Teaching In A Multicultural Society

Originally published in 1981. This book authoritatively and comprehensively documents the extent of the response to the changing responsibilities of initial and in-service teacher education in a multicultural society. It look at provisions and perceptions of need and indicates future avenues of development. The papers were presented at a national seminar held at Nottingham University in April 1981.

Educators everywhere confront critical issues related to families, schooling, and teaching in diverse settings. Directly addressing this reality, Home-School Connections in a Multicultural Society shows pre-service and practicing teachers how to recognize and build on the rich resources for enhancing school learning that exist within culturally and linguistically diverse families. Combining engaging cases and relevant key concepts with thought-provoking pedagogical features, this valuable resource for educators at all levels: Provides detailed portraits of diverse families that highlight their unique cultural practices related to schooling and the challenges that their children face in school settings Introduces key sociocultural and ethnographic concepts, in ways that are both accessible and challenging, and applies these concepts as lenses through which to examine the portraits Shows how teachers and researchers have worked with diverse families to build positive relationships and develop learning activities that incorporate children’s unique experiences and resources Disrupting deficit assumptions about the experiences and knowledge that culturally and linguistically diverse children acquire in their homes and communities, this book engages readers in grappling deeply and personally with the chapters’ meanings and implications, and in envisioning their own practical ways to learn from and with families and children.

Twelve articles deal with the nature and extent of cultural diversity in the United States, the myths and realities of multicultural societies, and practical educational programs and teaching strategies.

This best-selling text offers a balanced approach to issues as it explores today's multicultural landscape and how to prepare teachers to use equitable and reflective decision making in their multicultural classrooms. The ninth edition of Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society was designed to introduce prospective teachers to the different cultural groups to which students and their families belong. In this time of extensive standardized testing, we must remember that students are the center of teaching. We have to understand and build on their cultures and experiences to help them learn at the highest levels. In this regard, this book provides background on the diversity of the nation's students, explores the social and educational issues faced by teachers in diverse classrooms, and guides the reader to think critically and reflectively about their decisions as a teacher in a multicultural education classroom.

This collection of essays deals with philosophical and educational questions about multi-culturalism in primary and secondary schools.

During a field trip in Detroit on a summer day in 1989, a group of African American fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-graders talked, laughed, and ate snacks as they walked. Later, in the teacher’s lounge, Jeanetta, an African American teacher chided the teachers, black and white, for not correcting poor black students for “eating on the street,” something she saw as stereotypical behavior that stigmatized students. These thirty children from Detroit’s Cass Corridor neighborhood were enrolled in the Dewey Center Community Writing Project. Taught by seven teachers from the University of Michigan and the Detroit public schools, the program guided students to explore, to interpret, and to write about their community. According to David Schaafsma, one of the teachers, the “eating on the street” controversy is emblematic of how cultural values and cultural differences affect education in American schools today. From this incident Schaafsma has written a powerful and compelling book about the struggle of teaching literacy in a racially divided society and the importance of story and storytelling in the educational process. At the core of this book is the idea of storytelling as an interactive experience for both the teller and listener. Schaafsma begins by telling his own version of the “eating on the street” conflict. He describes the history of the writing program and offers rich samples of the students’ writing about their lives in a troubled neighborhood. After the summer program, Schaafsma interviewed all the teachers about their own version of events, their personal histories, and their work as educators. Eating on the Street presents all of these layered stories - by Schaafsma, his collegues, and the students - to illustrate how talking across multiple perspectives can enrich the learning process and the community-building process outside the classroom as well. These accounts have strong implications for multicultural education today. They will interest teachers, educational experts, administrators, and researchers. Uniting theory and practice, Eating on the Street is on the cutting edge of pioneering work in educational research.

Essay from the year 2012 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,5, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen (Anglistik), course: Academic Writing, language: English, abstract: Whether Canada is as multicultural as it seems or if it is just the country of the encounter of different cultures without bringing them closer to each other is often discussed talking about diversity within countries. The population of Canada is culturally mixed because so many people from different cultural background live there. Nevertheless the globally admired multiculturalism of Canada is often regarded as superficially by other countries. It is necessary for students to be informed about how it is possible for some countries like Canada to host such a variety of cultures. Apart from that, they get to know how people are able to live peacefully together although they come from different cultural background and pay attention to different traditions. I analyze the differences between other countries and Canada in terms of multiculturalism and show how Canada portrays itself. This analysis finds out whether it is reality or ideology the inhabitants of Canada display. Afterwards I present methods of teaching the cultural diversity of Canada in school.