Entry #3 Multiculturalism in Education

Wikipedia defines multiculturalism as "the acceptance of multiple ethnic cultures, for practical reasons and/or for the sake of diversity and applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations." In the articles I read, each author had their own ideas about how multiculturalism effects our American society. Samuel Taylor mentioned that by rewriting American history texts, we could get a better feel for other cultures and their identity. In the Pithissippi Burning article, the author mentioned that some white Americans do not want anything to do with any other cultures and have devised ways to avoid them. The Nation Planet article discusses the use of multiculturalism in terms of national culture. To me, multiculturalism means getting to experience ideas, beliefs, values, clothing, food, etc... brought to America from places that I will never be able to visit. It does not mean I give any less significance to my own American culture, just that I get to experience other cultures through the people who came to make America their home.

In Mary Pipher's book The Middle of Everywhere, Pipher, in great, detailed stories, expressed to her readers the enjoyment they could receive from getting to know other cultures. She refers to many refugees who did not want to leave their homeland, but had to due to violence against them and their families. Found in these saddening stories is a hope that the refugees will be assimilated into the American culture without losing the culture of their homeland. Yes, they will need to learn English if they wish to move more easily in society, and they will need to adopt an understanding of American laws, but there is no reason for them to not teach their children about their homeland and keep the culture they brought with them. Schiff states, "If school leaders are not offering the student body the opportunity to interact with the immigrant
students and to experience their culture in an authentic way, then the school itself is missing out
on the richness of immigrant histories" (Schiff, 2009). What better teachable moment do schools need than to utilize the new cultures coming into the schools. The children can teach about their history, celebrations, beliefs, customs, etc... Pipher also mentions that it is therapeutic for the refugees to talk about their homeland. It is a way to keep the traumatized centered. So not only are the children learning, but the immigrants are remembering what was good about their homeland.

I come from a predominately white county with a small minority of African-Americans, Asians, Mexicans, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, etc... I have only ever taught a handful of African-Americans and one Mexican-American. I know very little about their culture except for what they have taught me. The first year I taught Jose, the Mexican-American, I learned that his family moved with the growing seasons, and that he had attended many different schools. I figured he would be just like any other student, but he was not. He was very proud of his Mexican heritage and displayed it when he could, but he was also very American and was proud of his and his families freedoms. In contrast, many of his classmates were hesitant to stand and salute the American flag. They would say they hated coming to school and did not want to do any work. Jose would remind them that in Mexico he would have had to work all day in the fields to help support his family and not even get to go to school and that coming to school was the easy part. Jose taught us about Cinco de Mayo, the Day of the Dead, and about Mexican music and clothing. It was a joy having him in class.

The African-American students, however, did not know much more than what is taught in school about their culture. They have lost any feelings for where their ancestors came from, what they fought for, or even an understanding of what slavery was like. They pretty much approached the history of Africans just like a white student did, with indifference. No one they knew had been to Africa, been a slave, or really had a terrible struggle. Most were living in poverty, but were unwilling to do anything to get out. They were content with their position. (Please do not think I am stereotyping these students. This is how they acted and would tell me their goal was to continue living in the projects and being on Welfare, maybe working at McDonald's like their mother.) They did not see that by hard work they could move out of their situation. I wonder, has poverty become a culture of its own? These students did not see the struggles of escaping slaves and apply it to their lives now. They could not apply what they learned in history class and learn that there is a way out. So if the history books are rewritten, will it make a difference in the lives of today's students?

I would like to think that no one thinks their race is superior to another; however, that is not the case. From the beginning of time, someone has thought they were better than someone else. We do not come from a sharing culture in America. We come from a culture of protect yourself, your belongings, your family, and do not give anything to anyone because they might come back for more. There are of course exceptions to this. But to think your race is superior and others should be wiped out is a whole other way of thinking. I do not think people are born believing that if the Mexican family moves in next door, their life is in danger or some how threatened. People had to learn this behavior somewhere. Either their parents, friends, or teachers had to influence these radicals into believing they needed to move away from everyone and live in isolation. My Christian belief says they need Jesus and humility. Why are people so closed minded and cold-hearted? Maybe our society would be better off for these people to move to the deep woods, but would their way of thinking ever change?

