In today’s society, cultural diversity is important as it was many centuries ago. According to dictionary, cultural diversity is the coexistence of different culture, ethnic, race, gender in one specific unit. In order, for America to be successful, our world must be a multicultural world. This existence starts within our learning facilities where our students and children are educated. This thesis is “changing the way America, sees education through cultural diversity, has been co existing in many countries across the world. These changes begin in any learning environment; where our families, friends, children and students would learn how to appreciate different cultures and use it wisely to achieve. This thesis promoted diversity, by interacting cultures and education; the importance of cultural diversity will have a great impact on education.
Improving Education through Cultural Diversity
Education materials and resources in our classrooms have change throughout centuries. In the past students learn about the Cold War, World War I and World War II. In today’s society students are interested about what is taken place in the world today. Students’ political views were not based on what happen in 1800’s; it was concerns and views about our current war, the Afghanistan War. Students want to learn about current problems and issues around the world, that will help promote culture diversity. Increasing culture diversity promotes growth and success in many ways for the United States. Promoting this growth comes with understanding cultural diversity and its awareness. Having culture awareness helps understand the traditions and core values of other cultures (Brown, Ratcliff, 1998). The learning process involves u...
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...h this change in our learning environment American will improve the world through cultural diversity.
Works Cited
Ang, L. (2010). Critical Perspectives on Cultural Diversity in Early Childhood:
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Research and Development, v30 n1 p41-52. Retrieved from eric.ed.gov.
Banks, J. A. (2006). Cultural Diversity and Education: Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching, 5th Edition. White Plains, N. Y. Allyn & Bacon.
Brown, C. M., Ratcliff, J.L. (1998). Multiculturalism and Multicultural Curricula in the United States. Higher Education in Europe. Volume 23, Issue1, Pages 11 – 21.
Rhedding-Jones, J. (2009). Critical Multicultural Practices in Early Childhood Education. From theory to practice. New York and London: Routledge. Pp. 139- 157. Retrieved from eric.ed.gov.
The multicultural movement in education is deeply rooted, and the movement as we know it today dates back to the 1960s, when the civil rights movement was in full swing. Stemming from the Brown vs. Board of Education (1954) decision and out of the demand by ethnic groups to be included in public schools, colleges, and universities, the main thrust of the mo...
Ugbu, J., U. (1992). Understanding cultural diversity and learning. EDUC 160 Urban Education (Spring 2014, pp. 213-228)
Manning, L. & Baruth. L. (2009). Multicultural education of children and adolescents (5th Ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
When the majority of teachers in America are White, middle class women who only speak English in a country were students are starting to come from a multitude of backgrounds it is no wonder problems are arising. As more people from different cultures and religions immigrate to the United States the average classroom is losing the cultural uniformity it had in the past. Though the faces in classrooms are steadily changing many teachers have not been able to adjust as quickly to the ever growing diversity taking place. One would expect for teachers to still be able to teach students effectively whether they share a similar background or not, but in actuality cultural conflicts between teachers and students are only getting worse. Especially when
Wlodkowski, Raymond J. & Woodkowski, Raymond J. (2009). The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Diversity & Motivation: Culturally Responsive Teaching in College (2nd Ed.). San Francisco, California. Keller, John M. (2006).
The modern education system in America is building up a nation of racist within our children. Educations promotion of cultural diversity and awareness is actually creating a segregated, inconsiderate, racist culture that prides itself on being racially and ethnically diverse. This emphasis on cultural awareness is built on the idea that the only way for America to reach true diversity is if Americans understand what makes other nations and cultures different. By definition however, cultural awareness is the understanding of the differences between oneself and the people from other countries/backgrounds focusing on the difference in attitude and values. What modern education and culture promotes in cultural awareness stays from this definition
I will always use different learning styles. Also, I will not “favorite” a certain race or ethnicity. I will involve my students in creating a diverse classroom by them always questioning, “Is this fair?” “Should we judge based off of race or language?” In my classroom, my students will be challenged to do one of two tasks. The first task will be to research the different races, ethnicities, religions, language, or social class and why it is important to represent diversity or acceptance. The second task will be to research the different issues in schools when diversity was not represented in a classroom. The students will be given the resources to complete one of the following tasks each week. The resources will include books and several websites. It is important for students to understand the different cultures within the United States. By the students understanding the many different cultures could help them be more accepting and not judge a person based on their race, language, religion, or any other culture identification. Diversity in a classroom is important. Both teachers and students should value and respect the different cultures. A teacher should represent positivity towards the diversity in the classroom. Teachers are role models for their students and they should not in any shape or form not accept a student because of their race, gender, nationality, or language. In my
Manning, L.M. & Barruth, L.G. (2009). Multicultural education of children and adolescents (5th edition). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
One hundred years ago, people did not leave their hometown, much less move their families into multicultural neighborhoods filled with diverse children from all over the planet. However, that is changing. With a more globalized world, minorities are finally represented throughout the country, and diversity is becoming more important than ever. In schools, some has been done to address this drastic reduction in prejudice and increase in opportunities. While completely integrating diversity into classrooms is a challenge due to differences in cultural behavior, and misconceived notions of diversity education, there are many studies which are benefiting multiculturalism and strategies created by these programs to create a truly globalized and united world.
Diversity in classrooms can open student’s minds to all the world has to offer. At times diversity and understanding of culture, deviant experiences and perspectives can be difficult to fulfill, but with appropriate strategies and resources, it can lead students to gain a high level of respect for those unlike them, preferably from a judgmental and prejudiced view. Diversity has a broad range of spectrums. Students from all across the continent; students from political refugees, indigenous Americans, and immigrants bring their cultural and linguistic skills to American classrooms. Students not only bring their cultural and linguistic skills, but they bring their ethnicity, talents, and skills.
The cultural diversity in society, which is reflected in schools, is forcing schools not to solely rely on content-centered curriculum, but to also incorporate student-centered lesson plans based on critique and inquiry. This requires multicultural education to a dominant part of the school system, not just an extra course or unit. Further, it demands that learning itself no longer be seen as obtaining knowledge but rather, education be seen as creating knowledge. Multicultural education should be seen as affirming the diversity of students and communities, promoting the multicultural ideas of the United States, and building the knowledge and behaviors needed for students to be a positive and contributing member of society and the global community as a whole.
The world is currently undergoing a cultural change, and we live in an increasingly diverse society. This change is not only affect the people in the community but also affect the way education is viewed. Teaching diversity in the classroom and focusing multicultural activities in the programs can help improve positive social behavior in children. There is no question that the education must be prepared to embrace the diversity and to teach an increasingly diverse population of young children.
In fact, at schools there is a lot of diversity. In the classroom cultural diversity should be appreciated because they will want to learn more about themselves and their culture (Borkar). Different groups means that there will be a wide variety of topics to discuss. This benefits the students because they can learn about the many different perspectives of the world around them. They can learn different ways of thinking and n...
Garcia, E. (2002). Student cultural diversity: Understanding and meeting the challenge (3rd Ed.). New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.
In conducting her research, the author understood that she needed to describe key issues of culturally diverse students, recommend a curriculum approach to address the issues, and discuss the challenges and benefits expected. In reading Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: Issues in Education (2010), s...