Before
delving in and deconstructing the problematic aspects of multicultural
literacy, you must first address the question: What exactly is multicultural literacy? Ideally, it
is a type of literacy that creates an environment where the differences that exist
between people are valued, understood, and appreciated – rather than trying to limit
various cultures and people to the similarities that exist between cultures, it
allows for their differences to be fully embraced. Furthermore, this quote from the
Ministry of Education (2009) provides insight into the importance held in
regards to implementing multiculturalism within the education system:
“To achieve an equitable and inclusive school climate,
school boards and schools will strive to ensure that all members of the school
community feel safe, comfortable, and accepted. We want all staff and students
to value diversity and to demonstrate respect for others and a commitment to
establishing a just, caring society.” (p. 10).
Both of these definitions and understandings
of multicultural literacy seem to be ideas that people can get behind: creating
an educational environment that promotes and encourages diversity. So, what is
the problem? Why is the way multicultural literacy implemented into the
classroom problematic? Well, the answer is complex – the major issue is that
the way multiculturalism has been applied into the education system is based
off of Eurocentric values and beliefs, creating a system that does not bother
to truly integrate other cultures into the classroom environment. Boutte (2008)
describes clearly the issue with how multiculturalism has been applied in the school system, “Multiculturalism
is often valued conceptually versus practically and efforts to address
diversity issues are frequently superficial.” (p. 169). This quote provides a
valuable addition to the discussion of multiculturalism within schools – when
schools do attempt to implement a multicultural aspect into the curriculum, its
through events such as “Diversity/Culture/Country Day!” where students are made
to create bulletin boards or some other type of project showing a limited
perspective of a specific culture. The reason these types of events are questionable at best, and ignorant at the worst, is that it is not truly integrating multiculturalism in the curriculum; instead it is
taking one day out of the entire school year to put on a façade that the
school cares about other cultures – when in reality, every other day of the
year is dripping with Eurocentrism in each topic students are made to learn,
and does nothing to actively implement different cultural ideals into the
curriculum.
What's wrong with a Diversity Day? Retrieved from Portland State University
From my experience within the education system in
Ontario, the curriculum itself needs to be re-written. No longer should it be
acceptable to have a curriculum that solely has Eurocentric ways of
understanding the world embedded within it – this does nothing to benefit
children from different cultures and ignores the vital importance that
multicultural literacy has within the classroom. Furthermore, referring back to
the example about Diversity Day’s – it is not good enough to solely just
discuss diversity through a one-dimensional perspective, only focusing on the
different foods each culture has or very few cultural practices, schools need
to go beyond this and unpack the heart of the issue. The purpose of multicultural
literacy is to thoroughly engage with the differences of the students and the
world, looking at systems of oppression, and fighting for ways to change it. How
can we expect our students to become literate in multiculturalism if we do not
provide the opportunities for them within the classroom and if their teachers
are not able to be reflective on their own biases and perceptions? Redefining the way we implement multicultural literacy will allow students to thrive in ways that were not available to them before. As a women who is white and born into a middle class family from Canada, my understanding of multiculturalism may have biases that still need to be unpacked and changed, yet I do take the time to reflect on my beliefs and the questionable biases apparent within those beliefs - an action that all teachers should participate in order to create a truly multicultural environment within their classrooms.
References:
Boutte, G. S. (2008) Beyond the illusion of diversity:
How early childhood teachers
can
promote social justice. The Social Studies, 99(4), 165-173.
Ministry of Education. (2009). Realizing the
promise of diversity: Ontario's equity
and
inclusive education strategy. Retrieved
from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/equity.pdf
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