In the 1960s, African Americans and other ethnic populations started to create a movement away from what was being taught. The biggest challenge was going against the normative assimilations shown to students and the rest of society. 

By the 1970s through the 1980s, the term Ethnic Studies rose with more opportunities for educators to connect their ideas and resources that went far beyond college campuses around the country. In 1992, more publications based on Multicultural Education became one of the requirements in the Educational field. Over half of the teacher education programs in the United States were required to implement these multicultural education programs to get accreditation. 

The 5 Categories of Multicultural Education 

  1. Teacher Learning: First and foremost, educators need to have a deep understanding of the various ethnic groups in our society in terms of race, ethnicity, language, and social class and ways how it interacts with student behavior. 
  2. Student Learning: A good school climate weighs how the building uses all of its students’ learning experiences. Great examples would include understanding multiple perspectives when learning about historical events like the westward movement and learning about the various points of view from all the different ethnic groups at that time.
  3. Intergroup Relations:  Members of various groups should work within to improve relationships. Educators can use flexible grouping methods to combat stereotypes within the group for better understanding. 
  4. School Governance, Organization, and Equity: Describes how a school’s policies and practices are implemented to promote a more inclusive balance with approaches that engage in service to both the community and school organization as a whole. 
  5. Assessment: Teachers know that we need to use multiple systems to understand students’ areas fully when we assess our students. The knowledge base teachers have with formative and summative assessment practices are highly encouraged to use project-based assessments beyond the traditional measures of student ability. 

Recommendations

I highly recommend that you read more about Dr. James Banks’s work and please discuss these principles with your staff. I remember going to professional staff development, reading, and studying these principles. I wish that we all can do more and use the steps to better understand and help our students from diverse racial, cultural, ethnic, and language backgrounds. 

Our society is changing rapidly. It’s up to us to better understand how to accommodate those changes and practice equitable ways to dispel stereotypes and keep our implicit biases in check when interacting with our various groups in the classroom. 

"Red wall background with peeling plaster in the shape of Africa, has great patina"
Close up of liberian post stamp showing a butterfly
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