Multiculturalism in Schools

I really enjoyed reading Adam Waxler's article on multiculturalism in schools. So many times, we have been taught that we need to focus on including more multicultural lessons into our curriculum.  While Waxler agrees, his approach is less direct. Less direct in the sense that he does not create an entire unit, nor plan an entire month around various cultures. He infuses everyday lessons with information and assignments that include other races, genders and cultures. I think that by integrating multiculturalism this way, we are not placing it in a subject of it's own. We are not creating another subject, we are using it to enhance the ones that we already have. We should be showing our students that we should always embrace other races, genders and cultures, not just for one month, one unit, or one lesson.

When I was doing my student teaching, and planning my lessons, there were no requirements for including any type of multiculturalism into them. Only one of the teachers that I worked under encouraged including various races, genders and cultures into assignments and lessons. This made me think back to when I was in elementary, middle even high school. The only time that I can remember learning about another culture, was when I was in fourth grade and we had a 'Cultural Day'. It was one day, and we all brought in different types of food and colored flags for the corresponding country. This is the exact thing that Waxler disagrees with-and I completely understand why. We were never taught any real information about those countries, the people that lived there or their customs or traditions. The day served as no more than a party with a lot of good food. The importance of other cultures was not emphasized and therefore was lost.

I am glad that I read this article, as it has really opened my eyes about including cultures, genders and races into the curriculum. I think that it is something of continually increasing importance in our schools, and community and I want to make sure that my students are well educated about it.