What Multicultural Approach suits you?

Previously i discussed multicultural education and the importance it has on its learners. There are four different approaches that go along with Multicultural education they are as follows; level 1 Contributions Approach, level 2 the additive approach, level 3 the transformation approach, and level 4 the social action approach. All of these approaches focus on human relations with activities that promote a cultural understanding among different racial groups. Level 1 focuses on heroes , holidays and discrete cultural elements. Teachers can bring these components of the students lives into the classroom for everyone to experience. Level 2 The additive approach places content, concepts,themes, and perspectives of cultural views into the curriculum without changing the structure of the class. This simply means that teacher allow the students to learn through alternative perspectives like fellow peers who may view the world differently. For example this may take place during a multicultural week in the school where they can experience alternative perspectives. A great way this is displayed in schools is the month of February Black history month her students of all descent learn about the history of African Americans in this country and the triumphs and tribulations they've been through. Level 3 the transformers approach this is when the structure of the curriculum is changed to enable students to view concepts, issues,events, and themes from the perspectives of diverse ethnic and cultural groups. This is when student's are urged to view everything they learn in a topic area through a certain perspective. For example in a U.S History class students have to view the effect's of westward expansion; not only is their an open frontier for new settlers but it affect's the native American who already inhabit that land and to them this is an invasion of their home land. The fourth level is the social action this is when students take a stance on important social issues and then intern take action to resolve those issues. This is when the teacher is challenging the students to take a step outside the box in a higher level of thinking.

Ask yourself these questions?

-In what ways are U.S schools failing culturally diverse students?

A. Hispanic, native Americans, and African American students score consistently lower on standardized test than so their Asian and white classmates. Those ethnic groups also are categorized in the under-resourced populations and almost half of them are not graduating from high school. This is a major failure for academia, how can you justify learning when the statistics show failure across the cultural population. The expectation theory comes into play here studies show that if a teacher believes a student will achieve at a high level than they will make ore academic gain where as if teacher believe the student will consistently fail then they will live up to the expectations of doing poorly. So my question is why don’t teachers stop buying into the statistics and believe in the culturally divers population.

- What are the purposes and approaches of multicultural education?

A.Multicultural education focuses on human relations that promote cultural and racial understanding among different groups. Multicultural education can also be viewed by some educators as a way to create close links between home and school so that minority children can succeed academically. An approach called teaching the culturally different promotes different perspectives based on race class, and culture; this is another way students can view learning.

-What is culturally responsive teaching and how can teachers use these strategies to educate their students.

A.Culturally responsive teaching links the school day with life at home. these teachers who use this approach view the community as a great opportunity to learn from. By honoring the traditions and crafts in the neighborhood students become more familiar with other traditions which makes them a more well rounded student. In a study by Gloria Ladson-Billings a professor at the university of Wisconsin she monitored nine effect teachers according to parents and administration. The common factor of all of theses effect teacher was that they incorporated home life with the classroom. Teachers would bring in parents to share cultural traditional cooking with the school. Teachers even urged students to develop their native language along with English this way they can share experiences with their peers.

Melting Pot or Tossed salad

The American way of life has been referred to as a melting pot of all the unique traditions and beliefs of the different people of this country. The thought of having this one society with an overall way of life is a great idea; although it seems those beliefs and traditions never come together to make one common taste. Unfortunately it is not that way, all the same ingredients are in the melting pot but they never fuse together. This is where the tossed salad concept comes in. You have the same recipe for the tossed salad but the flavors don't ever combine together. You may get a hint here and there of other cultures but many U.S citizens have remained deeply rooted in there past cultures. With the tossed salad concept Americans honor there past cultures while honoring the nationality of the U.S. I think this newly adapted theory gives a better understanding of American way of life. Now you may ask your self how does this pertain to the classroom. Yes it certainly does, the tossed salad approach will educate students on the differences of one another and how we are all similar in some way. Just like the saying "knowledge is power" if the students have a better understanding of one another and where we all came from then this could ultimately cut down on stereo typical beliefs that often lead to bullying. Keep in mind we were all immigrants at one time or another. This could then make schools a safer and more welcoming place for everyone.

Peer groups in elementary life

Remember back to your early days of elementary school. Like most you will have memories of you and your childhood friends in the classroom. Now try and think of the dynamics of the groups you hung around with. The boys created hierarchies where there was always a ring leader with his followers. For the girls they always came in pairs, one never went anywhere without the other. And for some they did not fall in any of these groups, these students could develop adjustment problems and emotional difficulties as a result of the isolationism. Elementary students of today compared to students in the 1980's and 90's have a noticeable difference in behavior's and activities. Children of the past two decades spent more time studying, playing sports, reading, and involved in personal care. Very little time was spent watching television or playing video games because they had not evolved yet into what they are today. The children of the past had more human interaction which I think lead to less out-casting even at the elementary level. Students where more excepting of one another then; now a days if your in the third grade without an ipod you are going to be looked upon awkwardly. SO the elementary school is based on these groups and the interactions of the students determines who is involved in the "cool groups". These interactions of elementary students and their peers can have a direct impact on student learning. A child is so easily rattled that is that child is having a bad day not much learning will be accomplished, because they will not be able to get past the issue that they are experiencing. That is why as educators we must try our best to include all students and even facilitate acceptance of others.

How is class time related to student achievement?

In the next coming years an emphasis will be placed on the teachers ability to teach the material in a effective way. Not only will this be monitored through standardized test results but through annual overview of teachers effectiveness. This places a accountability on the teachers. For example a Physical education teacher can be evaluated through a SOFIT assessment this tracks the type of instruction, Activity level and practice time of the students. The same kind of evaluations are being implemented into the general education classrooms. The question of, How much time on the material is related to the student achievement. The common thought is that the more time you spend on a topic the more knowledge you will retain, yes Practice makes perfect. Although it is how the content is delivered. Now a days teachers are being urged to deliver the content thorough Intra-task variation which means that teachers teach to the different levels of learning. When you teach to the high and low students in the room at the same time. With this Intra-task variation and elongated time on material; i think it will have a direct impact on student learning and achievement. Yearly evaluations will let teachers reflect upon one's teaching style. This is great because teachers should always be refining there methods and theories that way they produce the best possible learning environment for the students. These evaluations of the teachers will go in correspondence with president Obama's educational reform, where he states that he wants to reward the good teachers and weed out the bad".

Educational Organizations

The teaching profession is one of the most organized occupations in the country. This is due to the unifying organizations of (NEA 3 million members) National Education Association and the (AFT 1 million members) American Federation of Teachers. Both of these organizations help protect teachers with tenure, they also work to improve work conditions and salaries of those same teachers. The system works through a collaboration of all teachers that have a representative to voice the opinion of the teachers needs. It is up to you as to what organization you would like to join each has there different benefits. The NEA offers free legal services, and training opportunities on issues from technology to academic freedom. The NEA also elects pro-education candidates that promotes legislation beneficial to teachers and students. (www.nea.org). On the other hand you have the AFT which supports education reform. The AFT supported national standards of teachers, charter schools induction programs that enable new teachers to work with master teachers. The AFT is very similar to the NEA except it is on a smaller more localized scale. Both of these organizations provide literature "education week and teacher Magazine"these journals keep teachers informed about their agencies and up to date on their teaching world. For aspiring teachers you can find out useful information at WWW.inspiringteacher.com this is a great way to network with teachers who can help with any of the early teaching troubles you may have. If i had to choose today i would go with the AFT because it is a smaller scale and it looks out for the development of aspiring teachers through their mastery programs.