My journey begins...

Upon completion of my first year of teaching in my own classroom, I took time to reflect upon some of my experiences...the good and the bad. The importance of multicultural education is one of the first topics comes to mind.

My first year of teaching took place in an elementary setting. I was responsible for teaching 4th and 6th grade Science, Math, Social Studies, and Health. The student population at my school is made up of mostly middle to lower class families from diverse cultural backgrounds. Some of the ethnicities represented include Hispanic, African American, Asian, Chinese, Ukrainian, Native American, and Latino.

My classroom of fourth graders totaled twenty four students; eight of which were labeled English Language Learners. This meant that one third of my entire class was still just learning how to speak the English language. At first I viewed my situation as a challenge...I mean this was my FIRST year teaching! I slowly began to realize how lucky I was to work with such a diverse group of students. As the year progressed, I began to learn more and more about how imperative it was for me to incorporate multicultural education into my curriculum.

Just what exactly is multicultural education? Many confuse it with ESL support for students who speak English as a second language. I spent a great deal of time researching this topic during my first year of teaching and feel that Bode and Neito (2007) describe it best,

…multicultural Education does not simply involve the affirmation of language and culture. Multicultural education confronts issues of differences but also issues of power and privilege in society. This means challenging racism and other biases as well as the inequitable structures, policies, and practices of schools and, ultimately, of society itself. (p. 4)

At this point, I would suggest re-reading the above description and allow yourself a moment to fully digest what it means to you in your personal life and career.

Source:
Bode P., and Neito S., (2007). Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Contexts of Multicultural Education. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.