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Ashley Bileau

Brother Griffin

English 252

30 May 2017

Multicultural Literature: A Solution to Better Education

Introduction

In the middle to high school education system found today in the United States,

multicultural text is entering classrooms slowly and with great success. Through much

research about how this is possible, discovering the motivating and empowering strength

to student achievement, what environment factors are created to attribute to this success,

how stereotypes and prejudice is becoming a thing of the past with this new change, and

the benefits to communication among students with this new literature has developed this

new research that can be applied to all educational institutions in the U.S. The use of

multicultural text in the classroom helps students connect their cultural backgrounds to

others and embrace a new cultural identity that can benefit their lives. By including

multicultural text in the classroom, we are seeing a pattern of stereotypes and prejudices

between other cultures, beliefs, morals, and backgrounds erasing and replaced with

individuals who are open minded and interculturally diverse. The classroom

environment is changing as a result with open communication and approached with all

learning styles of the students.

Through out my education growing up, I have always been fascinated with

foreign language and English classes. English is a four-year requirement in high school

and foreign language was a two-year requirement. I took Spanish to meet the requirement
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as well to be able to use the language for real world issues and culture changes I would

face. I personally couldnt even get through the two-year program, as it was very

inapplicable to truly learning the language. I switched to another language for my last

two years and discovered I wasnt alone in my negative feelings about the program.

Years later, I learn from others of all parts of the country that the negative problem to this

language program was barely past beginners no matter how long the language was

learned. Its not being retained or taught for students to use in the real world and benefit

them in their careers or society! When I learned that multicultural text were starting to be

used in classrooms and finding great success, I couldnt help but gain a desire to see how

it can benefit language programs as well as other subjects like English or Social Studies

in American schools. Its important to have the education for our children be beneficial

for their lives and our communities as we walk into a new future ahead of us.

Dellosa, Carson. Kids Around The World. N.d. Mpm School Suplies.com. Mpm School
Supplies. Web. 31 May 2017.
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Benefits of Multicultural Text

In the United States, there is a melting pot of cultures from all over the world

coming to live in a free land. With a mixture of cultures together, intercultural

communication bring prejudices into all interactions, including a common ethnocentric

view on the world based solely upon their own cultures perspectives (Brown). With this

arising problem, a solution such as using multicultural text in the classroom is necessary

to reach all cultural backgrounds coming into the nation to create peace and stronger

communities in the long run. Gloria Gill in her research paper, Third Places and the

Interactive Construction of Interculturality in the English as Foreign/ Additional

Language Classroom describes a powerful solution to our approach to foreign language

classes and how it is currently taught is not the solution. We are currently using a

Communicative Approach in teaching English as a second language as well as foreign

language classrooms which aims at helping students develop learners into native-like

communication competence. Whereas Gil suggests an approach where we help students

in the process of developing an intercultural competence of the language. This is

achieved through analyzing multicultural text that reaches all cultural backgrounds in

learning more of the self, individuals, and societies; skills to discover and/ or interact;

skills to interpret and relate; critical cultural awareness; and attitudes of relativizing the

self while decentering and valuing others (Gil). In other words, the use of multicultural

text attempts to value a students home culture rather than converting them into a new

culture. The value of this new approach to teaching subjects in schools to children of all

different cultural backgrounds is teaching a principle they can apply the rest of their lives:

their cultural background is of great value as well as of another cultural identity they are
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learning. With this new worldview, students see value and respect for all backgrounds all

over the world.

Literature in general is having a powerful affect on children as oppose to

textbooks in their learning growth. Through recent studies, it is found that the strong

images, language, and promoted imagination offers an affective and aesthetic view of

others lives and the joys and sorrows people feel (Norton 1990; Koeller). This strong

view is putting children in the shoes of others and giving meaning to them of what others

are going through; where empathy and compassion is erasing strong feelings of others

into more positive reactions. In general, modern text has been found to motivate students

to learn and connect, enjoy reading, as well as exploring people not like ourselves

(Eldeib). In Shirley Koellers research, Multicultural Understanding through Literature

suggests that a positive side to multicultural literature fosters cultural and personal

pride within students and promotes cultural awareness, tolerance, mutual respect, and

understanding among students from diverse backgrounds. A wide range of literature that

offers ideas and stories can promote interest in and greater sensitivity toward problems

that have an impact on peoples lives. This is the changing success found in classrooms

today that are applying new multicultural literature to discussion in the learning

environment. To promote a change in students to be interculturally diverse in their

sensitivities towards others around them gives a character development in the student.

