Current Trends

In order to understand fully comprehend the value of multicultural education; you must be aware of the demographic shifts in student population that are taking place in public schools. Because of things such as housing and economic patterns, more children are loosing what little chance they had to attend school in a diverse environment. Without the first hand exposure to diverse cultures, I strongly feel that becomes the school’s duty to provide quality multicultural education in order to promote respect and appreciation.

It is also worth noting the patterns in placement of teachers in the public school systems. According to Davis and Thompson (2004), “One of the concerns that urban schools face is that teachers with less than three years of experience are twice as likely to work in predominately minority schools as they are in predominately white schools.” (p. 9) The prior statistic is not presented to undermine the ability of new teachers; rather, to recognize the trends in hiring practices by predominately white school districts.

From personal experience and conversations with colleagues, I have come to the conclusion that some where in your first or second year of teaching, educators realize that they have not been fully prepared for the position they are in. Although I’m not sure it’s possible to ever feel completely prepared, it must be considered that according to Davis and Thompson (2004), most of the experienced, veteran teachers can be found in predominately white schools. Unless the newer teachers in urban school districts are receiving proper support, the students are going to receive an education that may not be equal to those students in white schools. Why is this acceptable??

Source:
Davis, D., and Thompson, S., (2004, November). Creating High-Performing Middle Schools in Segregated Settings: 50 Years After Brown. Middle School Journal, 36, 4-12.