As an educator, I am going to do my best to make everyone that enters my classroom feel welcome and wanted. I will try to include their culture in my lessons and find times to make them feel special about their heritage. I will try to learn about the places they come from and about their culture. I will make it seem important to me, so my other students will see, and maybe, it will have importance to them.

Pipher, Mary.The middle of everywhere. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc., 2002.

Schiff, Margo. (2009). Immigrant students in public schools: To what extent do school leaders recognize, promote, and utilize their cultural diversity? The Journal of Multiculturalism in Education. Retrieved September 26, 2009, from http://www.multiculturaljournal.com/

Multiculturalism. (n.d.) Wikipedia Encyclopedia online. Retrieved September, 26, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiculturalism

Religious Perspectives Entry # 2

The fight for religion in schools and the fight for schools without religion is one of the most worn out fights in America. All people want the right to believe the way they want to and for no one to question their beliefs or try to tell them there are other view points. Parents are especially touchy about this subject, as well they should be.

Education in Colonial America was, "used to teach people to read and write so they could obey the laws of God and the state" (Spring, 2008). It was thought that religion would increase the morality of the people and create "the good society" (Spring, 2008). When the founders and writers of our Constitution wrote about freedom of religion, speech, and press, I do not think they had any idea just how far that freedom would be stretched. They were living in one era and we are now living in a very different one. I believe our theory of freedom has evolved much like Darwin's theory of evolution.

I do not understand why the Theory of Evolution is suddenly thought to be a proven fact. That is what a theory is: an idea that just has not been proven absolutely true yet. There are seven definitions for the word theory found at Dictionary.com:
1.
a coherent group of general propositions used as principles of explanation for a class of phenomena: Einstein's theory of relativity.
2.
a proposed explanation whose status is still conjectural, in contrast to well-established propositions that are regarded as reporting matters of actual fact.
3.
Mathematics. a body of principles, theorems, or the like, belonging to one subject: number theory.
4.
the branch of a science or art that deals with its principles or methods, as distinguished from its practice: music theory.
5.
a particular conception or view of something to be done or of the method of doing it; a system of rules or principles.
6.
contemplation or speculation.
7.
guess or conjecture.
They all say the same thing.

The struggle between creationism and Darwinism has been boldly in the news then it goes away. Unfortunately it continues to resurface. People are afraid that one way totally disrupts the way of the other. They can both exist to certain points. Religious people can not help but see that evolution has occurred through scientific data. Scientists should be able to see that like one responder to the article stated, "If we all evolved from monkeys, there should not be any monkeys left. They should all be humans." I found this lady's response the most intelligent of all. If we evolved from monkeys, then why has this not been going on since. Once we evolved into the first two humans, did evolution decide to take a break until its next great task? I had an excellent Biology I class in college where the professor told us upfront that he would briefly cover the Theory, but that he would not state his opinion either way. I majored in a science related field for two years and never had any problems separating the Theory from my religious beliefs. God allowed for evolution in his initial plan and Darwin realized it and wrote it down. My husband in a long distance truck driver and has his own theory based on years of observing people on the highways. He says evolution is going in the opposite direction. That people are going back to being monkeys.

The article about the moment of silence is just ridiculous to me. No one is forcing these students to pray to or believe in any god. If teachers are handling this time incorrectly, they should be retaught how to conduct a moment of silence. My school has a moment of silence and says the Pledge every morning during morning announcements. There have been a couple of instances where a student would ask to leave the room and that was no problem. No one is praying out loud or bowing or waving their hands in the air shouting. Each student is free to sit quietly in their desk and think anything they want to.

I think we all have the right to decide what happens to our children at school as far as religion is concerned. I do not condone the teaching of religion of any kind in public schools. Teachers are not trained to teach religion, and there are too many different view points within each sect. I would not want someone that I have not had extensive conversations with to teach my child about religion. I plan to bring my children up in my church, however, I will not be able to stop them from questioning Christianity or any other religion. I have found through years of teaching Sunday school, that that is what children do. They question everything. But I would hope that they will see by my witness that God is the center of my life and how with that belief and hope that I am able to tackle obstacles put in my path with a different understanding than those without God. I think the people who are proclaimed atheist have had at some point in their life a bad experience that has turned them so bitter they are not willing to open themselves up to any other experiences and they do not want anyone else to either. How Sad!

