Multicultural Education

Burnett, Gary. "Varieties of Multicultural Education: An Introduction." ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education (1994). Print.

These article states that the original purpose of a multicultural education was to assimilate minorities into the larger, mainstream population. The aim was to have minorities fit in with the white majority rather than celebrate them for their differences. Today there is still great controversy as to what a multicultural education should look like. For the most part, American public schools agree that multiculturalism should supplemented to the school’s curriculum rather than replace or retract from it. In Florida a controversial 1994 court case proclaimed that public schools could teach curriculum celebrating other cultures, as long as the overarching theme made it clear that American culture was superior. Within my own experiences at school I remember writing essay questions in elementary school entitled “Why is the American Government the greatest government in the world”. So although as Americans educators we are expected to teach our students about other cultures and being sensitive to them, we are supposed to be keeping a patriotic undertone reflecting America’s superiority.

Within my own classroom I feel that it is important to have a mulitcutlural education. Teaching in an environment with a predominately Pacific Islander student population creates a lot of space for a meaningful multicultural education. The students come into class wanting to share their culture and experiences and as an educator I should foster this pride and incorporate it into the classroom.