Discussion+on+Articles+Multicultural+Education

Please post a discussion thread about the articles on Multicultural Education, post comments on other students discussion threads as well. I will check the discussion for a grade on March 16. Mrs. Ashley

Briana- I agree with Alisa and Suzanne that teachers can only appreciate others if they first understand their students. I think it is important that a teacher should have the appropriate knowledge to teach a culturally diverse class. As stated in the article, "The Necessity of Diversity", Nieto states that many teachers are just not ready to teach the children who are in front of them. I agree with Nieto's idea of having professional development for teacher and teacher preparation at colleges to prepare teachers for the students they will face. Teachers who are filled with joy and enthusiasm while teaching provide a rich learning environment for the students. They will feel more comfortable and confident and this will lead to their future success.

Sandra- i agree with alisa with the fact that acceptance is not the only thing you need to help a person with multicultural education. after reading both articles i would have to say that to agree when said that a lot of times in education we like to replace things to make situations seem easier or better then they are. for example in the first article muliticultural education it states, " we have come to rreplace culture as a focus in education." this is sad but true. so in the next article, the necessity of diversity they actually give examples of ways that teachers can get to know their students without ignoring or substituting the key things. the key is antiracism, tolerence, respect, acceptance, and being able to teach with multicultural perspectives.

Alisa-I was pleased to see what Ms. Nieto said about acceptance. Acceptance is not the only aspect in dealing with multicultural education. You must also be tolerant of others and respect differences. Acceptance without these important aspects then results in individuals just "putting up with each other." I have always felt that even in history class when teachers would talk about "religious tolerance" they never actually talked about if that religion was accepted and respected by others.

Alisa- Also, in the subtitle "Implications for teacher learning" I agree with the statement, "educators need to engage (in difficult conversations) if they are to understand their students and the conditions in which their students live." I do not believe that a teacher can truly appreciate and understand their students if they don't fully understand their students. Sometimes students need the opportunity to voice their mind and what is concerning them.

Suzanne- Alisa, I totally agree with your last comment 100%. I do feel that teachers can only appreciate others if they only at first understand their students. I believe though that this has two parts both the teacher communicating to understanding the student and the student communicating to understand the teacher. Another part of this I believe is that both the teacher and student both have to "broaden their outlook." Just like Widener University taught undergraduate seniors on immigration by doing a debate course, the outcome was that they learned from this because each persons was put on the side of the propositions they they originally were against. This debate got people to have to "open up" to different perspectives in which they usually wouldn't and I do believe this is one of the best ways in which to go through with this. You will not get people offering to "open up" to a side that they might feel total hatred toward but because of this course the Widener University I-team got some to do this and probably change how they look at certain thigns from now on.

Suzanne- "We need to have professional development for teachers and teacher preparation at colleges and universities that prepare teachers for the students they'll face every day and that prepare them with joy and enthusiasm, and not just skills. Skills are important, but the attitudes teachers go in with are equally important," (Crow, 2009) This statement I believe is one of the many aspects that teachers have to consider when first going into teach. I know from first-hand experience that if a teacher though they are highly recommended with all their credits from college and degrees sometimes don't turn out to be the greatest teachers afterall. However, some do, it depends on the person. Everyone so at least have gone through professional development programs for teachers and teacher preparation programs for teachers to be again an "open minded' person. I believe that whether a teacher is highly qualify or not they have to have the personality aspect to be able to relate to their students. They have to make class fun, keep on their toes, and they have to be having a fun time in order for their students to have a fun time. When a teacher is filled with joy and enthusiasm usually their students are as well.

Chris- Suzanne, that really is true. No matter how intelligent or knowledgeable in subject matter a teacher may be, if they can't relate on other levels with his students, then they will not benefit much from his teaching. That's what was rather nice about some of this reading; if the two groups, student body and teacher's association, are able to stop looking past and start looking at in situations where animosity exists, the possibility is most certainly there for healing and progress.

Ariel- Chris, you and Suzanne are both correct. There needs to be more communication between teachers and students so the classes cater to their interests as well as the content of the curriculum. While the articles did focus heavily on the past, one must take note that in order to create positive change for the future, one must look at what has occurred previously in order to gain knowledge and insight as to why people have acted in certain manners. Honestly, I thought the articles were beneficial to read, but I felt as though some of the language was possibly a little outdated... I have a feeling that someone who just picks up this article and read it, without having previous background knowledge on the topic would become easily confused and often lost at times. Everyone that has commented so far on this discussion brings their own unique perspective to this issue at hand and it's really great to be able to read what others are thinking when we have these forums.

Stephanie - I agree with Ariel that teachers need to be able to communicate with their students. I believe teachers should not only be able to communicate academically with students but also socially, especially in a culturally diverse classroom. I also agreed with the statement made by Nieto about the term "achievement gap" putting blame on students alone, as if they caused the achievement gap in the first place. I believe achievement gaps have became wider due to unequal expectations of students. I also like Nieto's suggestion of referring to it as a "resource gap." I think that many underachieving students, if exposed to different resources, would be in different situations and would be overall more successful