Mukesh is my name. I am 9 years old and in the 4th grade. I am a Hindu, and I am a strict vegetarian. Strict vegetarians neither touch nor eat meat and eggs. We view them as life or as a source of life and believe that they shouldn't be destroyed. I appreciate Easter celebrations, but in some ways they are difficult for me. I have a hard time handling eggs. Painting eggs and egg hunting can be fun, but I always feel I am doing something wrong. What should I say to my teacher and to my friends?
A Changing Nation
During the 21st century, children of traditionally underrepresented groups, often called minorities, will constitute a new majority within the United States (Spencer, 1990). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americans constitute one-third of the U.S. population. Within 10 years, they are expected to account for more than half the U.S. population. Classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse. Children of different cultures learn, play, interact with peers and adults, and view teachers and schools in different ways (Ramsey, 1987). Further, parental socialization practices and beliefs vary significantly across cultures.
Teachers must therefore be prepared to meet the unique needs of children of diverse backgrounds. Even teachers of single-culture classrooms need to help their students understand and appreciate other cultures. One primary goal of educators is to provide the skills and the understanding that will allow children to operate effectively in a pluralistic society. In fact, multicultural education provides skills that enhance one's appreciation of one's own culture. The multiculturalist position . . . amounts to the claim that even our everyday perceptions, and certainly our moral and aesthetic canons, are significantly shaped by the cultural context to which we belong, and that to grasp this fact requires some in-depth knowledge of the ways people in other cultures perceive and believe. To see our own limitations, to see indeed that we have limitations, we must first see beyond them. (Fleischacker, 1996, p. 17)
Everyone Must Be Educated
- raise awareness about the needs of children and their parents who are not members of the mainstream culture;
- support students who are members of diverse religious and cultural groups;
- enhance sensitivity to cultural differences in the curriculum as well as in classroom instruction; and
- raise awareness about the dilemmas that parents of diverse groups face within the mainstream school system.
Using real-life scenarios, teachers and facilitators can provide discussion questions as a way to start a conversation (see sidebar). The scenarios can raise awareness and increase sensitivity, and they can lead participants to brainstorm alternatives for activities that interfere with a student's religion or culture.
Discussion Scenarios
A student talks about holidays: "It is quiet here in the classroom. My 2nd grade classmates left 20 minutes ago to work on a lesson with Ms. Baird in the art class. They are making reindeer and Santa Clauses. I am Sikh. My parents do not want me to join in activities that are outside my religion. Therefore, I am in a classroom all by myself. I have nothing much to do except read. I wish I could be with my friends."
If you were this child's parent or teacher, what would you tell this student?
Possible solutions: This student has several options that would not exclude him from art class. His parents may be pleased to have him draw some symbols that are important to his culture and then discuss their significance with his classmates. For example, he could make or draw a kada—a steel bangle that is worn around the wrist to remind a Sikh to do good deeds. He could draw a turban or perhaps demonstrate to his classmates how to tie a turban.
A parent asks about tolerance: “As a parent of a kindergartner, I'm happy to do whatever the teacher wants. She asked me to come in during the first week of December to explain Hanukkah while she made latkes (potato pancakes). I made finger puppets for the children while I told the story of Hanukkah—emphasizing the theme of religious freedom. The children had fun with the story and they also enjoyed playing the dreidel game. But I'm confused, frankly, about where this lesson fits into the public school curriculum. If this was a general unit on celebrations, where was the Muslim parent explaining Ramadan? Where was the Hindu explaining their great celebrations, such as Dewali, or the Eastern Orthodox Christian? And of all the Jewish holidays, why did the teacher choose to highlight the relatively minor holiday of Hanukkah?"
How would you answer this parent's questions?
Possible solutions: This may be a first step into discussing other holidays. Although Hanukkah is a minor holiday within Jewish observance, its theme of religious tolerance can be a stepping-stone to class presentations on other celebrations.
A teacher is concerned about students' health: "It is the month of Ramadan. My three Muslim students are fasting each day. Why did the school still require them to sit in the cafeteria during lunch? Why did they schedule standardized testing this month? Isn't it a health hazard to require them to still run the mile each Friday?"
Is there anything that this teacher can do to support these students?
Possible solutions: The Muslim students should have the option, but not the requirement, of joining their peers in the cafeteria. A quiet room could be set aside for study, silent reading, and silent prayer. If possible, standardized tests should be avoided during Ramadan. Doing vigorous physical activity while fasting—which includes no drinking of water during the day—could be hazardous; children should have the option of being exempt from running the mile.
Other Instructional Ideas
In addition to discussing contemporary classroom situations, educators might also integrate multicultural information into a variety of instructional lessons. They shouldn't feel restricted to teaching the ethnic customs of food and dress within a social studies lesson. For example, they might consider math word problems, writing prompts, art activities, and the history of scientific inventions as areas for infusing cultural information. For example, "three kimonos" could replace "three hats" in a math problem.
Parents and teachers might also use discussion questions in workshops. For example, conversations might relate to the formation of children's cultural identities in addition to religious differences. These workshops can provide a forum for parents and teachers of similar and different cultural groups to share their concerns. Trained workshop leaders can skillfully manage the discussions.
Administrators and teachers might also reach out to parents of diverse groups to welcome them to the school. Parents can share their ethnic and religious heritage by becoming involved in school activities, especially in the development of a multicultural curriculum. Parents should be assured that learning about other religions in a respectful environment does not imply the loss of the child's unique religious or cultural identity.
Raising Cultural Awareness
In his story, Mukesh asks for help in knowing what to say to his teachers and friends about the Easter egg hunt. What could his teacher do to honor Mukesh's religion?
Mukesh might decide that watching the other children do their activity is sufficient. His teacher, however, could encourage him to talk to the class about his cultural interpretation of eggs and the reason for his family's vegetarian lifestyle. Mukesh might draw eggs on construction paper and color them to help decorate the room, but he may decide not to do this. Perhaps his teacher could support Mukesh's choice to draw some other symbol of springtime. Mukesh may share the Hindu custom of Holi in which the use of colors is a significant way of marking the new spring season. Some Hindus use hand sprinklers with colored water to joyously celebrate spring. Thus, his teacher could incorporate some custom that is important to Mukesh into the classroom and thereby broaden the experiences of all the children.
