Entry #4 Multiculturalism in Curriculum

After reading the required articles about multiculturalism in curriculum, I began thinking about how this topic is handled at my school. It is much the same as is described in the Core Knowledge Foundation article and segmented like in the article by Adam Waxler. My principal encourages us to incorporate special lessons during Black History month and that is about it. I, however, have taken the study of different cultures a step further, but I do not address it on a regular basis. I try to attend to teachable moments when they arise in my classes whenever possible, but the core of my curriculum does not even attempt to include multiculturalism. My students sometimes will ask what I think about all the immigrants coming into the country, and my answer has always been, "As long as they enter legally, I don't have a problem with it." I have considered why people, especially Mexicans, would want to come to America. I imagine they want to have the same experiences I do. They want to raise their families in a safe environment, work at a safe job for a fare wage, they want the freedom to voice opinions without fear of persecution and violence against them, and they basically want more opportunities to do all these things than they would have in the country they come from. These are the beliefs I have and tell my students about.

I appreciated the article by Waxler because he expressed some ideas he had about how he incorporated multiculturalism into his lessons regularly. This will encourage me to dig deeper and find activities I can use also. I will be able to share these ideas with fellow teachers and hope that they will feel compelled to do the same.

I disagree with some of what was mentioned in the New Civil Rights Movement article. I think there should be a penalty (deportation) for those coming into America illegally. How do we keep up with the people here, maintain safety, enforce laws, etc...if people are allowed to come and go freely across our borders? We have very strict guidelines when people fly, why would we not want restrictions for every mode of entry? I agree that if people are willing to follow the rules set forth by our government, then they should be allowed to enter under certain restrictions. They should have to be educated about basic laws, driving, occupation standards, paying taxes, etc...and there should be a trial period before they are allowed to stay permanently. I do not think we should allow them to enter and then leave them to struggle with our culture with no help. Cultural brokers should be a big part of their lives. Hopefully, this would deter any need for the welfare system.

I also disagree with the Core Knowledge Foundation article when it was stated that each classroom has its own sequence of study. I do not, nor does any teacher in my school have time teach what they want to anymore. Our curriculum and time spent daily is so driven by standardized test scores that there is not any time to teach anything other than what is prescribed in the texts and by the state as necessary. Fortunately for our students, we are intelligent and thoughtful enough to be able to incorporate bits and pieces of multiculturalism into our lessons.

In conclusion, I think if we are all taught to respect everyone, no matter where they come from or what minority group they belong to, there will not be a need to squabble over multicultural issues. In my Utopian mind this is a grand idea, unfortunately it is not reality. But I will do my part to stay open-minded and have a caring heart.