A Multicultural Education

There is a relatively small amount of cultural diversity in the school that I teach at and the same is true of my classroom. It is not a “monoculture” as is mentioned in the book, but it isn’t far from it. I have never had any ESL kids, but there are several first generation students. Currently I have one family where the mother is Korean. In another the Mother is Mexican and the father is Egyptian by way of Mexico. I have several Native American and Polynesian students as well. With all these kids I have to make sure there is no teasing or intentional or unintentional racist comments. It is a fine line between friendly banter and demonstrating prejudice. Just pointing out that certain comments are unacceptable in my classroom, which has a no insults or put down rule, can help accomplish what Moreno calls, “prejudice reduction.” By doing this I also am able to crate a safe and caring atmosphere, one of the characteristics of effective multicultural teacher in the textbook.

Because there is so little diversity in the student body, it is essential that I use content integration with my curriculum. Moreno defines this concept as “the extent to which teachers use examples and content from a variety of cultures in their teaching.” The concept of being a world citizen is part of my school’s mission statements and it affects many aspects of how we teach.

When I make decisions about novels to read, I try to make sure minority voices are well represented. During Utah Studies the history teacher included the experiences of many of the minority ethnic groups that helped shape Utah, as well as its Pioneer heritage. We did a whole unit on the Topaz internment camp, read a book about a child’s experience living there, and went to Topaz to tour the actual site. This lead to long discussions about what it meant to be Japanese in America during World War II, and how discrimination affected their lives.

The Junior High students’ big trip this year is going to Kaizan, Mexico, to work at an local orphanage. This will be many students’ first out-of-country experience and we want to make it one where they are connecting to the citizens of the country instead of just being tourists. The whole high school has opportunities to go on international trips each year, including Turkey, India, and Guatemala. All these help with content integration. Moreno states, “The ultimate goal of this approach is to help students develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to function within their culture, other cultures, and the global community. “

Another way this international focus helps the students is by giving them a chance to examine knowledge construction. Because we spend a significant percentage of our curriculum talking about different cultures, the students are forced to examine their own beliefs and cultural assumptions. We ask the questions about how history is recorded and who decides what is history. The students have to ask themselves how two opposite groups may view the same historical event differently. I really like how the text states that all teachers need to “discuss issues of equity, prejudice, and bias because social issues are likely to permeate the classroom conversation.”

There is a large cultural gulf present in the school in Utah. There is a majority religious group that often forgets that the entire population doesn’t share the same beliefs. I find that teachers have to be very careful that the students who are not LDS don’t feel awkward in the classroom. I have students who are Hari Krishna and they often feel left out when their peers use Christian terminology and cultural references in the classroom. I have to be sure that these students, as well as students who are atheists, Evangelical, and Unitarian all feel equally recognized and acknowledged.