Multicultural Education By: Brittany Bryant & Netia Caviness

7 Characteristics of a Multicultural Curriculum Delivery Content Teaching and Learning Materials Perspective Critical Inclusivity Social and Civic Responsibility Assessment

Delivery Use a variety of learning techniques Lecture Cooperative learning Individual work Student Teaching Understand the dynamics of power in your class Ex: Who do you call on? Challenge students Ask students what they know about a topic Ask students what they want to know Ask students to participate in teaching

Content Ex: “Christopher Columbus founded America” Be sure your content is complete and accurate knowledge Ex: “Christopher Columbus founded America” Avoid tokenism: Use content in your classes about underrepresented groups (ex:people of color, women, people with disabilities) Don’t refer to these groups as “other people” Celebrate differences in people Don’t support stereotypes (ex:making headdresses for Native American studies)

Teaching and Learning Materials Use a diverse variety of materials (ex: newspaper, books, videos) Examine materials for bias and oppressive content Do your books have racist language or stereotypical images? (ex: Huck Finn) Do the images in your book support a cookie cutter family? (ex: 1 mom, 1 dad, 1 sister, 1 brother) (ex: everyone is an American Citizen) Diversify images in bulletin boards, poster, etc… Do you always diversify or only during special month/celebrations?

Perspective Content must be presented in a variety of perspectives not only in that of the majority group From whose perspective do we teach history? When is “westward expansion” the same as “genocide”? Present content through a variety of lenses, not just those of a few heroic characters Slave narratives to teach about slavery Slave narratives to teach about colonial Virginia Native American texts to teach about westward expansion.

Cultural Inclusivity Students must be engaged in the teaching and learning process transcend the banking method and facilitate experiences in which students learn from each other’s experiences Encourage students to ask critical questions about information they receive and model critical questions Who wrote or edited that textbook? Whose voice am I hearing and whose voice am I not hearing? What do you think it would have been like to live through that experience? Make content and delivery relevant for the students—facilitate experiences in which they connect it with their everyday lives. Recognize your students as your most important multicultural resources

Social and Civic Responsibility If we hope to prepare students to be active participants in society, we must educate them about issues in society and model a sense of civic responsibility. Starting with the youngest students, incorporate discussions about inequality into your lesson Talk about individuals whose fought for social injustices. (find people from majority groups who fought types of oppression.) For example: Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, MLK If an opportunity arises to address racism, sexism, homophobia, or other forms of oppression, facilitate it. Connect teaching and learning to local community and larger global issues

Assessment Curriculum must be constantly assessed for completeness, accuracy and bias Work with teachers to examine and critique each other’s curricular units, lesson plans, and entire frameworks Request and openly accept feedback from your students.

Easy Things We Can Do to Be a Better Educator Pronounce student’s names correctly Sacrifice your comfort zone Review all learning materials I can teach about critical multicultural issues such as racism, sexism, and poverty I can reject the myth of colorblindness I can keep in mind that some students do not enjoy the same level of access to educational materials I can build coalitions with teachers who are different from me I can avoid essentializing students from identity groups I can offer an integrated multicultural curriculum I can encourage my students to think critically and ask critical questions I can work to ensure that students from poorer communities are not placed into lower academic tracks I can celebrate myself as an educator

Activity Number 1 Get a piece of paper Imagine you are having a dinner party Write down the names of 5 people you would invite

Name a Hero: White Male (NOT an entertainer or athlete) Activity number 2 Name a Hero: White Male (NOT an entertainer or athlete)

Name a Hero: A White Female (NOT an entertainer or athlete) Activity 2 continued Name a Hero: A White Female (NOT an entertainer or athlete)

Name a Hero: An African American Male (NOT an entertainer or athlete) Activity 2 Continued Name a Hero: An African American Male (NOT an entertainer or athlete)

Activity 2 Continued Name a Hero: An African American Female (NOT an entertainer or athlete)

Name a Hero: A Hispanic/Latino Male Activity 2 Continued Name a Hero: A Hispanic/Latino Male

Name a Hero: A Hispanic/Latina Female Activity 2 Continued Name a Hero: A Hispanic/Latina Female

Name a Hero: Native American Male/Female Activity 2 Continued Name a Hero: Native American Male/Female

Name a Hero: Asian Male/Female Activity 2 Continued Name a Hero: Asian Male/Female