If the education system applied multiculturalism into the classrooms of the public schools, it would change the system entirely. Because right now migrant students have to do work up to the same level work as students that have lived in the United States for their whole life. The teaching style of teachers has not changed since the 1980’s and because of that students are not getting the knowledge that they need (Wraga). This is one of the first things that must change to make way to put multiculturalism into the classroom. If teachers would be willing to take classes to learn more about the cultural differences of their students then, the migrant students and the teachers would be on the same level (Neuharth-Pritchett, et al). Also, if teachers would be even more willing than they are to stay after school to help these students succeed, then migrant students would be able to learn and gain knowledge about the new environment around them.
Standardized testing can be deceiving because of how it is set up and written. For starters; everyone is set at the same standard. If one has lived here for his or her whole life or if one has lived here for only a year and can hardly speak the English language, he or she still must take the same test. On the W.A.S.L. (Washington Assessment of Student Learning), if a migrant has lived in the state for a year they have to take the test just like any other student. Now with the W.A.S.L. as a gradation requirement, what will the state do with all the migrant students that will not be able to pass the test? This will just increase the dropout rate for migrant students. The S.A.T. (Scholastic Aptitude Test) is a little better but still has its flaws. With the S.A.T., one can get the test in his or her own language of choice, but white Americans still have the best chance at recognizing the S.A.T. words (MacCabe, et al). Now the school district has added the senior project as a requirement for students to be able to graduate from high school. Already the migrant students have the W.A.S.L. to deal with; but now with the senior project it is almost like public education system wants them to not succeed in their schooling.
In the classroom everyone is equal, or at least that is what it seems like, most people can walk into a classroom and not see the students that are failing or struggling in the class, states Anneka Kindler. Teachers do not seem to know how to interact with students from other cultures. Kindler says that because of this the teachers are setting to high of exceptions on the migrant students. In the state of Washington 38% of migrant students are labeled as L.E.P. (Limited English Proficient), this is the second highest percent of these students in the nation. Also 80% of migrant students in the United States are Hispanic (Kindler). Is it not strange that with such a high number of Hispanic students that the public schools do not have a class where one can learn about the Hispanic culture? What about all these students that can hardly speak the English language, are there any classes that they can take that are just in Spanish? The truth is that there is no class that one can take in the Bellingham School District that is only about the Spanish culture, except for just the Spanish classes, which can be one of a student’s elective credits. There is only one school district in the state of Washington that has schools just for Hispanic students, and that is in the Mt. Vernon School District.
In this school district the teachers are required to send papers home in the different languages, states former teacher, Kasey Potzler. Most teachers can speak Spanish as well as English. Also the district provides translators for the teacher during their parent teacher conferences. With the Mt. Vernon School District doing this it allows the teachers to be able to fully express their concerns (Potzler). Kasey also expressed that the W.A.S.L. was set up for a white middle class student to take, not for the Hispanic students in the school. The Mt. Vernon School District has taken some, if not many, funding drops from the state because of the bad testing scores. Overall, the Mt Vernon school district is doing a good thing, says Potzler, it just needs to keep stepping it up.
We can work harder to change the education of students to make a multicultural learning environment possible in the public schools. Start with teachers getting a better education about different cultures so that they will understand their students better in the classroom (Soo). With teachers doing this then the students will learn more about multiculturalism and be more accepting of it. Having students learn more about different cultures at younger age would help students to be more respectful of other students with different ethnic backgrounds. With teachers and students having this different understanding and greater knowledge, a multicultural education can be provided. James Banks said some principles for learning and teaching in a multicultural society. Two of them are
Principle 1: Professional development programs should help teachers understand the complex characteristics of ethnic groups within the United States society and the ways in which race, ethnicity, language, and social class interact to influence student behavior.
Principle 2: Schools should ensure that all students have equitable opportunities to learn and to meet high standards (Banks).
With these principles and a greater education in teachers then the public school will be able to help more of their migrant students and have them succeed.
The fact are simple to see, the public schools are getting there, but are not there quite yet. It is quite possible to incorporate multiculturalism into the public education system. Through Banks ideas and principles paving the way to a better education for migrant students. With teachers learning more about the students that they are teaching a multicultural learning environment is quite possible.
Work Cited
Banks, James. “Diversity Within Unity: Essential Principles for Teaching and Learning in a Multicultural Society.” New Horizons For Learning 2001 p. 1-3. 29 Oct. 2006
Kindler, Anneka. “Education of Migrant Children in the United States” Directions: Vol. 1 No.8 Fall 1995. 20 Oct. 2006.
Lewis, Anne. "School Diversity." The Education Digest, Jan. 2006: 69-70.
Proquest Direct. Squalicum High School Library, Bellingham. 27 Oct. 2006.
MacCabe, Colin, et al."Multiculturalism After 7/7:a CQ Seminar." The Critical Quarterly Hull: Aug 2006: 1. Proquest Direct. Squalicum High School Library, Bellingham. 27 Oct. 2006.
“The Migrant Education Program” Office of Migrant Education. 9 September, 2005. 10 November 2006.
Neuharth-Pritchett, Stacey, et al. "Teachers Leading Teachers." Childhood Education, 2000. 303. Proquest Direct. Squalicum High School Library, Bellingham. 26 Oct. 2006.
Potlzer, Kasey. Personal interview. 13 Jan. 2007.
Soo, Julie D. “Chinese Americans Overlooked in Public Education” Asian Week, Aug 18-Aug 24, 2006: 13. Proquest Direct. Squalicum High School Library, Bellingham. 31 Oct.2006.
Wraga, William G. "The Heightened Significance of Brown VS. Board of Education In Our Time." Phi Delta Kappan, Feb 2006: 4. Proquest Direct. Squalicum High School Library, Bellingham. 27 Oct.2006.
