Multiculturalism in King Drew High School Classroom

Multiculturalism in King Drew High School Classroom

AtKing Drew High School (my former high school), Latino/as make up most of the population attending. It is located in Los Angeles, CA, where ninth-twelfth grade students are expected to take many core classes, some including History, English and Biology. These core classes intersect at a specific time and in a specific context in these students’ education in order to broaden their knowledge of these subjects, as well as the world as a whole. While all of these classes expose students to broaden their language skills, critical skills, etc., do teacher take on the full opportunity to educate their student with correct knowledge? By being in these classes it educates students to learn about different cultures and experiences within the classroom. But the main issue I want to talk about is the way in which language classes, but mostly classes like History, English, and even Biology does not implement a cohesive teaching of race and multiculturalism in the classroom. This then leaves the students of color confused with lack of knowledge of issues that relates to them. This issue firmly holds a big hold on me because a lot of students leave the classroom with earthier false information of lack there of. Furthermore, students continue to be naïve when learning about other races and nationalities. Together, these classes are responsible for a significant portion of students’ understanding of the world outside their classrooms, and thus have deep implications for the ways in which students conceptualize the issues that surround them. Discussions of race and nationality are especially effected by ongoing discussions within these classrooms and their assigned texts. Though race is rarely d...

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...ng and definitions of race and nationality. Because textual representations of race are not interrogated in King Drew’s classrooms, students are often silent or even complicit in these representations, and are encouraged to adopt the texts as factual and reliable ways to view the world – historically, socially, and biologically. King Drew’s curriculum produces students that have been taught to view race and nationality in an essential, hierarchical, even neocolonial context, and thus perpetuates these patterns of violence with every text, every teacher, and every student. By looking at this issue and taking action, the educational pipeline can be strengthening by having the teacher be more diverse in their learning. What I mean by this is that if Latnio/a students take advantage of getting to know the American culture, then us American should be able to do the same.