Introduction

~Educators~All~of~Us~

As educators and specialists, we have all traveled on different paths to get us to the point where we have devoted our lives to working with children. We each have slightly different versions of what the benefits of the profession are, but all agree that working with children teaches us as much as we teach them. All of us desire to impact students in positive ways and in so doing, make our lives, their lives, our communities, and our world better off. The quotes below show the passion we share.  

      “I became a teacher to share my passion for learning and to foster it in others, and I   

      remained a teacher because I believe that we can be positive, powerful agents of

      social equality and justice.”

~ Seth Barnes-Smith, Graduate Assistant, k-8 Elementary and French Teacher

     “I became a teacher because I wanted to feel like I was making a difference in   

      someone’s life. I love going to work in the high-energy environment of a school.”

~ Taylor Nordby, 4th Grade Teacher

      “I became a teacher because I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I absolutely

      love working with young children and working on their social and emotional skills,

      while also creating an excitement for learning through an engaging and interesting

      curriculum and classroom environment. There isn't anything else that brings that

      feeling you get when you see a young child accomplish something they worked so

      hard on, or seeing that "lightbulb" moment when they finally understand. I feel if I

      can help children to become more empathetic and understanding of others that our

      world will be a better place for their generation and beyond.”

~ Clarke McGibben, K-8 Elementary Educator, Early Education P-3 Endorsement

     “I became a teacher because I believe that children are not the future of our society,

      but an integral part of our environments in the present. Therefore, I became a

      teacher not to invest in our future, but in the present "now" of our children, ensuring  

      that every day in my classroom will be foundation for not only the future, but today.

~ Ty Taylor, Preschool teacher

      “I aim to be a behavior specialist for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to

      better help them learn skills, to live and thrive independently, and to advocate for

      those who cannot completely speak for themselves.”

~ Morgan Bermingham

      “I became a teacher because I believe that every child is unique and special in his  

      or her own way. Each has special gifts, that when fostered and developed, make

      our communities and society a better place. After five years of teaching, I remain in

      the profession because I see a much greater impact on the lives of the students I

      work with, than simply academics.”

~ Dan Beaudin, 4th Grade Teacher   

In our work this semester, learning about Education Across Cultures, we have come to realize that despite our best intentions, we each carry a certain amount of baggage that prevents us from meeting the needs of our students. There is no such thing as a typical or standard student. We are a nation of diversity. Students and teachers alike, come from different family makeups, genders, economic levels, and racial backgrounds. Each of these factors influence the way we perceive the world and navigate our educational system. Many students come from what Spring (2010) calls a “collectivist culture”, where students “work well in groups; they are attentive to the needs and emotions of others; they are concerned with group success; and they tend to be shy and less outspoken” (p. 3). Other students come from more “individualist cultures”, where students “prefer to work alone; they goof off when working in groups; they are primarily concerned about their own feelings and not the feelings of others; and they are less modest and less likely to feel embarrassed than students from collectivist cultures” (p. 3). All of these factors create some major hurdles to the goals most teachers enter the profession with. Multicultural Education (ME) is one way teachers can overcome these challenges.

What is Multicultural Education?

Often referred to as the founder of ME, James A. Banks argues that “Multicultural education incorporates the idea that all students - regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, social class, and ethnic, racial, or cultural characteristics - should have an equal opportunity to learn in school” (Banks, 2014, p. 1). He also states that “Multicultural education, as defined and conceptualized by its major architects during the last decade, is not an ethnic- or gender-specific movement, but a movement designed to empower all students to become knowledgeable, caring, and active citizens in a deeply troubled and ethnically polarized nation and world” (pp. 9-10).

Sonia Nieto and Patty Bode (2012) argue that:

Multicultural education is a process of comprehensive school reform and basic education for all students. It challenges and rejects racism and. other forms of discrimination in schools and society and accepts and affirms the pluralism (ethnic' racial' linguistic, religious, economic, gender, and sexual orientation, among others) that students, their communities, and teachers reflect. Multicultural education permeates the school's curriculum and instructional strategies as well as the interactions among teachers, students, and families and the very way that schools conceptualize the nature of teaching and learning. Because it uses critical pedagogy as its underlying philosophy and focuses on knowledge, reflection, and action (praxis) as the basis for social change, multicultural education promotes democratic principles of social justice. (p. 42)

Nieto and Bode (2012) describe seven characteristics that help to conceptualize this definition.

In addition, Nieto and Bode argue that we “need to consider how multicultural education can be incorporated in a natural and inclusive way into curricula and instruction” (Nieto, S. & Bode, P., 2012, p. 391). This is viewed as a process and has multiple levels of entry for educators at various places in their journey to becoming multicultural in practice. The following video highlights these levels of multicultural education.

Conclusions and Rationale for this Resource

As previously highlighted, as educators we are all at different places in our journey to becoming the teachers we want to be. Through reflection and continual professional development, we can draw closer to to our ideal selves. The rest of the pages and resources on this site are dedicated to helping in this process. We have realized that becoming a multicultural educator takes time, education, and practice. We have highlighted the main research and points behind; becoming a multicultural educator; how teachers can organize and set up their classrooms; developing school environments that support teachers, students, and families; how educators and schools can utilize the community as  a resource; and the challenges that educators are sure to face in this process, along with ways to overcome these difficulties. We hope this basic guide for all educators is a valuable resource and helps each person working with children achieve their goals. The following quotes highlight how far each of us has come in such a short amount of time.

      “My biggest change of thinking was the realization that multicultural education isn't

      about teaching ‘diversity lessons’: It's the framework into which all of our lessons

      can fit. We don't teach culture, we live it, experience it, learn from it. With that

      understanding, we can learn as much from our students as they can from us.”

      “What I have taken away from what being a multicultural person means is that

      in order to become a multicultural person, you have to reflect on yourself and

      who you want to be. It is not a process that can occur all at once. It takes time

      for an individual to build a reflection of themselves, which means a community

      will take more time, energy, and support to become multicultural.”

      “I’ve learned that multicultural education helps bridge the gap between what

      happens in the classroom and what lies outside of the classroom’s door. It helps

      students relate their lives to their education. It brings meaning to learning.”

      “The biggest thing I have taken away from this course is that it's very important to

      make sure the text and materials we are providing to our students are unbiased and

      represent views from all different cultures and groups. It's important to critically

      analyze the learning materials so we don't continue to teach inaccurate and biased

      information.”

      "Up until recently, multicultural education was another lesson plan I had to design

      and attempt to integrate into an already bloated curriculum, but now I see that

      multicultural education is a method of teaching, a pedagogy."

      “I have come to see multicultural education as a means to achieving goals I

      previously had in mind for my students. I have always desired to first and foremost

      build a strong community of support in my classroom that celebrates the diversity of

      each individual. Multicultural education is a means of achieving this goal”

References

Banks, J. (2014). An Introduction to multicultural education. Boston: Pearson.

Nieto, S. & Bode, P. (2012). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education. New York:
Longman.

Spring, J. (2010). The intersection of cultures: Multicultural education in the United States and the 
global economy. New York: Routledge.