Two members of the same race can sense the world in profoundly different ways. Two members of different racial heritages can perceive exactly the same reality. How one has experienced living because of one's race matters, but it doesn't guarantee a thing. When one breaks through the colors of skin, one sees a different set of colors, i. A New Theoretical Model There is a basic flaw in multicultural education models that focus on race to unlearn racism. They fail to recognize that racism and other forms of exclusion function on two dimensions—Horizontal and Vertical—not just one.
The approach here introduced represents a new theoretical model, a fresh approach that adds the other critical dimension to unlearning racism—the vertical. If multicultural education is to survive its current attacks, it will need to shift the focus from surface horizontal differences of race, color, gender, culture, to below- the-surface vertical layers of Value Systems.
There are nearly 6 billion people in the world today, and though we all come from some , genes—ALL of us—we share only a few basic value systems. Beck and Christopher C. Cowan of the National Values Center, Inc. It derives primarily from the seminal work of Clare W.
Previous Value Systems, however, do not go away; they just shift down the spiral. And, if changing Life Conditions warrant, we may return to these previous systems. Without our latent mental capacities, the world outside has nothing to trigger, as is the case with Alzheimer victims and the insane. Without the stimuli from outside, systems within may not have cause to be awakened, the case of closed communes and the Amish.
Thus both nature and nurture are important. Within this spiral of emerging Value Systems are found the various responses and approaches to education today, as well as reactions to multicultural education. Thus, memes, like genes, self-replicate, but by means of thought-contagion from brain to brain as cultural units of information, that use the human mind as a host, and attach themselves to individuals, organizations, entire cultures, and societies.
Racism is a meme—a contagious ideas—that infects individuals, organizations, entire cultures, and societies. And, like a deadly virus, it has contaminated all areas of life. What divides us in society, however, is not our genes, but our memes. We look different because of our genes; we think and act different because of our memes. Our genes are only Horizontal differences.
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Diversity is "in," much to the dismay of defenders of the past, the likes of Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Hirsch, Allan D. Bloom and Rush Limbaugh. The American demographic landscape is such that by the year nearly half of the population of the United States will be comprised of People of Color. This is that non-dominant, non-white status segment of the population, which, by virtue of the negative meaning placed on them, has been granted limited access as a group to the societal rewards of wealth, power and prestige, and whose value and contribution to society is continually minimized.
Multiculturalism, as the new paradigm for education for the 21st century, is a political ping-pong term greatly misused and highly misunderstood. Since for many it is also a value-ladened concept, it has come under fire from diverse segments of the population, who due to their social position view the world differently.
The fact that where you stand determines what you see is a reality in most situations, and it is especially true for the concept of multiculturalism. The purpose of this article is to provide an operational definition of multiculturalism as a basis for understanding the changes coming to our society, and to propose a model for what makes a school multicultural.
What Is Multiculturalism? The concept of multiculturalism embodies a new orientation toward the future. Unfortunately, in all the heated discussion around the term no clear definition of the concept has yet emerged. People are thus left to read into the term whatever their biases and self interests dictate. Let me put forth an operational definition of multiculturalism as a starting point to better clarify our human interactions.
Multiculturalism is a system of beliefs and behaviors that recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an organization or society, acknowledges and values their socio-cultural differences, and encourages and enables their continued contribution within an inclusive cultural context which empowers all within the organization or society. Let's take it apart. There are the four pairs of action phrases that give substance to the definition: "beliefs and behaviors," "recognizes and respects," "acknowledges and values," "encourages and enables," and a fifth one, "empowers.
It includes what people believe about others, their basic paradigms, and how these impact, and are impacted by, behavior. The first is recognition of the rich diversity in a given society or organization. The one-sided approach to history and education has been a testimony to that fact.
With recognition should also comes respect. Respect and recognition are not the same, since recognizing the existence of a group does not necessarily elicit respect for the group. In a slave economy, for example, the presence of slaves was recognized but their humanity was not respected. The presence of American Indians in the Western expansion of the continent was constantly recognized by whites, but their environmentally conscious cultures were never respected.
The contribution of women has usually been relegated to a footnote status. Our nation has a long history of not respecting the rights of the powerless. Multiculturalism also entails acknowledging the validity of the cultural expressions and contributions of the various groups. This is not to imply that all cultural contributions are of equal value and social worth, or that all should be tolerated. Some cultural practices are better than others for the overall betterment of society.
These cultural expressions and contributions that differ from those of the dominant group in society are usually only acknowledged when there is an economic market for them, such as music for African American, native Indian dances for tourism or Mexican cuisine.
When the business sector wants our money, the advertising industry pictures people of color in a positive light. But in most other cases the entertainment media simply caricatures minority stereotypes, such as women usually in supportive roles. Multiculturalism thus means valuing what people have to offer, and not rejecting or belittling it simply because it differs from what the majority, or those in power, regard as important and of value.
Multiculturalism will also encourage and enable the contribution of the various groups to society or an organization. Women and persons of color, for example, often experience discouragement because what they bring to the "table" for discussion is often regarded as of little value or worth. Not everything can be utilized, however, nor is of the same worth and value. But it does have value, even if for no other reason than the effort invested in bringing it forward.
In this manner. These are determined by a proper reading of Scripture. But even here the Scriptures reflect the way God speaks to humankind within their own specific cultural context. Let me share right here a most eye- opening concept: The Bible does not necessarily reflect the thinking of God. The Bible is written from a perspective that is not completely reflective of God. Ellen G. White makes this very clear. It is that of humanity.
God, as a writer, is not represented. Men will often say such an expression is not like God. But God has not put Himself in words, in logic, in rhetoric, on trial in the Bible. They in turn wrote about God within their cultural styles of thought and habitual patterns of thinking reflective of their time.
Jesus had to come as the incarnate Word of God and take on human flesh, culturally conditioned and socially situated by time and place, in order to reveal by His actions the thinking and nature of God. In Jesus, then, we have the ultimate revelation of God, who communicates effectively with humankind across all social and cultural barriers.
What Is Multiculturalism? Here is where understanding multiculturalism comes in. Multiculturalism is a system of beliefs and behaviors that recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an organization or society, acknowledges and values their socio-cultural differences, and encourages and enables their continued contribution within an inclusive cultural context which empowers all within the organization or society.
What are the implications of multiculturalism for effective schools? The mere presence of an ethnically, racially diverse student population, due to location, or moral and social imperatives, does not make a school multicultural This is merely being concerned with affirmative action, the policy of social equity. These four dynamics are important for effecting change, since they build on each other. Even if efforts to create a more ethnically, racially, and socioeconomically diverse campus are expended, this by itself is not sufficient to make a school multicultural.
What this means is that the number of ethnically diverse students sitting in classrooms does not make a school multicultural. But if all a school does is to give access, then students may leave just as quickly out the back door. The ever increasing dropout rate among students from socially disadvantaged environments is evidence that access is not enough. For many such students, for example African American and Latino students in the U.
Valuing diversity is important, as it may engender an awareness of and a sensitivity to differences, but it does not necessarily translate into structural changes. What makes a school multicultural is a Five Ps Model. These four imperatives form the basis of multicultural education. About the contribution of women? About the achievements of indigenous people? About one group reconstructing the world, and even an understanding of God, in its own image?
Multicultural education corrects for this.
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