Multiculturalism

If I would have been asked what Multicultural Education was before reading the articles, I would have said it is a great way to teach the history of all types of ethnicities in America. I now have a completely different view on Multiculturalism! All of the three articles seemed to be against Multicultural Education. The vibe I got from them was that all multiculturalism will do is cause some race to be mad. This is because different races see historical events happening in different ways. So they idea in the IHR article was why teach it when we can't give all ethnicities perspectives on each event in history. "Significantly, the understanding by many non-whites of multicultural history is entirely different from that of whites." (Taylor) The Pithissippi Burning article was geared more toward an angrier more aggressive group of whites and authors who believe that American History should be told from a white point of view. It seemed like the people mentioned in the article were afraid that white American History is being lost. "In the next 50 years, white culture (such as it is) will cease to be the dominating force in the American landscape." (Tobia) The National Planet article also had a negative idea on Multiculturalism. "This structure is imposed on people who do not want it: since it is a global structure, there is no escape." (National Planet)

I am shocked that so many people viewed Multicultural Education as negative or a problem based of off the viewpoint. I am a U.S. History teacher and in my classroom I teach multi culturally. I do this by showing many view points and allowing the students to analyze and synthesize there opinion or take on the event. Yes, I agree that our textbooks and materials are geared toward one ethnicity more, but we as teachers should be able to present the information or at least leave our students with questions about other people's views on the event. I think we should teach American History just as it happened and mention all ethnicites involved and let the students know each side. I think multicultural education in today's History should focus more on a mix of ethnicities and not just the white view point, because we are, after all, just a melting pot for races today in America! Our old history was more white, but our more recent history involves many races. I believe we should embrace that, do you?

References

National Planet. Why Multiculturalism is Wrong. Retrieved June 19, 2010, from https://elearn.mtsu.edu/d2l/orgTools/ouHome/ouHome.asp?ou=1439730

Taylor, Samuel. The Challenges in 'Multiculturalism' In How Americans view the Past and the Future. The Journal of Historical Review, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 159-165. Retrieved June 19, 2010, from https://elearn.mtsu.edu/d2l/orgTools/ouHome/ouHome.asp?ou=1439730

Tobia, PJ. (2009). Pithissippi Burning: Race, White Nationalism, and American Culture. Retrieved June 19, 2010, from https://elearn.mtsu.edu/d2l/orgTools/ouHome/ouHome.asp?ou=1439730