Multicultural Education Essay, Research Paper

The Debate Over Multicultural Education in America

America has long been called “The Melting Pot” due to the fact

that it is made up of a varied mix of races, cultures, and ethnicities. As more

and more immigrants come to America searching for a better life, the

population naturally becomes more diverse. This has, in turn, spun a great

debate over multiculturalism. Some of the issues under fire are who is

benefiting from the education, and how to present the material in a way so as

to offend the least amount of people. There are many variations on these

themes as will be discussed later in this paper.

In the 1930’s several educators called for programs of cultural diversity

that encouraged ethnic and minority students to study their respective

heritages. This is not a simple feat due to the fact that there is much diversity

within individual cultures. A look at a 1990 census shows that the American

population has changed more noticeably in the last ten years than in any other

time in the twentieth century, with one out of every four Americans

identifying themselves as black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, or

American Indian (Gould 198). The number of foreign born residents also

reached an all time high of twenty million, easily passing the 1980 record of

fourteen million. Most people, from educators to philosophers, agree that an

important first step in successfully joining multiple cultures is to develop an

understanding of each others background. However, the similarities stop

there. One problem is in defining the term “multiculturalism”. When it is

looked at simply as meaning the existence of a culturally integrated society,

many people have no problems. However, when you go beyond that and try

to suggest a different way of arriving at that culturally integrated society,

Everyone seems to have a different opinion on what will work. Since

education is at the root of the problem, it might be appropriate to use an

example in that context. Although the debate at Stanford University ran much

deeper than I can hope to touch in this paper, the root of the problem was as

follows: In 1980, Stanford University came up with a program – later known

as the “Stanford-style multicultural curriculum” which aimed to familiarize

students with traditions, philosophy, literature, and history of the West. The

program consisted of 15 required books by writers such as Plato, Aristotle,

Homer, Aquinas, Marx, and Freud. By 1987, a group called the Rainbow

Coalition argued the fact that the books were all written by DWEM’s or Dead

White European Males. They felt that this type of teaching denied students

the knowledge of contributions by people of color, women, and other

oppressed groups. In 1987, the faculty voted 39 to 4 to change the

curriculum and do away with the fifteen book requirement and the term

“Western” for the study of at least one non-European culture and proper

attention to be given to the issues of race and gender (Gould 199). This

debate was very important because its publicity provided the grounds for the

argument that America is a pluralistic society and to study only one people

would not accurately portray what really makes up this country.

Proponents of multicultural education argue that it offers students a

balanced appreciation and critique of other cultures as well as our own

(Stotsky 64). While it is common sense that one could not have a true

understanding of a subject by only possessing knowledge of one side of it,

this brings up the fact that there would never be enough time in our current

school year to equally cover the contributions of each individual nationality.

This leaves teachers with two options. The first would be to lengthen the

school year, which is highly unlikely because of the political aspects of the

situation. The other choice is to modify the curriculum to only include what

the instructor (or school) feels are the most important contributions, which

again leaves them open to criticism from groups that feel they are not being

equally treated. A national standard is out of the question because of the fact

that different parts of the country contain certain concentrations of

nationalities. An example of this is the high concentration of Cubans in

Florida or Latinos in the west. Nonetheless, teachers are at the top of the

agenda when it comes to multiculturalism. They can do the most for children

during the early years of learning, when kids are most impressionable. By

engaging students in activities that follow the lines of their multicultural

curriculum, they can open up young minds while making learning fun. in one

first grade classroom, an inventive teacher used the minority students to her

advantage by making them her helpers as she taught the rest of the class some

simple Spanish words and customs. This newly acquired vocabulary formed

a common bond among the children in their early years, an appropriate time

for learning respect and understanding (Pyszkowski 154).

Another exciting idea is to put children in the setting of the culture they

are learning about. By surrounding children in the ideas and customs of other

cultures, they can better understand what it is like to be removed from our

society altogether, if only for a day. Having kids dress up in foreign clothing,

sample foods and sing songs from abroad makes educating easier on the

teacher by making it fun for the students. A simple idea that helps teachers is

to let students speak for themselves. Ask students how they feel about each

other and why. This will help dispel stereotypes that might be created in the

home. By asking questions of each other, students can get firsthand answers

about the beliefs and customs of other cultures, along with some insight as to

why people feel the way they do, something that can never be adequately

accomplished through a textbook.

Students are not the only ones who can benefit from this type of

learning. Teachers certainly will pick up on educational aspects from other

countries. If, for instance, a teacher has a minority student from a different

country every year, he or she can develop a well rounded teaching style that

would in turn, benefit all students. Teachers can also keep on top of things by

regularly attending workshops and getting parents involved so they can

reinforce what is being taught in the classroom at home.

