Multicultural Education and School Reform

1. Multicultural Education and School Reform Group members: Keshab, Yuhua, and Carmella

2. What is the definition of Multicultural Education?

3. Multicultural Education 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, and gender, among others) that students, their communities, and teachers reflect.

4. The seven basic characteristics of multicultural education: • Multicultural education is antiracist education. • Multicultural education is basic education. • Multicultural education is important for all students. • Multicultural education is pervasive. • Multicultural education is education for social justice. • Multicultural education is a process. • Multicultural education is critical pedagogy.

5. Multicultural education is antiracist education Antiracism, indeed antidiscrimination in general, is at the very core of a multicultural perspective. • Eliminate typical stereotypes of multicultural perspective. EXAMPLE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKsz8yBdCvM&feature=related • Although the beautiful and heroic aspects of our history should be taught, so must the ugly and exclusionary.

6. Multicultural Education Is Basic Education Multicultural education must be understood as basic education. The major stumbling blocks to implement a broadly conceptualized multicultural education is the ossification of the canon, which assumes that the knowledge that is most worthwhile is already in place.

7. Static and sacred knowledgein the arts and social sciences

8. The participation of people of diverse backgrounds and social identities has nevertheless been appreciable. • Schools should help students develop multicultural literacy. • We should expect all students to be fluent in a language other than their own, aware of their literature and arts of many different peoples.

9. Multicultural Education Is Important For All Students. • The widespread misperception: multicultural education is only for students of color, or “disadvantaged” or “ at-risk” students. • Multicultural education is, by definition, inclusive. Because it is about all people, it is also for all people.

10. Multicultural Education Is Pervasive • A true multicultural approach is pervasive. It permeates everything: the school climate, physical environment, curriculum, and relationships among teachers and students and community. • Multicultural education is a philosophy, a way of looking at the world.

11. Multicultural Education Is Education For Social Justice • Developing a multicultural perspective means leaning how to think in more inclusive and expansive ways. • Multicultural education invites students and teachers to put their learning into action for social justice. • Preparing students for active membership in a democracy is also the basis of Deweyian philosophy.

12. First amendment: • The amendment prohibits the making of any law "respecting an establishment of religion", impeding the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.

13. Schools are expected to promote equality. • Ethics and the distribution of power, status, and rewards are basic societal concerns; education must address them. • Multicultural education can have a great impact in helping to turn this situation around.

14. What Multicultural Education do? • Debunks simplistic and erroneous conventional wisdom. • Dismantles policies and practices. • Develops an awareness of the influence of culture and language on learning. • Develops an awareness of the persistence of racism and discrimination in school and society. • Creates a learning environment in which students are empowered.

15. Multicultural Education: Critical Pedagogy Knowledge: • Neither neutral nor apolitical (knowledge is power) • Reflection of political ideology and world view of educational decision makers: - dismantle tracking - discontinue standardized tests - use multiple reading programs - study different literatures

16. Need of Multicultural Education - To understand the complexity of the world - To view issues from multi-perspectives (i.e. Thanksgiving). - To see the world from different ways using a critical perspective. - To develop decision-making and social action skills. - To empower the students: the basis of critical pedagogy

17. Critical Pedagogy and Multicultural Education How are they connected? - Both acknowledge the cultural and linguistic diversity. - Both reflect on multiple and contradictory perspectives to understand reality more fully

18. Critical pedagogy: - exposes and demystifies as well as demythologizes some of the truths that we take for granted and to analyze them critically and carefully. (i.e.. Birthplace of Lord Buddha, the smallest man of the world) - allows us to have faith in justice for all, equal treatment under the law, equal educational opportunity. -begins with the experience and viewpoints of students; hence multicultural.

19. “Multicultural Education is a process that goes beyond the changing demographics in a particular country. It is more effective education for a changing world.” (Nieto 83)

20. Consider the following: • Is multicultural education applicable in every educational setting? Are we encouraging students to question and openly discuss critical issues surrounding diversity and multiculturalism? II) Schwartz (1994) explains that many believe multicultural education may divide students along racial and cultural lines, rather than unite them as Americans. In this sense, are we truly preparing students to live in a multicultural society?