In conclusion, if we want to control everything our children learn and are exposed to, there is always homeschooling and private schools.

Theory. (n.d.) Retrieved September 19, 2009 from http://dictionary.reference.com/

Historical Perspectives Entry #1 Innovators & Makers

Jay Lenno had a section on his talk show where he would ask people

on the street very simple questions that they should know the answer to.

However, the humor was in the fact that they would not know the

answer. I find this very disturbing. As hard as the Innovators and Makers

have tried to fight for our right to be educated, productive citizens, I think

there are many who have been failed, or failed themselves.

Gatto mentioned that schools are standardized products of industrialization

and the government and do not produce free thinkers. The PBS article on

E.D. Hirsch, Jr. stated that critics believe the "Back to the Basics" movement

is also producing people with knowledge of the content but no depth of

understanding. I agree to some extent with both. It seems anymore that all

I am expected to do is teach the information so the students can regurgitate

it back on a test. I am really good at doing this and have had advanced test

scores the last 3 years. So am I enabling my students to be like the Jay Lenno

"dummies"?

My teaching philosophy is to give students the tools they need to be productive
citizens. I think I have fallen into the "industrialization" role that Gatto talks
about. I do not even know I am doing it. I have rules and procedures on how

to do just about everything. What teacher does not? Are we making it so that

the students can not make logical decisions on their own about menial tasks

like where to write their name. John Perricone (2005) mentioned teachers

teach the way they were taught. I had an advanced math teacher in high

school and her favorite saying was, "Don't think about it; just do it." I can not

count how many times I have made that same statement.

On the contrary, in a professional development meeting this summer, I learned

that the new state standards for math are going to mandate higher order

thinking on upcoming standardized tests. There will be essay questions and

students will have to prove (ex. through illustrations) how they derived their

answers. At first, I thought, "How wonderful!" I also began thinking about all

the teachers that will have to be retrained to this way of teaching. How will

students react when there are no bubbles to color in? Will there be a decline

in low wage workers forcing us to send more factory jobs overseas?

Probably not. Education was founded by people standing up for their beliefs,

fighting for what is right, and demanding equality. Education tends to go in

circles, so sometimes we will have free thinkers and sometimes robots.

I think the Innovators laid the ground work and the Makers made it happen.

If the Innovators had not spoken out, fought for, and defended the importance

of education, the Makers would not have had the paved road to run on. But I

think the greatest "Innovator" was Horace Mann. He fought for the education

of teachers, longer school years, and improved schools. I am not a big

proponent of year-round schools, because I live in a rural area where

many students work in the summer with their families, but I am glad

that Mann saw the importance of education and trained teachers. He

knew that students could not learn in cold, drafty buildings, and that

they needed supplies. This is personally important to me today, because

I started out in a room with no windows or heat. As a new
teacher, I did not receive instructional supply money, and I was hired to

teach in a position I had not been trained in. So can only imagine the joy

of the 1800s teachers who were told they would be trained to do their

job, and by the way, here are some pencils.

Perricone, J. (2005). Zen the art of public school teaching. Baltimore: Publish
America.

Hello 7060ers! I'm a 7-8th SPED teacher in rural middle TN. This is the first time I've ever done anything like this. I'm sure I would like it if the computer and internet connection would cooperate. I live on a farm and raise registered black Angus cattle which are having alot of calves right now. I have a new Australian Shepherd puppy, Cookie, and a Swedish Cattle dog, Brownie, and the sweetest cat, Polly, that has ever lived. I teach Homebound after school and run the concession stand for the volleyball and basketball games. I teach GAs at my church on Wednesday nights. I have a wonderful husband (married last May) and close knit family. I enjoy being on the farm, traveling, scuba diving, movies, and reading. Well, this is a little about me. I look forward to following the rest of your blogs.