Blog #6

For blog post number 6, I decided to dig a little deeper into the very broad topic of adapting curriculum for multicultural classrooms. Doing so, I came across the article titled, “Curriculum & Schooling: Multiculturalism, Critical Multiculturalism, and Critical Pedagogy,” which does not have a listed author, but does include a large abundance of recent scholarly sources. The article opens with a “food for thought” quote that I found very valuable; “School exists to prepare young people for the future. Throughout that future, students will be exposed to a multiethnic societal curriculum. How they perceive the curriculum, how it affects their beliefs and attitudes, and how it influences their interethnic behavior will, to a great extent, be a result of today’s schools preparing them to be multiethnically literate,” (Banks & Banis, 2008). The article then gives a lengthy overview of Multicultural Education. Our textbook from class emphasizes on the theme that multicultural should not be an additional part of the curriculum, but instead it should be the basis of the curriculum entirely. It should help form the positive beliefs and affirm cultural pluralism within our growing culturally diverse society.

            The article describes the conservative critiques of Multicultural Education as being that , “schools and universities are responding to diversity in an increasingly harmful manner, and that damaging ideas increasingly drive public education with ‘myths of multiculturalism fed to all school children by a state monopoly that is masquerading behind the values of tolerance, diversity, and pluralism.” On the other hand, the article says that, “Liberal multicultural education values cultural pluralism.” It also proposes to adapt curriculum, teaching styles, learning strategies, and communication between school and families of all diverse backgrounds.

After taking this pluralistic society course, and hearing Patty Bode, the author of our book speak, I agree with the liberal view. Before, I always knew it was a good idea to introduce children in the American education system to all cultures, but I now realize the extent of the importance to include it and use it to build the curriculum as a whole.

Blog Post #5

In chapter 7 from Affirming Diversity, I decided to learn further about the idea of student resistance in the classroom. Where does it stem from? How can teachers eliminate it? In Chapter 7 of Affirming Diversity, it is explained that student resistance in the classroom “adds another layer to the explanation of school failure, “ (266). If teachers start to look more at student resistance and try to change it, hopefully this could have a lasting affect on the schools in America.

For my Blog Post #5, I read the article "Student Learning: Six Causes of Resistance," written by Maryellen Weimer, who has her PhD in Effective Teaching Strategies. This article did a great job in categorizing different forms and causes of resistance, and ended with a few tips for teaches to use to help aid the resistance that may be present in their classroom.

Weimer’s first reason for resistance in the classroom was the student’s “Poor Self-Image as Learners.” This evolves around the student’s confidence in their learning, and in some student’s situations, if they don’t believe they are capable of learning, they would rather not even bother. Her second cause of resistance in the classroom was the “Fear of the Unknown.” This basically explained that some student’s might be afraid to think outside of the box or learn things that are unfamiliar or not taught at home to them from their family, hence resistance to learn when in the classroom. Weimer’s third reason was there might be a “Disjunction between learning and teaching styles.” In this case, it is no wonder that the student is resisting; the teacher is teaching in a way that is not reaching the student’s programed learning style. This could result in a classroom where the teacher does not use differentiated instruction. Her fourth cause of resistance was “Apparent Irrelevance of the Learning Activity.” It is natural with anyone, not solely students, that there many times in life when a particular subject has no relevance to us, and in result we tend to tune it out.  This is the same result for students who find themselves in these situations in the classroom. Her fifth reason was a “Inappropriate Level of Required Learning.” If the teaching is teaching something way above the student’s developmental state, they are simply more than likely not going to be able to learn, and will find themselves resisting. Finally, Weimer’s sixth cause for resistance in the classroom was the “Student’s Dislike of Teachers.” Sadly, there may be some cases where a student doesn’t like a teacher and therefor refuses to listen or learning from him or her. The most useful suggestion that I found Weimer gave about reducing the amount of resistance in the classroom was , “teachers need to build a case for learning. They should explain clearly and often why something is important, why it’s relevant, and why it’s something students need to know. For learners without confidence who are afraid of new knowledge, it helps to create learning situations in which they can taste some success early on. “

In Chapter 7 of Affirming Diversity, it is explained that student resistance in the classroom “adds another layer to the explanation of school failure, “ (266).