Multicultural and Multilingual Education

It is important to include the history of what Spring refers to as dominated groups into the curriculum. As a math teacher, it will be challenging for me to incorporate this history into my lessons.  I wonder if it is possible to have a multicultural curriculum with all of the emphasis on standardized testing, and a push toward the implementation of a national curriculum. Teachers seem to be losing freedom to teach and in my opinion, the national curriculum probably would not incorporate multicultural history. Similarly, I think it is very unlikely for America to provide students with bilingual education. The process of Americanization continues and the value of other languages is not great enough to implement multilingual education. As a teacher, I plan to show my students that I value diversity. It is the responsibility of the teacher to make necessary accommodations to meet the needs of their students. But teachers must also show respect and appreciation for diversity as they try to help students from other cultures succeed in American schools.

Furthermore, it is not surprising for me to hear of people in dominated groups to lack trust in institutions. It is similar to how some elderly people do not trust banks with their money. In the past, these institutions have not acted in the best interest for these groups of people. Parents that experienced institutionalized discrimination, especially in schools, may pass on negative perceptions of schools to their children. Past experience and the fact that most school teachers are white females make it harder for people of color to feel that when they send their students to school that they will receive fair treatment. This cultural frame of reference that Spring talks about is not a new concept to me. As a multiracial person that grew up in a white household and attended an all black school most of my life, I have noticed the differences in how my friends viewed institutions. My best friend told me that he has always been taught by his father not to “pay the white man first.” By this, his father has told him that rather than spending his entire check paying bills, he should always set aside money for recreation or entertainment, even if he could not afford to do so. I was always taught the importance of paying bills on time and making sacrifices in order to provide for the needs of my family. I plan to use my awareness of cultural frame of reference to my advantage. I realize the importance of establishing positive teacher family relationships. I hope that I will ensure parents and guardians that their students will be receiving a quality education in my classroom.