Essay: Philosophies of Multicultural Education

As an Educator, I believe in order for me to implement my philosophies of Multicultural Education onto students, I would need to remember that each student is different, which makes them unique. Therefore, my teaching practices should be unique as well. Students cannot be categorized into a singular category. To further their education as an Educator, I believe I should have a well-developed understanding of what diversity is and the effects of diversity within the classroom, as well as an understanding of the crucial race theory, resistance theory, and the cultural difference theory.
My teaching methods will reflect the teaching method of Epistemological philosophy and its processes. Epistemology is the study of the nature and scope of knowledge and justified belief (Truncellito, D. A., 2014). It assesses the nature of knowledge and how it relates to similar notions like truth, belief, and rationale. Additionally, it addresses the way of production of knowledge, as well as skepticism about different knowledge claims (Truncellito, D. A., 2014). I believe there is enormous amount of power in hands-on learning and learning through discovery and exploration.
Diversity
Diversity’s definition means a lot more than just acknowledging a difference in individuals (Gilbertson, G. 2016). Diversity is a set of methods that involve recognizing and enjoying interdependence of humankind, cultures, as well as the environment, practicing mutual respect for experiences and qualities that are very different from our own, recognizing that diversity includes not just ways of being but also ways of knowing (Gilbertson, G. 2016), and understanding that cultural, personal and sociological discrimination creates and sustains statements for a time creating and sustaining disadvantages for many others and construction of alliances across gaps in order that we can interact to eliminate all forms of discrimination especially within the school system (Gilbertson, G. 2016).
Diversity includes knowing just how to connect solely to those qualities and requirements that are very different from our own and outside of the groups to which people belong, yet are present in different individuals as well as classes (Gilbertson, G. 2016). The types of difference aren’t always fixed but additionally can be fluid, so we respect individual rights to self-identification, and we recognize that no one culture is intrinsically superior to another. It means knowing that every person is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. It’s all about understanding one another and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each person (Gilbertson, G. 2016). This type of understanding is imperative for those within the school system. With this type of understanding, it will allow faculty members to develop a better understanding for all of their students and would hopefully grant them some insight instead of them just labeling students due to lack of understanding (Gilbertson, G. 2016). Issues with diversity arise when a concern (policies- formal, informal, internal, or external) has a different impact on the specific set (i.e., impact on male students vs. female students, black, American vs. foreign students, urban vs. rural etc.) (Gilbertson, G. 2016).
Effects of Diversity within the Classroom
Discussions about diversity primarily focus on the following kinds of marginalization: race, class, gender, and sexual orientation, and rightfully so, given the value of these types of difference. In reality, students come to the classroom with different backgrounds, sets of adventures, cultural contexts, world view, and so on (Diversity in the Classroom, 2007).
Furthermore, issues of diversity play a role in students and teachers attitudes towards the significance of the classroom and also what should occur there (Diversity in the Classroom, 2007). By way of instance, assumptions about what a normal student should know, the sources they have and their previous knowledge are very important. Teachers can make faulty assumptions about students’ abilities or assume a fixed standard of student performance. Teachers may themselves feel out of place according to their own ascribed traits (differences based on class, privilege, and so on.). Assessing and thinking through notions of difference and the way they affect the classroom allow both students and teachers to find the classroom as an inclusive location (Diversity in the Classroom, 2007).
Critical race theory
Critical race theory (CRT), is defined as the view that race, instead of being biologically grounded and natural, is socially constructed and that race, as a socially constructed concept, functions as a way to maintain the interests of the white population that assembled it (Curry, T. (2016). Based on CRT, racial inequality emerges in the societal, economic, and legal gaps in which Caucasian individuals create between “races” to keep elite Caucasian interest in labor politics and markets and as such produce the conditions that provide rise to poverty and criminality in many minority communities (Curry, T. (2016). Although the intellectual roots of this movement go back much further, the CRT movement officially organized itself in July 1989.
The initiation of the CRT motion in 1989 indicated its separation from critical legal studies. Instead of drawing theories of social organization and individual behavior from continental European thinkers such as G.W.F. Hegel and Karl Marx or psychoanalytic figures like Sigmund Freud because its theoretical predecessors, as CLS and feminist jurisprudence had completed, CRT was inspired by the American civil rights heritage through figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. (Curry, T. (2016). Being steeped in a revolutionary black idea and civic thinking, critical race theory complex theoretical understandings of the law, politics, and American sociology that concentrated on the attempts of white folks (Euro-Americans) to maintain their historical benefits over individuals of color (Curry, T. (2016).
CRT has spread beyond the confines of private studies to many other fields, especially women’s and gender studies, education, American studies, and sociology (Curry, T. (2016). CRT spin-off movements formed by Asian Americans and by Latinos also have taken hold. The Latino critical concept appeared as an organized group in 1995 and is now a forceful movement in CRT scholarship and activism (Curry, T. (2016). Despite the relatively recent appearance of CRT in academia, some scholars have found it a valuable view on race and racism in America. CRT found what lots of race scholars now take as a commonsense view. CRT scholars hold that the laws and laws in the United States are biased against people of color, and they have focused their scholarship on showing the ways that the authorized institutions support that bias (Curry, T. (2016).
Although there is still some types of segregation within the school system, it has a different face. Most of the curriculum taught within the school’s system is catered towards more middle-class students compared to working-class students, which is unfair. A lot of working-class students have reportedly lower reading and writing skills, along with larger class sizes and a substantial amount of behavioral issues within their schools. Whereas, the middle-class students have reportedly higher reading and writing skills, along with smaller class sizes and a lack of behavioral issues within their schools. The issues lie in the fact that wealthier areas are able to provide more resources, teachers, and materials for their students compared to the working class areas.
