When I began reading “Multiculturalism in School Curriculum”, I did not agree with it at all. The author began with, “I disagree with the many teachers today who are pushing the notion that in order to teach multiculturalism in school curriculum, teachers must actually move away from the traditional curriculum” (Waxler, A. (n.d.). This did not sit well with me because the traditional curriculum does not teach multiculturalism. The definition of curriculum is “a course of study in one subject at a school or college”(curriculum). In order to teach multiculturalism the curriculum will have to be changed. With our country becoming more and more multicultural, it is only appropriate that the curriculum incorporate the contributions all cultures have made. When I was in grade and high school, there was a major focus on the contributions Anglo-American made to our country. Yes there was a mention of the contributions African Americans made, but it was greatly minimized. It was mentioned during a part of one lesson. I learned of the many inventions and contributions African Americans made that we enjoy today through my own personal research. Every student doesn’t have the ability or desire to learn outside the classroom so this should be included in each school’s curriculum.
The author also said it’s fine to include different cultures in teaching, but to pull out individual cultures is “intellectual segregation” (Waxler, A. (n.d.). I can see the author’s point, but he fails to mention or possibly understand the reason and history of Black History Month. Dr. Carter G. Woodson noticed a lack of the black population represented in textbooks and began to write about it. He established Negro History Week in 1926, which became Black History Month in 1976 (History of black history month). Information like this is very vital in education. If the author knew the history and meaning of Black History Month he might view it differently. I really like how the author teaches World War II. He provides information to the students and divides them into separate groups with each group focusing on a particular group of Americans. He allows the students to develop their own impression of what happened. This is a great way to approach this and if my history teachers had taught history this way, I probably would have enjoyed history and retained more information. History was not taught to me in this manner. It was recitation and memorization of dates and dead people that I could not relate to so I had a strong dislike for history. After reading the method in which he teaches history, I understand why he feels curriculum doesn't have to be changed in order to teach multiculturalism. The truth is all teachers do not teach with multiculturalism in mind and in order to include it for all students the curriculum must be changed.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Toward A Centrist Curriculum: Two Kinds of Multiculturalism in Elementary School”. The Core Knowledge Foundation is an organization that believes students should be taught basic functions and share common points of reference that will enable further learning. This shared knowledge should take up only 50% of classroom time (Hirsch, Jr, E.D.). There is a belief this shared knowledge should be much more multicultural. I agree there should be some core fundamental things that all students should be taught. The article goes on to explain there are two types of multiculturalism, “cosmopolitanism” and “ethnic loyalism” (Hirsch, Jr, E.D.).
Cosmopolitanism is being a citizen of the world. In this way of thinking “ethnicity is not one’s essence, but an accident of history”
(Hirsch, Jr, E.D.). Ethnic loyalism is the belief that acclimating to a larger cosmopolitan culture is losing one’s identity. In contrast to cosmopolitanism, “the very idea of ethnicity defines the essence of a person” (Hirsch, Jr, E.D.). I see now, but I didn’t know there are two kinds of multiculturalism. I would consider myself to have what the author explains as “dual citizenship”. I’m a part of my particular ethnos and the larger cosmopolis. In other words, I’m apart of and identity with my culture, also consider myself a citizen of the world. The article shifts from the intellectual history of multiculturalism to its place in education. I completely agree with this statement regarding the unfairness in schools, “we adults have failed to set clear knowledge-goals for each grade of elementary school.” (Hirsch, Jr, E.D.). When I think back on my elementary education, I can think of one grade where I knew I was going to learn a particular skill. I knew in the third grade I would learn the multiplication table and how to write in cursive. Other than that, I really didn’t know what was expected of me prior to entering the grade. This is a very valid point made. In the younger grades, especially kindergarten thorough second students probably will not completely understand if the expectations were explained to them, but I’m certain the older student would understand. Even if the students don’t understand it’s important that parents and guardians know what to expect so they can help their child succeed. This understanding, I believe, will result in some students performing better. To further support this thinking the article says “ The obvious antidote to the thinness and incoherence of American early education is for us adults to reach agreement, as is done in other countries, on a core of content for each grade of elementary school” (Hirsch, Jr, E.D.). In order for the education system to improve all educators need to be on the same page figuratively and literally. The Core Knowledge Foundation came up with the Core Knowledge Sequence that includes the three characteristics of an ideal multicultural curriculum. The characteristics are “it encourages knowledge of and sympathy towards the diverse cultures of the world, it fosters respect for every child’s home culture as well as for the cosmopolitan school-based culture, and it gives all children competence in the current system of language and allusion that is dominant in the nations economic and intellectual discourse. The civil rights movement is what led to the idea of multiculturalism in education. This affects the curriculum for history and literature would have to change in order for this to occur (Hirsch, Jr, E.D.). This is fantastic and I completely agree with it. The Core Knowledge Foundation created a specialized core curriculum for the early grades called the Core Knowledge Sequence. The plan is for the Core Knowledge Sequence “to constitute about 50% of a school’s curriculum, thereby allowing for local variation, including integration with more ethnically-centered curricula” (Hirsch, Jr, E.D.). This is a brilliant idea, because all students will have the same basic knowledge, but the schools have flexibility to adapt to the cultures of the students attending the school. The quote that impacted me the most is “It will do black American children little good to learn a lot about their African and African-American past if they still cannot read and write effectively, do not understand natural science, and cannot solve basic mathematical problems” (Hirsch, Jr, E.D.). This really made perfect sense to me. It appears that some are so focused on changing the curriculum to be multicultural, that the main reason for education is lost. I believe multiculturalism is needed in education, but as the article points out students need to know fundamental information and then incorporate multiculturalism. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article.