The New York State Social Studies Review and Development

Committee has come up with six guidelines that they think teachers should

emphasize in order to help break down ethnic barriers. These steps are as

follows:

First, from the very beginning, social studies should be taught from a

global perspective. We are all equal owners of the earth, none of us are more

entitled than others to share in its many wealths or misfortunes. The

uniqueness of each individual is what adds variety to our everyday life.

Second, social studies will continue to serve nation building purposes.

By pointing out the things we share in common, it will be easier to examine

the individual things that make us different.

Third, the curriculum must strive to be informed by the most up to

date scholarship. The administrators must know that in the past, we have

learned from our mistakes, and we will continue to do so in the future. By

keeping an open mind, we will take in new knowledge and different

viewpoints as they are brought up.

Fourth, students need to see themselves as active makers and

changers of culture and society. If given the skills to judge people and their

thoughts fairly, and the knowledge that they can make a difference, students

will take better control of life in the future.

Fifth, the program should be committed to the honoring and

continuing examination of democratic values as an essential basis for social

organization and nation building. Although the democratic system is far

from perfect, it has proven in the past that it can be effective if we continue to

put effort into maintaining it while leaving it open for change.

Sixth, social studies should be taught not solely as information, but

rather through the critical examination of ideas and events rooted in time

and place and responding to social interests. The subject needs to be taught

with excitement that sparks kids interest and motivates them to want to take

place in the shaping of the future of our country (NYSSSRADC 145-47).

In order to give a well rounded multicultural discussion, as James

Banks explains, teachers need to let students know how knowledge reflects

the social, political, and economic context in which it was created.

Knowledge explained by powerful groups in society differs greatly from that

of its less powerful counterparts (Banks 11). For example, it should be

pointed out how early Americans are most often called “pioneers” or

“settlers” in social studies texts, while foreigners are called “immigrants”.

They should realize that to Native Americans, pioneers were actually the

immigrants, but since the “pioneers” later went on to write the textbooks, it is

not usually described that way. By simply looking at the term “western

culture” it is obvious that this is a viewpoint of people from a certain area. If

students are aware that to Alaskans, the west was actually the south, they can

realize the bearings of how the elite in society determine what is learned. By

not falling victim to these same misconceptions, students can better make

unprejudiced decisions about those around them. Another important aspect

students need to realize is that knowledge alone isn’t enough to shape a

society. The members themselves have to be willing to put forth the time and

effort and show an interest in shaping their society in order for it to benefit all

people.

While generally opposed to the idea, Francis Ryan points out that

“Multicultural education programs indeed may be helpful for all students in

developing perspective-taking skills and an appreciation for how ethnic and

minority traditions have evolved and changed as each came into contact with

other groups” (Ryan 137). It would certainly give people a sense of ethnic

pride to know how their forefathers contributed to the building of the

American society that we live in today. It is also a great feeling to know that

we can change what we feel is wrong to build a better system for our

children. Minorities would benefit from learning the evolution of their culture

and realizing that the ups and downs along the way do not necessarily mean

that their particular lifestyle is in danger of extinction.

Some opponents feel that the idea of multiculturalism will, instead of

uniting cultures, actually divide them. They feel that Americans should try

and think of themselves as a whole rather than people from different places

all living together. They go even further to say that it actually goes against

our democratic tradition, the cornerstone of American society (Stotsky 64).

In Paul Gannon’s article Balancing Multicultural and Civic Education

will Take More Than Social Stew, he brings up an interesting point that

“Education in the origins, evolution, advances and defeats of democracy

must, by its nature, be heavily Western and also demand great attention to

political history (Gannon 8). Since both modern democracy and its

alternatives are derived mostly from European past, and since most of the

participants were white males who are now dead, the choices are certainly

limited. If we try to avoid these truths or sidestep them in any way, we

cannot honestly say we are giving an accurate description of our history.

Robert Hassinger agrees with Gannon and adds that we cannot ignore

the contributions of DWEM’s for the simple fact that they are just that. He

thinks that we should study such things as the rise of capitalism or ongoing

nationalism in other countries, but should not be swayed in our critical

thinking by the fact that some people will not feel equally treated or even

disrespected (Hassinger 11). There certainly must be reasons why many

influential people in our history have been DWEM’s, and we should explore

these reasons without using race and sex alone as reasons for excluding them

from our curriculum. When conflicts arise with the way we do things, we

should explore why rather than compromise in order to protect a certain

groups feelings.

Francis Ryan warns that trying to push the subject of multiculturalism

too far would actually be a hindrance if it interferes with a students

participation in other groups, or worse yet, holds the child back from

expressing his or her own individuality. He gives a first-hand example of one

of his African-American students who was afraid to publicly admit his dislike

for rap music because he felt ethnically obligated as part of his black heritage

(Ryan 137). While a teacher can be a great help in providing information

about other cultures, by the same note, that information can be just as harmful

if it is incomplete. In order for students to be in control of their own identity,

they must have some idea of how others look at these same qualities.

