The need for a multicultural perspective is becoming a necessity in today’s expanding global community. To have an appreciation and understanding of many cultures, including lifestyle, history, language and, points of view, not only facilitates communication, but can also promote one’s own positive self-image, as personal cultures are also embraced. All people are unique, but do have similarities as well as differences, often influenced by the culture surrounding them, and by acknowledging this and taking the time to explore, including confronting personal biases, a multicultural perspective can be achieved.
Students are heavily influenced by their caregivers, including their teachers, making it a necessity for educators to have a multicultural perspective. Taking steps to eliminate stereotypes, by checking texts used, or the general language used within the school and classroom, enables the teacher to promote an equitable learning environment. Also knowing that a student’s learning style, and interpersonal skills are often influenced by their culture, increases the need for a teacher to have an understanding of the diverse backgrounds of all in their care, in order to promote each child’s uniqueness, and encourage the acceptance of others. This should be an integral part of the curriculum, and can be done with the collaboration of all in the class.
Teaching, for me, is about understanding and educating the whole child, and to achieve a truly holistic approach, a multicultural perspective is key. Diversity enriches the experiences of not only the students but also the teacher, as each year, new students enter, with unique backgrounds, which are waiting to be tapped into. Having a diverse student population is a resource that money cannot buy; instead of inviting guest speakers in, the students can share personal histories and cultures, improving their learning and understanding of the global society they will be entering. Ensuring an equitable learning experience is the challenge, as each child should be able to achieve their full potential.
Having high expectations for all students is key in a diverse classroom. By understanding and encouraging each child’s hopes and dreams I hope to create a safe learning environment, in which my students can take ownership of their learning. Using collaborative learning approaches, reduces anxiety, but also promotes communication amongst students, and by regularly changing groupings I hope to create a strong class culture. Creating an open classroom, and encouraging caregivers to participate, fosters not only a class culture, but one that spreads in to the community, cultivating pride in the school. I feel strongly that students should have the ability to make choices in their learning, and in doing so, each individual’s learning style can be addressed. Using a variety of teaching styles, resources, and assessments, will develop the students’ critical thinking skills, and motivate the students to recognize multi-viewpoints, when researching topics in class, using scaffolding when necessary, and differentiating tasks in order for all students to succeed.
Unfortunately as students progress through school cultural differences can have a huge effect on the results of standardized tests.
The slide show below provides the history behind this, and also enables you to experience how standardized tests can have a negative effect on you.
The slide show below provides the history behind this, and also enables you to experience how standardized tests can have a negative effect on you.