|
Teaching With Highlights Literacy Lights
 Previous Page |
2 of 5 |
Next Page 
|
Multicultural Education: An Overview (continued)
James Bank's Dimensions of Multicultural Education
Five Elements
- Content Integration
- Prejudice Reduction
- Equity Pedagogy
- Knowledge Construction
- Empowering School Culture
- And Social Structure
Content Integration
This is the most common expression of multicultural education. Teachers supply examples and information
from different ethnic and cultural groups to illustrate concepts and principles in the content areas.
The degree of integration varies quite a bit from teacher-to-teacher and school-to-school. To begin, read
the following examples, which represent a continuum. Think about which one best illustrates the way various
groups are incorporated into your curriculum. One or more may apply.
- Focusing on the African American experience during Black History month; honoring the contributions
of outstanding African Americans, such as Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, and Arthur Ashe; teaching
about the African American tradition of Kwanzaa through its food.
- Including various cultural and ethnic groups to illustrate core concepts, such as the inventions of
Native and African Americans in a thematic unit on inventions.
- Presenting a unit on the Civil War that includes the voices and perspectives of landowners and poor
whites, as well as slaves and free Blacks.
- Acknowledging the sometimes-biased representation of African American and Hispanic Americans on television,
then empowering children to make decisions and take actions toward solving the issues.
As you might guess, most teachers who attempt to "multiculturize" their curricula begin with the first
example. This is an excellent place to start because there are many resources available and teachers do not
have to address issues that my challenge difficult areas. Unfortunately, in many instances, this is also
where the integration ends. By not moving beyond this step, we as educators continue to marginalize the
same children we are hoping to welcome and include. Whatever the culture, it is imperative for us to delve
more deeply.
Make the conscious effort to include various ethnic and cultural groups within the context of core
curricula rather than as an addition throughout the year. For example, many primary classroom teachers use
snow as a core integrated theme during the winter months.
The Black Snowman by Phil Mendez would be an excellent book to include in this unit. It does a wonderful
job of addressing the struggle of a working-class family while highlighting the rich heritage of African American
people. By expanding the groups included in core curricula, we are in essence including the perspectives and
voices often silenced through our traditional curricula.
A more sophisticated degree of integration is to include multiple voices and various perspectives within the
curriculum. Reflect on your own learning about the Civil War. From whose perspective was the story told? Are
the accounts of the war taught from the same perspective in the South as in the North? Have you ever thought
about the perspectives of the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Negro Regiments (two of the most decorated)? These
voices are rarely included. As a result, the picture is not realistic. I believe this is one of the most critical
aspects of multicultural education. In one respect, it empowers children to think critically about events and issues.
In addition, it provides a more realistic view of the human experience.
Back to Meeting Objectives Main Page
New on Literacy Lights
| Previous Page |
2 of 5 |
Next Page
|
|
