Pam Coats
Multiculturalism Responses
1. Why is it so important that teachers understand and promote multiculturalism?
Teachers must understand many cultures in order to understand where their student’s attitudes and beliefs originate. For a teacher to truly respect others cultures, she must first understand it.
2. Do you see many teachers promoting multiculturalism in the schools today?
Yes, all the teachers at BMS are great about trying to get to know their students and their parents. We do not have many cultures in our small school. The end of last year a student enrolled from Japan and speaks very little English. We are all working hard to make her transition a positive one.
3. How can you promote multiculturalism?
I can promote multiculturalism by first understanding it myself. I can survey and try to find out how many different cultures I have daily in my classroom. Then, I will be more prepared to serve my students daily needs. For instance, my new student from Japan could be allowed to share some of her traditions and beliefs. I think this would be a great way to get students to open up and understand that different is really okay.
4. How can you use photography to promote a multicultural perspective in the schools today?
In Reading, I can use photography to show the many different cultures from around the world. In a small rural town such as Bremen, many students have never been to other parts of the world. They don’t know that other cultures sometimes will not look you in the eye or that women wear different clothes or head wraps at times. Just because it is different from what they see everyday, doesn’t mean it is wrong. Once they see that children play just as they play and children smile just as they smile, I think they will be better prepared for their challenging world ahead.
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