The final article is “Organizers See “New Civil Rights Movement” in Immigration Protests”. After reading the title, I immediately thought I would read this article and be frustrated. My frustration comes from the way the government handles immigrants. The United States is a country of immigrants, so I am not against immigration. I’m not a supporter of letting illegal immigrants stay without going through the proper procedures to become legalized. The article tells of a three week nationwide protest in March of 2006 hoping to convince the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass a more immigrant friendly Bill (Kyriakou, N (March 29, 2006). The Bill protesters are trying to change is the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. The House of Representatives passed this bill in December of 2006. Here is an explanation of the legislation,
“Would increase penalties for violating immigration laws, make some civil violations of immigration law into criminal offenses, step up enforcement of immigration law and expand the list of violations that render a non-citizen deportable. Unauthorized entry and presence in the United States, currently civil violations, would become felony crimes, punishable by more than a year in jail. It would also become a felony for anyone to provide any type of assistance to an undocumented immigrant. The bill imposes mandatory minimum sentences for immigrants convicted of re-entering the country after deportation, requires mandatory detention of undocumented immigrants for an indefinite period of time, and increases the expedited removal of immigrants without judicial review. Mandatory employer verification of immigration status of every employee in the country – including U.S. citizens – would be required after six years. The bill also increases enforcement along the United States border and provides for increased use of military surveillance equipment.
I am in complete support of this bill because the immigration policies in the United States need to be stepped up. We have been far too lenient in allowing illegal immigrants to stay. The event that comes to mind are the horrific events of 911. Although it is nearly impossible to keep track of every single illegal immigrant, if laws such as this were passed, I believe the likelihood of 911 would have been vastly decreased. The article goes on to compare this protest to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. I do not see the correlation at all. The civil rights movement involved legal American citizens protesting to make end segregation legislation.African-Americans who were already living in America for multiple generatons. This situation is regarding illegal immigrants being allowed to stay without proper documentation. I understand people from other countries escaping life there for the hope of a better life in American, but that is not the same as the civil rights movement. Basically it “would legalize undocumented immigrants if they pay their back taxes, learn English, and follow a number of other requirements” (Border Protection). I have no problem with immigrants wanting to payback taxes and learn English. My problem is with them arriving here illegally and gaining employment and not going through the proper procedures to legally stay in the country. What if some illegal immigrants start the process but don’t complete it? What happens to them? Are they allowed to stay because they paid some taxes, but for example didn’t learn English or follow other requirements? This is quite vague and needs to be thoroughly explained so those who arrive here know what is expected in order for them to stay here. The article mentions some consider this legislation anti-immigrant. In a way see where people could feel that way, but there is an immigration process in place and everyone should follow the law or face the penalties. Again, I am not anti-immigrants; I just want them to go through the legal way of remaining in the United States. I truly enjoyed reading and researching about all three articles.
Two kinds of multiculturalism “Children will become adults who cooperate and sustain one anther only if the school-based culture they gain makes them feel that they truly belong to the larger society”
(Hirsch, Jr, E.D.).
References
Border Protection Antiterrorism, And Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (n.d.). themiddleclass.org. Retrieved from
http://themiddleclass.org/bill/border-protection-antiterrorism-and-illegal-immigration-control-act-2005
Curriculum. Dictionary.com. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/curriculum
Hirsch, Jr. E.D. (1992). Toward a centrist curriculum: Two kinds of multiculturalism in elementary school. Retrieved from
http://teachingcontent.org/mimik/mimik_uploads/documents/4/CentCurr.pdf
History of black history month. January 30, 2006. Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2006-01-30/politics/extra.black.history.month_1_black-history-month-history-week-woodson?_s=PM:EDUCATION
Kyriakou, N (March 29, 2006). Organizers see “new civil rights movement” in immigration protests”. Retrieved from
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0329-03.htm
Waxler, A. (n.d.). Multiculturalism in school curriculum. Retrieved from
http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/articles/index.pl?page=7;read=1621
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