Benefits of Multicultural Education
Teaching is not filling up a pail, it is lighting a fire.
-William Butler Yeats
-William Butler Yeats
From the research we've done as a group we have come up with evidence for the benefits of multicultural education. Multicultural education does not only benefit students, it benefits the parents as well as the teachers. Multicultural Education is a way for schools to take a stand to challenge and reject racism while uplifting different cultures through lessons that educate students about other cultures. These are the results that we've found:
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————--
More Education = Less Stereotypes
Multicultural Education in a culturally relevant, anti-bias classroom, challenges students to to think critically without jumping to stereotypes. It promotes social skills and social action resulting in civically engaged young adults. Creating lessons through art also help communicate this message. Art education is known to aid in being a creative outlet, but art education can also help close the gap between races and social classes.
Tolerance and Acceptance
With education also comes tolerance and acceptance. It is important to and challenge and reject racism and discrimination in the classroom. This is why culturally relevant and anti bias activities are important to incorporate while teaching. When planning multicultural activities it is important to understand that the use of countries, flags and governments aren’t very useful to young children but will definitely benefit older children. A great way to teach is to break these cultures down into topics likes foods, costumes, holidays and artifacts. These are both visually appealing, interactive and also yummy.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————--
More Education = Less Stereotypes
Multicultural Education in a culturally relevant, anti-bias classroom, challenges students to to think critically without jumping to stereotypes. It promotes social skills and social action resulting in civically engaged young adults. Creating lessons through art also help communicate this message. Art education is known to aid in being a creative outlet, but art education can also help close the gap between races and social classes.
Tolerance and Acceptance
With education also comes tolerance and acceptance. It is important to and challenge and reject racism and discrimination in the classroom. This is why culturally relevant and anti bias activities are important to incorporate while teaching. When planning multicultural activities it is important to understand that the use of countries, flags and governments aren’t very useful to young children but will definitely benefit older children. A great way to teach is to break these cultures down into topics likes foods, costumes, holidays and artifacts. These are both visually appealing, interactive and also yummy.
Assimilation Without Acculturation
Unfortunately students of different cultures and ethnicities feel the need to shed their cultural identity and to fit in with the dominant culture.
"Wearing Indian clothes, eating Indian food, speaking an Indian language, all of these things made me a unique individual, but moreover, it made me a different individual. Since I was seen as different, I was hesitant to even participate in class or even talk to the other children. Fearful that they would judge me because of my background, I was mostly quiet throughout the early years of grade school. In order to lessen the daunting feeling of being an outsider, I chose to assimilate to the American lifestyle. While I built a relationship with my American peers, I subconsciously lost touch with the elders of family moreover my own heritage."
- "To Assimilate or Acculturate?", student essay from University of Maryland
By being culturally conscious educators without bias we can help students assimilate without having compromise their cultural identity. Celebrating a students culture can help keep their sense of pride and confidence.
Inclusion
Encouraging kids assimilate while keeping their culture and values intact helps them feel a sense of inclusion. A child cannot feel included if they feel they have to compromise their values and beliefs. Children by the age of two being to gain language and use social labels (Black, white etc). Threes and Fours get better at noticing differences. Minority children, by this time, have learned more about diversity than european counterparts. This is also when the question asking stage begins. They are very impressionable which makes them susceptible to believing stereotypes. Fives and Sixes begin to mature in their awareness of the world. Sevens to Nines begin to notice the culture of their family and get a sense of group membership for their own identity. This is why it is important to try to cater to all children of all backgrounds. Many teachers use books that personify animals to help all kids identify with the characters in the book. In the problem scenario a huge issue was a "curriculum presented from a purely Western (European) perspective". Many people don't realize how seeing mainly white (European) faces in books, television, positions of power etc. affect the morale and psyche of a child.
Parent Involvement. Parent Participation.
Culturally responsive education is the answer to the disconnect between teachers, students and parents due to cultural differences. Many of these differences have to do with the family system, power structure, values, social experiences, discipline, learning style and learning style. For example: if the child is a visual learner a teacher must try different ways to teach the lesson in a more visual way. Culturally responsive care and education basically requires a teacher to me educated about different cultures and able to act on his/her feet to tailor their original lesson plan to the different cultures and learning styles of each child. This does not include disrespecting a child's culture, weakening their connection to their family/home culture, making child feel rejected/misunderstood. The proper way to make children feel relevant is to be aware of their culture, respect it and be open to new perspectives. A teacher does not need to know everything about every culture to be an effective teacher. It’s all about parent teacher involvement, asking questions, encouraging different cultures in the classrooms and participating in cultural events.
References:
Patel, Jay. "To Assimilate or to Acculturate?" To Assimilate or to Acculturate? N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2015.
Wilson, Keith. "Multicultural Education." Multicultural Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2015.
York, Stacey. Roots & Wings: Affirming Culture in Early Childhood Programs. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf, 2006. Print.