Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Threat of Cultural Pluralism: Entry #4

1. Think about your own experiences in schools. In what ways were the curriculum, policies and structure of your school used as a means of social control?
· The English and History curriculums were used as a means of social control by teaching about other cultures, ethnicities, and religions. These practices gave minorities in the classroom a sense of belonging and expertise to those particular subject matters relating to their backgrounds.

2. Record your initial, personal, reflective thoughts regarding the differences between the two views and situations.
· I had to re-read and really think about the sections explaining the differences between two conceptions of multiculturalism. But after looking beyond the similarities of advocating pluralism, expressing admiration for diversity, and having a broad sympathy for the values to be found in all cultures, their philosophical implications are quite different; Melville’s view is broad, while Gates perception stresses loyalty to one’s local culture.
· After reading the different websites over multiculturalism, I have to agree that a benefit is served when all cultures are taught throughout units instead of having separate months to learn about different cultures. Embedding cultural into normal lessons gives a sense of pure multicultural education.

1 comment:

  1. ... yes, I agree. I always hated to "push" the curriculum for Black History Month because I always thought it would be better to examine different cultures throughout the year and within the context of the true content.

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