Pros and Cons of Multicultural Education Reflection Paper EDUP 520

Elizabeth Howe
1

There are both good and bad traits for enforcing a multicultural education. Maybe you teach at a small private school and there is, on occasion, one or two minority students in the classroom, or maybe you teaching in a large inner city public school where you are the minority. To employ this facet of education properly the decision lies on you, the teacher, to choose what aspects to include and what not to. It would be advantageous to the students of America if the educational system would to put their heads together and come up with an effective way of utilizing a form multicultural curriculum nationwide. As in the article, I feel that it is important to incorporate all sides of the story when teaching. Many students have mixed backgrounds, so it may be extremely interesting for a child to hear something good about a group in history that is usually portrayed as a victim or passive. On the other hand it may be good for some children to hear that their ancestors are not superior or as invincible as can be portrayed. Critics of multiculturalism basically believe that it would be the end of education. A great thought came from this chapter about bringing what you know to the classroom. Students should be bringing knowledge gained from their parents and the outside world. With that knowledge they should then assimilate their new knowledge that the teacher gives them. Having done that, the student should be able to see that there are different views. Children from varying socioeconomic classes attend public school, so with just that difference, there are many different views. I tend to agree that there should be some semblance of order to curriculum, but that doesnt mean that a certain few people should be the ones to determine what every teacher teaches. I agree with what the reading was saying on page 262, schools being obligated to

Pros and Cons of Multicultural Education Reflection Paper EDUP 520

Elizabeth Howe
2

represent the range of cultural voices-male and female, African American, Asian American, and European American-but these voices must be trained not for solo performances but to be part of a chorus.