Click on image for a lesson plan on multiculturalism
Educators need to have a greater awareness of multicultural education as well as the effects of a global community because they good ole days are simply not good enough in today’s education. Parents erroneously believe that what was good enough for them in school is good enough for their children. But Jacobs (2010) expresses this is simply not possibly in the 21st century where the world is a student’s classroom. Technology has forever altered education as students can receive information instantly, chat with friends around the world, see into the homes of other cultures and all of this can happen on their cell phones.
Regarding multicultural awareness, Nieto & Bode (2008) state “the more that students are involved in resisting complete assimilation while maintaining ties to their ethnic and linguistic communities, the more successful they will be in school” (p 330). By allowing students to maintain their cultural identity, a positive self-concept is developed. Self-belief for every student is the foundation to academic achievement and success in education. Students must believe they can succeed (Malhi, 2012).
Creating an atmosphere of respect and understanding needs to be a significant goal of every educator (Morgan & Jones, 2007). This starts from the moment a teacher addresses a student for the first time by using their name. The incorrect pronunciation of the name of a student can lead to ridicule and classroom tension throughout the school year and even through the student’s academic career.
Strategies to develop positive learning environments with a diversity of students can be achieved through simple yet poignant methods such as examining family heritage, learning the origins of one’s name, initiating cooperative learning environments and involving parents, grandparents, family members as well as community members. Students can actively research their heritage through investigation, interviewing family members, internet research, library trips and through the involvement of genealogical foundations.
Click on image for a lesson plan.
In encouraging younger students to learn to pronounce names of different heritages, the names can be set to music, playing games such as a memory game or associating students’ names with shapes or colors. Focusing on family heritage has a positive influence on students of every age as they learn that their heritage is valued even if it is different from the dominant culture. Students learn to appreciate their backgrounds and how their difference contribute to the overall composition of the larger culture.
Instructors must keep in mind the purpose of multicultural education which needs to happen in a comprehensive school reform for every student and not a last minute add on. Nieto & Bode (2008) define the goals of multicultural education as:
- “tackling inequality and promoting access to an equal education”
- “raising the achievement of all students and providing them with an equitable and high-quality education”
- “giving students an apprenticeship in the opportunity to become critical and productive members of a democratic society” (p 10).
With these purposes in mind, an instructor can develop a multicultural curriculum by keeping in mind the probable diversity of their students and embedding their culture into the classroom.
One such successful application of developing cultural identity and ethnic pride is the FRESA project (Cummins, Brown & Sayers, 2007). “Project Fresa is an example of a project that provided elementary students with rich language and cultural experiences while exploring their own rural community. Two teachers from Mar Vista Elementary School in Oxnard, California, created a multimedia, cross-curricular project to help their predominantly Latino students under-stand the relationship between their own lives and the strawberry crops that surround and sustain the local community” (Stuczynski, Linik, Novick & Spracker, 2005, p 1).
By acknowledging and appreciating the students’ migrant worker heritage, the instructors created a positive learning environment. Students who were normally academically challenged soared as they demonstrated intellectual prowess and capabilities. Students were encouraged to develop their sense of ethnic pride through hands on activities to explore their community and heritage.
Education is more than content (what is taught), product (assessment) and process (how students process the information). Education is also the student factor. Teachers can prepare ahead in developing a multicultural education through the acknowledgment of students’ learning styles, abilities and interest (Thousand, Villa & Nevin, 2007). In encouraging our students to succeed, multicultural education can no longer be a last minute additive, it must be a comprehensive, embedded part of curriculum.
Sources
Cummins, J., Brown, K., & Sayers, D. (2007). Literacy, technology, and diversity: Teaching for success in changing times. San Francisco: Allyn & Bacon.
Jacobs, H. (2010). Curriculum 21: Essential education for a changing world. Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD.
Malhi, R. (2012). Self-esteem and academic achievement. Retrieved from www.tqm.com.my/article5.htm
Morgan, H. & Jones, R. (2007/2008 Winter). Classroom ideas sparklers. Childhood Education, 84(2), 94-98.
Nieto, S. & Bode, P. (2008). Affirming diversity: the sociopolitical context of multicultural education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Stuczynski, A., Linik, J., Novick, R. & Spracker, J. (2005) Community stories. Retrieved from www.readingrockets.org/article/12741
By Tracy Harrington-Atkinson
Tracy Harrington-Atkinson, mother of six, lives in the Midwest with her husband. She is a teacher, having taught elementary school to higher education, holding degrees in elementary education, a master’s in higher education and continued on to a PhD in curriculum design. She has published several titles, including Calais: The Annals of the Hidden, Lemosa: The Annals of the Hidden, Book Two, Rachel’s 8 and Securing Your Tent. She is currently working on a non-fiction text exploring the attributes of self-directed learners: The Five Characteristics of Self-directed Learners.
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