They are becoming culturally aware, tolerant, respectful, and understanding of others

diverse backgrounds. How powerful is that! With literature rather than textbooks,

students are more motivated to learn and become that they take with them outside the

middle to high school environment. Becoming aware of all the room that can be made in
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the curriculum for more multicultural text to be used can benefit the student and their

communities.

Communication in the Classroom

Another benefit to multicultural text in the classroom includes self-reflection.

Curriculum using multicultural text creates opportunities for students to connect with

deeper interactions with ethnic and cultural history. This is where social studies classes

can benefit from learning of history by the literature of the people, culture, beliefs, etc.

that bring a deeper meaning to the education provided. Communication on the literature

in the classroom creates interaction between students and discussing those cultural

backgrounds that could cause contention and judgment. It brings students together who

are multivoiced and of all backgrounds. It develops learning and interpretation to new

understandings of cultures and perspectives. English classes are the perfect environments

to have class discussions on the literature. Imagine a class discussion on a multicultural

text! Communication on deep topics can be a great way to inspire students to apply and

learn. Motivation to read is increasing in students within these programs in a world where

reading isnt a priority. Teachers are feeling safer to bring their students to libraries and

having them pick their own multicultural literature because the motivation to learn and

share is there (Koeller). What these students choose to study they will always share with

others. The communication in the classroom creates an environment to share ideas and

apply together.

Benefits to the Learning Environment

Imagine a classroom of 5 different cultural backgrounds. Some came from

Mexico, others from French Canada, and the others from all over South America and
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Asia. These students have been brought from all over the world with multiple purposes to

learning English as a second or third language along with a culture quite different than

the one they have grown up with. The common issues that develop in children of these

situations are of lowered self-esteem, motivation goes down, become disruptive, and

disrespect adults. Kathy Escamilla comes up with great solutions to this issue we are

finding in schools today in her government report, Integrating Mexican-American

History and Culture into the Social focusing particularly on the Mexican-American

student but is extremely applicable to all cultures. Escamillas thesis explains that an

affiliation to an individuals culture greatly influences their development in lifestyle

choices, values, opinions, attitudes, and approaches to learning. Their self-esteem is

essentially benefited from including multicultural works in their education. Together in a

classroom environment that is approaching cultural topics from all over the world in their

various forms learn to appreciate and respect these other cultural groups. Escamilla also

discovered that as classrooms are developing these deep topics that shape their identities,

the school climate changes to appreciate diversity. Without this necessary change, it can

be hard to accept what you are not use to without the support of the schools environment

on the subject.

The schools environment on supporting the diverse students in these institutions

turns out to be a major factor in the success of this program. Educators should provide

multicultural text that is appropriate for students as well as accurately describes the

community of the culture. Good literature will inspire a sense of belonging and

community in the classroom no matter the students physical ability, gender, and race.

The literature will make them feel good about themselves as well as provide them with
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more incentive to read. The simple fact that good literature affects students in such a

powerful way creates a better learning environment. Motivation is key for students!

Anything to help them study and retain information will impact them the rest of their

lives. If we are to have students use their education to better their communities and

futures is worthy to make sure that retention and inspiration is powerful enough. Makes it

all worth it!

In recent studies made by Susan D. McMahon in an academic journal called, The

Relation of Classroom Environment and School Belonging to Academic Self-Efficacy

among Urban Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Students the most important element to student

success is found in the schools environment as a whole. Students naturally want to feel

connected with their school! Relationships with teachers and peers contribute to that

motivation I mentioned before, engagement, and expectations. The most surprising part

of these studies was finding that the environment had a very direct and positive impact on

students confidence in their reading skills. School academics show an increase in higher

language arts and reading achievement because of the efforts to better an educational

institutions environment. One-aspect teachers can do to make this positive impact in

their classrooms is through developing strong teacher to student and student-to-student

interactions through class discussion on the text (McMahon).

Other than the academic side to the environment that is promoting student success

when adding multicultural material to the curriculum, the social side is essential as well.

As discussed previously, using powerful text to promote discussion in the classroom

strengthens the environment. The social environment through peer relationships makes it

effective for a student to find academic success. This includes that the student strongly
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believes that their teacher cares and supports them. All the aspects of bringing multiple

cultural backgrounds together creating contention and disruptive behavior erases with a

stronger environment. The natural conclusion to this new environment brings students to

have better communication with the teacher as well as getting along with them (Ryan).

The teacher must express that they are available to the students to help and understand

them. Sometimes being a teacher means giving support to the student in achieving their

goals and needs that they arent getting at home. An Environment where students are

encouraged to know, interact with, and help others in class during lessons feel they have

their ideas respected in class (Ryan).

