Blog #7

1. Before entering the class, my perceptions of a multicultural education were very vague. I was familiar with the term and what it entailed, but that was about to the extent of it. Before this class, there was only one other education course at BGSU that I specifically remember spending more than one day learning the importance of a multicultural education. It probably came up in a chapter or class discussion, but it was never enough to make me think on a deeper level about it. Before this class, my perception was that a true multicultural education would only be necessary to use if I taught in a diverse school district or had a very diverse student in my classroom.

2. My perceptions have changed drastically when it comes to a multicultural education. I now consider myself a full supporter of a multicultural education in all scenarios, whether it's a diverse classroom to begin with or not.

3. When asked what I learned from this class that will better prepare me as a future teacher, I know it is a very broad answer, but I truly did learn the importance of multicultural education in every classroom. I learned that a multicultural education is valuable to everyone who is in the minority or even the majority. People in our own classroom shared testimonials saying that they did not come from a diverse school whatsoever, and because of this they had misconceptions about people from different cultures when arriving at BGSU. I also liked the idea of making multicultural education the curriculum, not just a part of it. When I am a teacher in the near future, every time I am doing my planning I am going to tie in culture one way or another. Some days it might be more prevalent than others, but at least it is there. America is uniquely a diverse country, so it only makes sense that all American's because multiculturally educated, and as a result become more accepting to one another. In my opinion, people who are considered racist, discriminatory, or stereotypical are downright uneducated in the "other culture." This is why I believe it is so important to start at such a young age with American children to raise a more accepting and knowledgable generation.

4. The changes I would suggest for next course are very minor. I liked the overall way the course was set up in terms of routine and organization. I really think class discussions should stay as a big part of the course. Maybe to motivate everyone a little more to stay on top of their readings, prepare a short multiple choice question quiz every few classes. There were a lot of times in class where I felt like maybe only 50-60% of the class actually read the article.