Two loaded words those are: multiculturism and racism.
They kind of drop like a brick. What do you do with them??
A lot of teachers don't know what to do with these ideas, actually a lot of people don't know what to do with them either. America: The Melting Pot? yes. That's what we have been taught. And it is true today. There are any cultures, colors, backgrounds...
so many people & so many students
To address this topic it takes more than a short blog, but I want to get a few things out that I have been discussing in my eductaion classes the last few weeks.
1) Black History Month. Civil War. Rosa Parks. Slavery. The End. One Month.
It is the goal of many schools to eliminate these single minded units, the one month of the year in which students learn about black history or the one day in which we have tacos and chinese food for a class project. There are many content areas in school, and many months of a year, so shouldn't we incorporate all kinds of cultures and races and histories constantly?
2) Simple Ways to Incoporate ALL Types of Students: (without worrying about neglecting standards and having too mcuh extra work)
- Use statistics of gang activities to help teach math, so that inner city kids who know all about and struggle with gang activities in their neighborhoods can relate.
- Use woven Indian rugs to demonstrate geometry
- When forming test questions, stray from John and Mary and make up names like Yuan and Julio.
Statistics show that students who come into predominantly white classrooms feel unwelcome; they are having to live in a world and a school that does not have them at the center.
Imagination Time: Picture yourself (if you are a native born American) going to England. You speak the language, but know nothing of the culture, or how things work [[or what the heck a loo is!]] It stands to reason that if you felt equally unincluded in the classroom as you did driving down the wrong side of the road, that your performance would not be as high as if the teacher made references to the US, asked you to share things, or mentioned bits of American history.
!!However, keep in mind that you can not pick out a student in your class and ask "So what do Black people think about slavery?" Ha. "So do all white people like vanilla ice cream then?" No. This is a lesson learned quickly. An individual represents an individual, not a group!!
Think back to Remember The Titans, "Do all black girls dress so funny?" or "Are all white girls that crazy?" In fact if your not busy, watch that movie now. right now. go. I'll lend it to you. I think it is incredible. And p.s. i love the soundtrack, it gives me goosebumps. Straying. I know.
To use ideas from the book A White Teacher Talks About Race by Julie Landsman, as a white teacher, I can never know what it is like to black, asian, hispanic, or even male. Thus, not only do we need to view differences in terms of skin color and culture, but also in terms of :
Rich & Poor, Healthy & Handicapped, Old & Young, Stuffed & Starving, Sheltered & Homeless
3. As a teacher it is important to respect differences, obviously, but also to embrace them. Even though I can be considered an upper-class, white, privelaged teacher, I know also that I am naive. If I were to teach in an inner city school, it would be like Aladdin's whole new world.
Everyone has an -ism so to speak, whether sexism, racism, wealth-ism?, discrimination based on clothing, grooming, language, grammar, it is all discrimination. I will openly admit that it is difficult for me to listen to grammar that does not meet the standards of "Proper English" and feel that the speaker is as well-educated as I am. As a future teacher it is important to recognize this and overcome it. Especially if I were to be in an inner-city school were ebonics is heard daily. It would be unjust, unfair, and plain wrong for me to judge intelligence by how my students chose to speak.
4. One last point from this book... I can't find the exact quote so I shall have to paraphrase, and hopefully not butcher the effect it had when I first read it:
We should not treat foreign students, different races, and other cultures as though they have merely contributed to our "American culture" or make it sound like we value how they given us a history. In fact, they are the American culture. They are the Melting Pot. They are just as much a part of the culture as "white people." They are not just contributors. They are a part, they are necessary, they are it.
If you are one who does not believe racism is still in schools, or that you will not have to deal with any issues in your particular schools-- just take a look at this short student-shot video... Even if you do agree with the things I'm saying, it's an eye-opener anyway:
Apologies if i have said anything to offend anyone, please let me know, I am still learning and counting on you to help teach me about what is ok to say and what is not.
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