Multiculturalism Classroom at a Suburban Chicago Elementary School

Multiculturalism/Classroom

At a suburban Chicago elementary school, a first-year teacher expressed some frustration with the diverse population in her classroom. There were children from immigrant families who spoke little English as well as students whose parents, migrant workers, enrolled them in school for just a few weeks before moving on. A veteran colleague wisely counseled her to learn to understand and appreciate the diversity. "The kids you teach," the veteran teacher said, "are the kids who walk in your door that day."

Across the country, educators are increasingly faced with cultural diversity in their student bodies. The challenge is to celebrate the diversity, honoring every child's culture, religion, language and traditions. In honoring the uniqueness of the child, educators must meet the learning needs and ensure standards and goals are met, thus preparing each student for a successful future in school and beyond.

Opening one's mind to multiculturalism is the first step toward getting to know students as individuals and preparing to meet their needs. Sung and Clark (2005, p. 49) further stated that modeling of open-mindedness, by teachers, administrators, and other school staff, is "the heart of a caring, responsive educational environment." To teach tolerance, the climate of acceptance must extend from every classroom to the school as a whole.

In the classroom, teachers can structure activities in every content area to celebrate the heritage of students. Jones (2005, p. 9) suggests compare and contrast activities for holidays that fall near each other on the calendar (e.g., Hanukkah and Kwanzaa). Culture studies are well suited to the incorporation of music (both singing and listening to recordings), art, games, history and language. Bringing these elements to the classroom honors the cultures of the students and teaches them to value others who may be different from themselves. As a school, selections of textbooks and supplemental reading materials should reflect culture, gender and diversity. Jones even suggests subscribing to magazines, comic books, and journals that reflect the student population. There are good choices available that provide positive images of people from different backgrounds and cultures. Schools, as a whole, can provide family supports to strengthen ties between various cultures and the education experience.

Though many publications exist to help educators bring diversity to their schools, efforts cannot simply be an afterthought to a system that is slow to change. Numerous studies show that there is a cultural gap between teachers and students. Howard (1999, p. 4, cited in Santoro 2007, p. 82) claims, "Too often we place White teachers in multicultural settings and expect them to behave in ways that are not consistent with their own life experiences, socialization patterns, worldviews." It is a problem faced the world over, and a pertinent one as student populations everywhere become even more diverse. Cultural studies, as Santoro and others point out, must be components of pre-service education for teachers.