Personally, I consider myself to be someone that respects all human beings no matter the gender, race, ethnicity, disability, age, etc. I do not truly understand how anyone can discriminate against someone else on the basis of these factors. Think about the following: Do we really have a choice regarding our skin color? No, we were born this way without being given a choice. If we weren’t provided with the choice, how can we discriminate against this issue?
In the article entitled “Pithissippi Burning: Race, White Nationalism and American Culture”, I found the comments regarding the cultural extremists quite disheartening. It is hard to believe that anyone simply cannot accept someone for who they are on the inside instead of what they look like on the outside. As the article indicates, individuals with these perceptions do still exist in our society (Tobia, 2009).
In the articles regarding why multiculturalism is wrong and the challenges multiculturalism imposes, the articles seemed to simply be stating that we should teach children only the context of their own particular culture (Taylor, n.d.; Why multiculturalism is wrong, n.d.). At this point in my life, I simply do not agree with this ideology. I may change my views later in life or once I am in the classroom; however, I currently simply do not agree. I thought history was based on the facts of what occurred in the past whether those facts represent the African Americans, Chinese, Indians, etc. The culture of the individuals simply should not matter. The textbook should contain the important events that shaped our world if we are teaching world history, our nation if we are teaching US history, etc. The books should not be defined based on the culture of the majority of the group. I found an article written for PBS that contains a statement that helps reiterate the claim that we should be willing to learn and appreciate other cultures. The following comments were made in the article: “We [should] also learn to collaborate across cultural lines as individuals and as a society. Awareness of cultural differences doesn’t have to divide us from each other...Becoming more aware of our cultural differences, as well as exploring our similarities, can help us communicate with each other more effectively. Recognizing where cultural differences are at work is the first step toward understanding and respecting each other” (DuPraw & Axner, n.d.).
Samuel Taylor makes an interesting comment in his article regarding the challenges of multiculturalism. He compares multicultural history to Affirmative Action (Taylor, n.d.). This may have been the original intent of Affirmative Action when the majority was simply having a hard time respecting the rights of the minority. However, in 2011, the roles have somewhat reversed. What was once considered the minority population in the US is now slowly increasing and catching up to the population numbers of the majority. Now, some employers have to also be conscious of the possibilities of reverse discrimination.
Conversely, as a future teacher, I anticipate there will be several situations in which I will be faced with diversity issues in my classroom. I hope that I am able to teach my students that no two people are exactly alike, and we should respect each others differences. We may not agree with their opinions or actions, but we should at least respect them as human beings.
Why can’t we all just get along???
References
DuPraw, M.E. and Axner, M. (n.d.) Working on common cross-cultural communication challenges. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/ampu/crosscult.html#WORKING
Multiculturalism. (n.d.) Retrieved October 11, 2011 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/multiculturalism
Taylor, S. (n.d.) The challenge of multiculturalism in how American view the past and the future. The Journal of Historical Review. Retrieved from http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v12/v12p159_Taylor.html
Tobia, P.J. (2009). Pithissippi burning: Race, white nationalism and American culture. Retrieved from http://www.nashvillescene.com/pitw/archives/2009/02/23/pithissippi-burning-race-white-nationalism-and-american-culture
Why multiculturalism is wrong. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://web.inter.nl.net/users/Paul.Treanor/multicult.html
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