In terms of modern day American society, this could be seen as declaring that African-Americans, and other similarly impoverished and marginalized groups, are likely to remain forever within the care of the social welfare system. Believers in such ideas might easily raise the question - why bother with caring for these people at all? More to the point; however, is the question of whether there is really anything wrong with most of these individuals at all? Clearly, a large part of their "mental disabilities" derive from internal and external assumptions about what it means to be African-American, or a member of some similarly tagged minority group. A multicultural approach to the educational process helps to guarantee that all individuals are ranked according to their own merits without regard to preconceptions about the supposed abilities, or "disabilities" of their race, ethnic, linguistic, or religious group. A child whether white and English-speaking, African-American and English-speaking, or the child of Arabic-speaking Muslim immigrants from the Middle East, or a Spanish-speaking youth in an inner city, are all Americans with the same opportunities and potential strengths and weaknesses. Ability is a matter of personal skills and predilections.
What We Don't Know
There are however, various limitations to the multicultural approach, among which are the fact that certain achievements of the systems employed are more theoretical than factual in foundation. While the tracking of minority youths into programs for the disabled and mentally deficient are verifiable truths, certain other claims made by proponents of multicultural education cannot so easily be substantiated. As pointed out by Sleeter, any teaching method is limited by the assumptions made by those designing the course of instruction. What is emphasized in a textbook represents the choices made by the dominant group - "By claiming to tell a multicultural story, the Framework masks the ideology of its own story." (Sleeter, 2002) Proponents of multiculturalism believe they are building a bias-free society that works toward the inclusion of all, but in teaching - history for example - educators are inevitably making choices that either ignore the contributions of one group or emphasize the ideologies of another. An America that is built on principals of democracy and consumerist capitalism will necessarily be inclined to educate its youth in ways of thinking and seeing that ignore the, say, more community-oriented outlooks of many Asian or Hispanic immigrants. (Sleeter, 2002) as such a realization reveals, it is exceedingly difficult to remove any and all bias from a curriculum. The supposed multicultural goal is in reality an attempt to use multicultural approaches to achieve the goals of one particular culture and tradition.
Furthermore, the very approaches of multiculturalism in education do not, in and of themselves, guarantee a greater ability to learn, or a greater opportunity for success in school, or in future life. A study by Lawrence found that multicultural programs too often focused on the needs of individual teacher development than on any systematic changes that might be necessary. (Lawrence, 2005) it is as if the belief were that by merely changing the perceptions of the instructor the entire outlook of a society could be transformed. Central to multicultural ideas is the belief that we are all members of varied groups, and come from different backgrounds. The larger, majority society perceives us in varied ways, and with varying degrees of prejudice. To focus on teacher training ignores the student component of the equation. Center notes that approaches to multicultural education typically focus on the expansion of curricula to the exclusion of other important considerations such as an improvement of teaching techniques. (Center, 2005) the belief appears to be that the mere elimination of prejudice and expansion of group and cultural horizons will automatically inspire students to greater levels of achievement. "An inadequate pedagogy results in disengaged or unproductive student responses to multiethnic texts." (Center, 2005) Young people are being exposed to a greater diversity of opinion but they are not being taught to analyze this wealth of opinion in a sufficiently productive fashion. The guidance that is necessary for true growth and understanding is often absent.
On another level, Platt underscores the shortcomings that arise from much of the current emphasis in multicultural programs. Rather than point out the causes of racism and religious and ethnic prejudice, contemporary textbooks tend...
104).. Berlin district mayor, Neukolln, asserts that multiculturalism in German has fallen short. Evidence shows that the recent increment in immigration is because of economic refugees from southern European nations because of the euro disaster (Conradt 2013, p.117). However, the debate regarding the considerable rise in immigration in German falls back to the Turkish community integration, which depicts the uppermost number of foreigners in Germany, the Europe largest economy. Scores of
In addition incentives such as signing bonuses can be utilized to persuade more men to become teachers. As an aspect of such a program male college student will have the opportunity to act as a volunteer in the school's classrooms. In engaging the students the potential teacher will understand the importance of their presence in the lives of children. Te ultimate goal of such a strategy is to create an
Finding out about other peoples and cultures, through technology, will be an essential part of education in the years to come. Numerous aspects of the current educational system will need to be improved in future years. The focus must be on children's individual needs and abilities. Today, standardized tests and general requirements frequently restrict students' opportunities to learn. Many youngsters do not get the attention they need, or the enrichment
People need look no further than their own homes to see the interdependence of world trade; no further than their neighborhoods to see the results of international migration and multiculturalism; no further than the news to see the causes and effects of global economics, ecology and ethnic conflicts. "While domestic debate continues over the nature of these connections, few can doubt their existence. As these connections increase, educators, utilizing a
" In the workforce, this means creating a spirit of cooperation and sharing to get the designated work done and of a quantity and quality that facilitates the company's goals. "Thus, the new workplace structures - in response to the increasingly multicultural workforce - should focus on cooperation and team goals rather than on individual change. Further, communication plays a key role in working with others to achieve company goals,
Colostate.edu/guides/research/casestudy/pop2a.cfm. 3. Hispanic, White Communities Forge Ties in Alabama (2003) a UA Center for Public Television and Radi9o Production. Online available at: 4. McDade, Sharon a. (2002) Definition of a Case Study. Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning - North Carolina State. Online available at http://www.ncsu.Edu/fctl/Programs/Instructional- Development/Teaching _Materials / CaseStudies/Materials / Case studyDefintion.pdf# search =%22 CASE%20STUDY % 3A%20DEFINIT ION%20OF %22. 5. UAB Wins $389,000 in Grants to Help Teachers Educate Non-English Speaking Children
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