Multiculturalism

The result of multicultural education is social change. By transforming yourself, schools, schooling and society, social change can occur. I understand as a future educator, that I have to come to terms with how I was socialized and my biases. If I want to become a good educator I would also have to keep my biases in check and be in constant reminder of them as well. I also would need to make learning active, interactive and relevant for my students as well. According to Groski (2010), there must be a student-centered pedagogy. Traditional teaching approaches must be deconstructed in order to examine how they contribute to and support institutionalized oppression. (Groski 2010)

There is also another side of multiculturalism that I do not totally agree with. According to Paul Treanor, he made the point that a multicultural society oppresses migrants and is a way for conservatives to have political power. (http://web.inter.nl.net/users/Paul.Treanor/multicult.html) 

I can see how some politicians could use this as a means of gaining power, but in my opinion the essence of multiculturalism is the awareness of every culture, not just the dominant one. Although in this country, history was not considered "multicultural" in the past.

Also according to Taylor, (http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v12/v12p159_Taylor.html), history in this country was fine as long as it was depicting the dominant group in a positive light meanwhile leaving the voices of other minorities in the dark.  I can remember from elementary and middle school, where the only time African-Americans were discussed was during African-American history month. If I did not have the supplement of my parents teaching me about different cultures and how they contributed to our country, I would not have known any other way. In high school, I was given the opportunity to get a better view of American history because I was enrolled in a honors course. I can remember my friends who did not take that honors course telling me how their history class was basically a repeat from middle school and how they did not learning anything new. In spite of the increase workload I was thankful to actually learn new things in that class. 

The Pithissippi Burning article was basically centered around a white nationalism and how white nationalists see multiculturalism as an end to their culture. I think that it is not the end, but that it is just an addition to our culture. For years our culture and even our society standards has been based on the dominant group, so it is only fair for everyone's culture to be honored in this country.

Overall, I believe that multiculturalism is an ongoing process and that the only way for social change to occur is to first acknowledge our biases in order to be respectful and aware of other cultures.

References:

Groski, Paul. April, 14, 2010. The Challenge of Defining "Multicultural Education". Retrieved February 27, 2012 from http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/initial.html

Taylor, Samuel. The Challenge of Multiculturalism in how Americans view the past and future. Retrieved February 27, 2012 from http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v12/v12p159_Taylor.html

Tobia, P.J. February 23, 2009. Pithissippi Burning: Race, White Nationalism, and American Culture. Retrieved February 27, 2012 from http://www.nashvillescene.com/pitw/archives/2009/02/23/pithissipi-burning-white-nationalism-and-american-culture.html

Treanor, Paul. Why Multiculturalism is Wrong. Nation Planet. Retrieved February 27, 2012 from http://www.web/inter.nl.net/users/Paul.Treanor/multicult.html