Within the classroom, I have witnessed the effects of the critical race theory. It is very unfortunate that the schools in wealthier neighborhoods are predominately populated by Caucasian students, with smaller classes and well-established teachers. Whereas, the working class neighborhoods are predominately populated by minorities, along with larger class sizes and young teachers. These schools are typically older and their supplies and technologies are out of date.
During my upbringing, I was fortunate enough to attend a school with plenty of resources and opportunities. I have also witnessed the effects of attending a less resourceful school and how the lack of resources has made their graduation rate decline greatly. I have a lot of family members who have dropped out of school due to them feeling like school was not teaching them the information they needed as well as the lack of help they have received from teachers.
Cultural Difference Theory
Based on the concept that students who are raised in various cultural settings might approach schooling and learn in different ways, the cultural difference concept stresses that it is essential for teachers to be aware of the gap between the school setting and the home atmosphere (Hemmings, C., 2006). People from different cultural traditions may get an approach to education that differs in the mainstream approach employed in American schools. For instance, in the Polynesian notion of learning, younger children are usually taught by older kids rather than by an adult. This is a really different approach to learning and one which teachers might need to think about in an American school that’s attended by Polynesian students (Hemmings, C., 2006).
A good reason for looking for and recognizing cultural differences among students is related to Piaget’s thoughts that learning entails the transfer of data from prior knowledge and experiences. To facilitate this move procedure, it’s very important to acknowledge the students’ background and to validate and integrate their prior knowledge to the process of obtaining new information (Hemmings, C., 2006). All students start school with knowledge and skills based on their home cultures.
Additionally, it includes a set of habits, etiquette, and social expectations derived from the home. If students can not relate new information for their experiences, or connect the new material to a comfortable idea, they may perceive the brand new information as irritating or difficult or may dismiss it completely, believing it to be in conflict with their already tenuous understanding of the world (Hemmings, C., 2006).
I have witnessed how the Cultural Difference Theory personally affects people. I have family from rural areas that have fallen victim to this theory. While attending school, one of my cousins felt as though everything she was being taught did not relate to her everyday life. She felt like she didn’t have a purpose at school. She felt as though learning about past presidents had nothing to do with her learning how to get a job or how to build her credit so she can get a place of her own. She felt as though the thing she was learning in school was purposeless and in the end, she decided to drop out of school her junior year and began working.
My plan to eradicate cultural differences within the classroom would involve me treating each student equally and holding each of them to the same standard. My middle-class students and my working-class students will not receive differentiated treatment solely based on class. My students will not be punished scholastically due to slang, dialects in which they use within the home and in their culture. I plan to educate my students about different words by using pictures and actual items to help my students learn the dialect. I will also make it my mission to learn the diverse cultural backgrounds my students are coming from so that I can develop an understanding of my students and their learning styles in order to develop the best curriculum for their success. This will allow my students to feel inclusive within the learning environment.
Resistance Theory
The resistance theory evaluates how teachers and students recognize and respond to cultural dominance within the classroom (Giroux, H. 1985). This is where the student’s either chooses to resist the cultural dominance within the classroom or conform to it. When students resist the cultural dominance within the classroom, it is because they want to maintain their sense of identity (Giroux, H. (1985).
Implementing Multicultural Education into the Curriculum
My plan to implement multicultural education into the classroom would first involve me getting to know my students and their different cultural backgrounds. I would first give my students an assignment, which will involve them using their creative side. I would have them create a timeline of their life and identify their milestones. This will allow me to view their past as well as see their aspirations for the future.
The next assignment would involve my students developing a tree. Resources permitting, I would allow my students to digitally design their tree using an iPad or a computer. Taking the information from their timeline and placing it on a tree. Their earliest memories would be categorized as the roots and written at the root of the tree. The trunk will represent them growing older. The branches will represent their prominent memories in which forms their identity. The leaves will represent their interest and things they are involved in such as sports or clubs.
After learning about my student’s different cultural backgrounds, we would then begin learning about multicultural perspectives such as different places around the world and how others live in different countries. For examples, do places in Australia look the same as places in Africa?
During my lesson, I would teach my students different words for “spider” in some of their classmate’s native language, such as Spanish or Mandarin or even ASL (American Sign Language). By doing so, this would allow students the opportunity to build connections amongst their fellow classmates as well as feeling a connection between what they are learning and developing a sense of identity among the topic. By doing so, students learn another language and build connections amongst their classmates. We would then discuss where spiders come from, how long they have been around, and their habitats.
The next part of the lesson would involve my students assessing the differences in how spiders are viewed in different cultures along with their habitats. My students will be required to identify whether or not spiders are protected in that culture, managed, ignored and so on. After completing their research, I will have my students report whether spiders living conditions have changed with time. The students would then create a model of spider’s habitats compared to the past and now in the present.
After determining the impact of human beings on spiders, my students would then be required to develop a plan on how to help spiders and their habitats around the world. My students will be reminded of the different cultures and how spiders are valued among various cultures. The students will be instructed to use the internet to look up the different areas of the world and view how spiders are represented there and what their habitats look like.
Following the completion of the plan to help spiders and their habitats, students will be instructed to pick a single culture and write a letter to Congress about that culture and the importance of spiders within that culture.
Evaluation of Multicultural Technique
The way I would assess the retention levels of my students from the lesson would be to have my students compare and contrast two different cultures and their depictions of spiders in various cultures. My students would be required to share the cultural importance of spiders within those societies. My students could compare the differences between the ways the cultures interact with spiders or what they are used for. For example, in India spiders are spread like confetti during weddings. In China, spiders are viewed as creatures that bring good luck and happiness.