Stereotypes and Prejudice in the Classroom

A formidable aspect on the topic of multicultural text in the classroom is how

stereotypes and prejudice found between those of differing cultures are erased with this

new program. Gloria Gill talks further on this topic as it is a powerful source of success

from including more of a balance of multicultural text in our curriculum. Gill describes

the powerful environmental shift that is happening in the classroom called the Third

Place as students grow to understand otherness. An emphasis through using cultural text

with a diverse population of students is that other cultures are not like another but are

very different. These students are learning a new language and culture; essentially

creating within themselves a new cultural identity. The emphasis here is that this is not a

bad thing or that your foundational identity the home culture is also a good thing (Gil).

Multicultural works used in the curriculum already established helps students to embrace

all cultures and see the good its benefits are having with in themselves. Students are
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becoming interculturally interdependent and that is what is necessary in people today

during all the cultural conflicts happening in the world.

Looking at the root cause of stereotypes and prejudice, Geraldine Brown asserts

strongly that they are often based on ignorance and past experiences. Through growing

the knowledge of other cultures and having students be in the shoes of others through

literature is erasing the past experiences and ignorance they brought to school. These

students are naturally replacing this with respect. Just as students are less disruptive in

class and improving their relationships with their teachers, students are doing the same

with each other including outside the classroom as they interact with other cultures.

These are immediate results that cant be ignored. Multicultural texts in classrooms are

already making powerful strides on cultural diversity in America.

Opposition

Although there is much good from multicultural text in the classroom, the past has

shown negative aspects as well. Through balancing multicultural text with the curriculum

in classrooms, teachers are using their own interpretations and ideas to express what these

cultures are like. In almost all cases, the expectations are then scrutinized and expanded

to result in a new multicultural language instead of the actual language and culture

(Markinish). Other studies of the results of multicultural text in the classroom show that

children dont need diverse literature (McCaffrey). With a mixture of teachers

interpreting the text to unintentionally assert their own personal opinions, it is shown that

inadequate diversity in literature does not benefit students. Multicultural literature has

strong offensive images in the text and that is inappropriate for elementary and middle

school students. The past works on the African Americans in schools have also painted
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them out to be objects of ridicule and general inferior beings (Bishop 2012,

McCaffrey).

With the rise of need for diverse texts to be published, more are being provided to

schools and libraries across the nation. But recent text under represents diversity and

represents instead a mostly white world. Another problem found other than diversity in

schools is the need for more text with strong female characters. There is not enough

literature for women to feel their role as it stands today. It creates feelings in boys that

they are more inferior to women and that isnt true. It is important to have text in

classrooms taught to students that are true. Comparing problematic text helps round the

views of society but no matter what, one text will just provide one perspective limited

view (McCaffrey).

Response

It is true that in the past there have been problems with multicultural text. But

there must be a balance between our cultures text and of others in the classroom.

Educators also need to be knowledgeable of these cultures before they teach it (and that is

the same argument for all aspects of a teachers career). As the world comes to a greater

knowledge of the cultures, beliefs, issues, and solutions, teachers are becoming more

adept to the knowledge necessary to teach these subjects, issues, and cultures in the

classroom. With an increasing diverse population all over our country, the need for

diverse literature rises with it. Shortcomings found in text should have plans be made to

overcome them through a descriptive and qualitative analysis (McCaffrey). We need

multicultural text because it gives students more opportunities to view themselves in

literature. Without, they will experience psychological and academic problems. It is

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agreed upon that including female characters more often in literature to be used in the

classroom is necessary for women to see their important role in society rather than

belittled by male privilege. It is also necessary to have diverse literature, even in a white

community so that even they dont have cultural blinders or feel they are more important

than others. A way to overcome the problems of the past with multicultural text includes

comparing older text to newer text. This helps students to recognize differences in the

past with cultural attitudes and how we have progressed overtime.

Conclusion

The use of multicultural text in the classroom helps students connect their cultural

backgrounds to others and embrace a new cultural identity that can benefit their lives. By

including multicultural text in the classroom, we are seeing a pattern of stereotypes and

prejudices between other cultures, beliefs, morals, and backgrounds erasing and replaced

with individuals who are open minded and interculturally diverse. No matter the

imperfections of literature in diversity, plans can overcome these issues. New literature

with educated teachers creates a powerful environment that benefits students to find their

own cultural identity and be universal in their views of the world. No matter the

arguments against having multicultural text in the classroom, the positives greatly out

way the negatives. This new intercultural identity students will grow to become through

this program helps students to not see the new culture and language they are embracing

as converting them into something they grew up in opposition. But of a deeper and

enriched identity they can take with them in all situations. This will create a better world

as we face the issues of diversity and gender roles in the classroom because that is where

it all starts!
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