Children must be taught to resolve inner-conflicts about their identity, so that

these features that make us unique will be brought out in the open where they

can be enjoyed by all instead of being hidden in fear of facing rejection from

their peers. Teachers need to spend an equal amount of time developing each

students individuality so they don’t end up feeling obligated to their racial

group more than they feel necessary to express the diversity that makes

America unique.

As Harlan Cleveland points out, many countries still feel that the

predominant race must be the one in power. For instance, try to imagine a

Turkish leader in Germany, or anyone but a Japanese in control of Japan

(Cleveland 26). Only in America is there such a diverse array of people in

power from county officials all the way up to the make up of people in our

Supreme Court. However, although we have made many advances culturally

that other countries haven’t, we still have yet to see an African-American,

Latino, or for that matter, a woman as head of our country. With increasing

awareness of other cultures though, these once unheard of suggestions are

making their way even closer to reality.

Another way to look at the issue is that most non-Western cultures

have few achievements equal to Western culture either in the past or present

(Duignan 492). The modern achievements that put America ahead of other

countries are unique to America because they were developed here. Many

third-world countries still practice things that we have evolved from many

years ago, such as slavery, wife beatings, and planned marriages. We are

also given many freedoms that are unheard of in other countries.

Homosexuality is punished severely in other lands, while we have grown to

realize that it is part of the genetic makeup of many people and they cannot

control it.

Most immigrants come to America for a better way of life, willing to

leave behind the uncivilized values of their mother countries. Instead of

trying to move the country that they came from into America, immigrants

need to be willing to accept the fact that America is shared by all who live

here, and it is impossible to give every citizen an equal amount of attention.

If we are not willing to forget some parts of our heritage in favor of a set of

well rounded values, then a fully integrated America will never be possible.

There certainly is no easy answer to the problem of multicultural

education. Proponents will continue to argue the benefits that unfortunately

seem to be too far out of reach for our imperfect society. The hard truth is

that it is impossible for our public school system to fairly cater to the

hundreds of nationalities that already exist, let alone the hundreds more that

are projected to arrive during the next century. In order for us to live together

in the same society, we must sometimes be willing to overlook parts of our

distant past in exchange for a new hope in the future. Our only chance is to

continue to debate the topic in order to hope for a “middle of the road”

compromise. One particularly interesting solution is that we could study the

basics of how America came about in the most non-biased way possible, not

concentrating on the race and sex of our forefathers as much as what they

made happen, at least during the elementary and high school years. This

would leave the study of individual nationalities, which are not themselves

major contributing factors, for people to do at home or further down the line

in their education, where they can focus on tradition and beliefs to any extent

they want without fear of anyone feeling segregated.

In conclusion, in order for us to function as a whole, we need to start

thinking of America in terms of a whole. With just a basic understanding of

other cultures, and most importantly, the tools and background to think

critically and make our own decisions not based on color, sex, religion, or

national origin, but on information that we were able to accurately attain

through the critical thinking skills we were taught in school, we would be

better equipped to work at achieving harmony in a varied racial country.

Banks, James A. “Multicultural Literacy and Curriculum Reform.” The

Education Digest 13 Dec. 1991: 10-13.

Cleveland, Harlan. “The Limits To Cultural Diversity.” The Futurist March -

April 1995 : 23-6.

Duignan, Peter. “The Dangers of Multiculturalism.” Vital Speeches of the

Day 22 Mar. 1995 : 492-493.

Gagnon, Paul. “Balancing Multicultural and Civic Education Will Take More

Than “Social Stew”.” The Education Digest Dec. 1991 : 7-9.

Gould, Ketayun H. “The Misconstruing of Multiculturalism : The Stanford

Debate and Social Work” Social Work Mar. 1995 : 198-204.

Hassinger, Robert. “True Multiculturalism.” Commonweal 10 April 1992 :

10- 11.

New York State Social Studies Review and Development Committee

“Multicultural Education Benefits All Students.” Education in America

- Opposing Viewpoints. CA : Greenhaven, 1992. 144-150.

Pyszkowski, Irene S. “Multiculturalism – Education For The Nineties; An

Overview.” Education Vol. 114 No. 1 : 151-157.

Ryan, Francis J. “The Perils of Multiculturalism : Schooling for theGroup.”

Educational Horizons 7 Spring 1993 : 134-8.

Stotsky, Sandra. “Acedemic vs. Ideological Education in the Classroom.”

The Education Digest Mar. 1992 : 64-6.