (ex: African-Americans, Mexicans, Asians, and even children). He then has each group research that perspective and do a presentation for the class (Waxler, 2011). This may not be a perfect way to teach multiculturalism according so some people, but I think it provides a good start by allowing traditional curricula to be taught in a multicultural manner.
My experience with multicultural education was a very positive one throughout. Having been raised on military bases, we were often surrounded with people from many parts of the world. I remember learning about other cultures on a regular basis in my classroom settings as well as having many friends of different nationalities. I don't look back and see that my schools had any type of curricula with a hidden agenda of social control or anything negative from a humanitarian perspective (if they did, I was not aware). Maybe I was very lucky to have had an educational experience free of the skewed standardizations and social prejudices that occur in many schools today. My goal as an educator is to do the best job I can teaching my subject matter, as well as demonstrating tolerance and respect for all of my students regardless of their backgrounds and ethnic origins.
References:
Hirsch, E.D. (1992). Toward a centrist curriculum: two kinds of multiculturalism in elementary school. Course Article retrieved from http://www.mtsu.edu/d2l/lms
Kiriakou, N. (2006). Organizers see 'new civil rights movement' in immigration protests. Common Dreams.org. Course Article retrieved from http://www.mtsu.edu/d2l/lms
Waxler, A. (2011). Multiculturalism in school curriculum. ESL Teacher Board Website. Course Article retrieved from http://www.mtsu.edu/d2l/lms
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