For Essays Guru M4D1 Responses

Jennifer,

Multiculturalism is defined as “the preservation of different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society, as a state or nation” (multiculturalism, n.d.).  Our society is exposed to multiple cultures on a daily basis however, this has not taught tolerance and appreciation to the masses.  Derek Rubin and Jaap Verheul (2009) highlight the “struggles to establish multiculturalism as a central feature of American as well as of many Western European societies” are ever present and include the “current harsh debates over immigration, the laws to make English the only legal language, the increasing conflict between native minorities and incoming immigrant workers” (p. 28).  Would there be conflict if exposure was all that was required?

Multiculturalism needs to be taught in our schools and workplaces.  It is a necessity. Ackerman-Barger (2010) points out “that higher education plays a role in maintaining our global economy and the underpinnings of democracy by educating students who can function in multicultural settings” (p. 677).  In addition, they assert that “the business sector views a diverse workforce as smart business, and that there is an increasing demand for higher education to produce workers who are culturally competent” (2010, p. 677).  Multiculturalism is a skill and as such, it can be taught.  When a new skill is learned you view the world with more of an open mind and can learn tolerance and appreciation of others.  You see the value in others and recognize their contribution to society.

Teaching multiculturalism can help shape ideas and experiences and as pointed out by Shaunna Smith “is pivotal because being taught to coexist in a unified reality is a valuable life skill, as our world is filled with many points of view to be considered”(p. 41).  You should not shut yourself off to sections of our society because they are different; they are to be embraced. 

References

Ackerman-Barger, P. (2010). Embracing Multiculturalism Learning Environments. Journal Of Nursing Education, 49(12), 677-682 6p. doi:10.3928/01484834-20100630-03

multiculturalism. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved March 23, 2016 from Dictionary.com website http://www.dictionary.com/browse/multiculturalism

Smith, S. (2013). (Almost) Everything I Need to Know about Multiculturalism I Learned on Jury Duty. Multicultural Education, 20(2), 40-42.

Verheul, J., & Rubin, D. (2009). American Multiculturalism After 9/11 : Transatlantic Perspectives. [Amsterdam]: Amsterdam University Press.

Jayson,

Exposure to people from different, backgrounds, races, ethnicities, and belief systems is sufficient to learn both tolerance and an appreciation for what they can contribute to our society. 

I believe that exposure to people of different cultures, backgrounds, etc. is good; however, exposure alone is not enough to learn tolerance. Learning starts from our parents and people who surround us day to day. If they show bias towards one particular difference in a person, than their children tend to take on those biases as their own. In one research article I read, children as early as three recognize racial differences (Banks 2004). Findings were consistent with multiple researches spanning over a 50 year period. However, just recognizing a difference is perfectly acceptable; as I stated before, diversity among people is a good thing. It’s when we are taught that one is better than the other through personal contacts and media is when problems arise. All this to say that because there is so much prejudice and intolerance for the differences in people, we need to educate so that we can start to reset many of the biases. 

We do not need to be taught “multiculturalism” in our schools and work places. You cannot change what people think by “teaching” them about other groups different from themselves. 

We absolutely need to teach multiculturalism, because it’s obvious that people are not teaching it or emulating it in their households.  I understand that we can’t change what people do in their homes, but we can control what is taught in the public educational systems.  “an empowering school culture and social structure, occurs when the structure of the school is transformed allowing students from diverse racial, ethnic, gender, and social-class groups to experience equality and a sense of empowerment” (Zaldana 2010). I think that as long as we have schools that are predominately one color or ethnicity, equality cannot exist in schools or in the teachings. One example of this is “equality has not been met when only 46% of Mexican Americans graduate from high school, in comparison, to the 84% of Caucasians that graduate from high school (Zaldana 2010). Discrimination in one shape or another exists in all schools toward every student. We need to teach and celebrate multiculturalism from day one. One last final thought, I would like to believe that we can have a society that exists free of discrimination, however, history of the human race builds a strong case that we may not be able to achieve a society absolutely free of prejudice, but it’s our job to reduce that down to as low as a level as we can get in our lifetime and that involves a good deal of exposure and education.

References:

Banks, J. A. (2004). Multicultural education: Historical development, dimensions, and

practice. In J. A. Banks, & et al. (Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural

education (2nd ed. , pp. 3-29). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Zaldana, Celestial J., "Multicultural Education: What is it and Does it Have Benefits?" (2010). CMC Senior Theses. Paper 64.

http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/64