Not so long ago, August 23, 1963, The March on Washington, was one of the largest political rallies for human rights in United States history. The March on Washington is credited with helping pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and The Voters Rights Act of 1965. It also gave birth to multicultural education and the idea of inclusion.
The history of multicultural education parallels the history of the United States. Since the first European Colonists arrived, we have been attempting to find ways to create the kind of society that measures up to our dreams of egalitarianism and justice in a world in which all too often, human failings pull us back from that dream. Our module resources tells at least part of the story, in terms of critical points in U.S. history of our attempts to use education as a tool for social justice and suggests that we are today, facing still further efforts as society changes to meet the demands of the 21st century.
TO DO:
A. Read, A Brief History of Multicultural Education
1. Who is James Banks?
2. How does he propose we maintain “educational equality?”
B. Identify Legal Precedents. Read Landmark US Cases Related to Equality of Opportunity in K-12 Education. As you read, identify 1 civil rights legislation in one of the sections that has had an impact on you or your family’s educational journey. Include a brief description of the court case (do not copy and paste-use your own words) along with your explanation of how the court case applies to you.
Example:
Disability:
School Finance
Desegregation
Language Equity: Lau vs. Nicholas (1974), Non-English-speaking Chinese-American students in San Francisco claimed that they were being denied equal protection by the school system’s failure to provide additional English language instruction. While the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students, it did so by relying on Section 601 of the 1964 Civil Rights Act rather than the Equal Protection Clause; Section 601 protects against discrimination on the basis of national origin. This case paved the way for future decisions regarding bilingual education. This Act opened up courses of study at colleges and universities and allowed me to specialize in ESL/Bilingual education as a elementary education teacher.
Gender Equality/Title IX
C. Watch the TED TALK “Multiculturalism in the Modern World” and answer the following questions:
1. What types of multicultural education are risky and why?
2. The speaker proposes 3 elements that are important to multiculturalism: rigor, pro-social capacity and advancement of social justice. What do each of the elements mean according to the author.
3. What is Core Knowledge?
4. Deep Think: What is controversial about multicultural education?
5. Besides this class, what element(s) of multicultural education are you currently experiencing in college or your place of work?
TED TALK, Multiculturalism in the Modern World
