Students Need a Multicultural Classroom Essay -- Argumentative Persuas

Students Need a Multicultural Classroom I can identify with the multicultural concept of the classroom because I am African American, a woman, and a soon to be a teacher. This subject is one that is of extreme importance. The multicultural classroom is a learning environment that should be most effective because of the simple fact that it should encompass everyone. As a future teacher one of my goals for my classroom is to make it as diverse as possible. Not only because it should be a standard operating procedure, but because I feel students will be able to learn more effectively in an environment where they feel that their heritage is included. The definition of multiculturalism in Webster's Dictionary is "the existence, recognition or preservation of different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society." Therefore with this definition in mind a multicultural classroom is one that is the sum of all these things. A multicultural classroom is a learning environment that strives to reach all of its students, especially those of non-dominant ethnicities. In this environment students learn about the curriculum as well as their own cultural history. The aim of multicultural education is to ensure equity in education for all students and to help empower young people to make the world a better place both individually and collectively (Bigelow, 1993). Multicultural education is designed to help all students reach their full potential. Just about all teachers should have a desire to teach in a multicultural class because most classes in the United States of America contain at least one or two students of a differen t race or cultural background. This should not be considered a problem, but an asset because h... ...icultural Education: Development, Dimensions, and Challenges." Phi Delta Kappan. 75 (1), 22-28. Banks, J., and McGee, C. A. (Eds.). (1989). Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Bigelow, W. (1993). "Limits of the New Multiculturalism: The 'Good' Children's Literature and the Quincentenary." Unpublished manuscript. Available from NECA. Dietrich Fairtest. (1990). Standardized Tests and our Children: A Guide to Testing Reform. Massachusetts: National Center for Fair and Open Testing. Greenfield, E., and Little, L. J. (1979). Childtimes: A Three Generation Memoir. New York: Harper Collins. Hughes, L. (1960). The Dreamkeeper and Other Poems. New York: Alfred Knopf. Lee, E. (1993). "Strategies for Building a Multicultural, Anti-racist Curriculum." Presented at the Books Project Seminar, Washington, DC, May 8, 1993.