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AboutPaulC.Gorski

BuildingBlocks:TheFirstStepsofCreatingaMulticultural
Classroom
byLarriFishofSienaCollege
Discoveringdiversitytakescreativity,extraeffort,diligence,andcourageontheteacher's
part.Thus,Americanpublicschoolshaverarelyofferedanenthusiasticwelcomeforstudent
difference.However,amulticulturalclassroommustthriveonthesedifferencesandusethem
asafoundationforgrowthanddevelopment.Differencescommandwork,resolution,
openness,andunderstanding.Teacherswhoaddressthesedifferencesandaddthemtothe
curriculumwillsucceedincreatingamulticulturalclassroomthatwilladvancetheeducational
goalsofallstudents.Thefollowingessaydiscussessomeoftheverybasicelementsofa
multiculturalclassroomandabriefreflectiononobservationsmadeatHackettMiddleSchool
inAlbany,NewYork.
Teachersinmulticulturalclassroomsmustbeopentotheirstudentsandputforththeeffort
neededtogettoknowtheirstudentsinsideandoutsideofclass.Ifateacherishesitant
aboutbeingopen,theclasswillreciprocateandthestudentswillbecomeestrangedfromone
anotherandtheteacher.Inordertobeopen,teachersmustbeinterestedintheirstudents,
fearless,willingtotrynewanddifferentthings,sureofthemselvesinordertoavoidtaking
thingspersonally,andnonjudgmentalofhisorherstudents(Canning196).Also,opennessis
notmakingassumptionsandbeingpreparedfortheunexpected(Canning199).Inthe
MexicanAmericanculture,childrenareaccustomedtohugging,kissing,ortouching(arm
squeezingorrubbingthebackof)figuresofauthority.ChristineCanning(authorof"Getting
FromtheOutsideIn:TeachingMexicanAmericansWhenYouArean'Anglo'")writesofher
experience,"Inoticedthatstudentstouchedmyhandorarmwhiletalkingtome.Iwas
feelinguncomfortablewiththisuntilitoccurredtomethattouchingmightbeacultural
behavior"(197).Canning'sinitialclosemindednesstowardthetouchingcould'vecausedan
awfulsituationespeciallybecausethestudentsweredoingtheirbesttobeabsolutely
respectful.Afterdiscussingthestudents'behaviorwithafellowteacher,Canninglearnedthat
thestudentswereshowingherrespectandinnowaytryingtomakeherfeeluncomfortable.
Manycultureshavemanydifferentmoresandfolkways.Teachersmustbeopentowhatthe
studentsaredoingandfindoutwhytheydowhattheydo.Thisopennesswillcreate
communicationintheclass,whichwillultimatelydevelopintoaclassroomthatislearning,
understanding,andculturallyfluent.
Inadditiontoopenness,teachersmustknowthelearningpatternsofthestudentsintheir
class.Teachersmustunderstandthelearningpatternsofthestudentswhogrewupina
cultureotherthantheirown.Israelichildren,forexample,aretaughttoreadilycriticizean
instructorwhotheyfeelissayingsomethingthatisincorrectwhileVietnamesechildrenwill
notsayawordduringclassunlesscalledupontoregurgitatememorizedmaterial(Jones10).
StudentsfromIsraeldiffergreatlyfromstudentsfromVietnam,whichmaycreateaculture
clashintheclassroom.VietnamesestudentswillthinktheIsraelistudentsarerude,brash,
unnerving,andextremelyobnoxious.Infact,theteachermayfindthattheyfeelthesame
wayabouttheoverlycriticalIsraelistudents.However,iftheteacherknowsthatIsraeli
studentstendtocriticizetheirprofessorsandisopentothefactthattheydothisbecauseit
issociallyencouragedandacceptableintheIsraelischoolsystem,thantheteachercan
calmlyexplaintothestudentsthatwhilecriticalthinkingiswonderfulitisnotokaytoopenly
criticizetheteacherinfrontoftheentireclassonaconsistentbasis.Therefore,readjusting
theparticipationstructureoftheclassroominacalmandprofessionalmanner.
Vietnamesestudentscanbehardforateachertounderstandandgrowaccustomedto,as
well.Ifateacherusesinstructionalmethodslikegroupdiscussion,studentpresentations,
andtriestoactivatestudentsastheylecture,theteachermaybecomefrustrated,
disenchanted,andmayeventhinkthatVietnamesestudentsarebelowaveragestudentswith
belowaverageintelligence.Thisisnotthecase,Vietnamesestudentsaretaughttosit,
listen,andrecitememorizedinformation.StudentsinVietnamdonotparticipateintheclass
andbelieveeverythingthattheinstructorsaysisabsolutelytrue.Teacherswhoopen
themselvesuptoculturaldifferencewilleffectivelyhandlecultureclashwhileteacherswho
assumethatIsraelistudentsarerudeandVietnamesestudentsaredumbwillclose
communicationintheclassroomanddestroyanyhopeofhavingamulticulturalclassroom.
Thebestwaytohandlecultureclashistobeopen,knowledgeable,andnotbeafraidtotalk
abouttheculturaldifferencesinclassnomatterwhatdisciplinetheteacheristeaching
(Jones12).Anopenteacherwillcreateanopenclassandanopenclasswillhaveopenlines
ofcommunicationthatwillcreateapositiveandbeneficiallearningenvironmentforeveryone.
Languagedifferenceisanothermajorissuethatteachersmustaddresswhenestablishinga
multiculturalclassroom.Ateacherwhotriestolearnthenativetongueofherorhisstudents,
ifonlyawordortwo,willconveyrespectforthecultureofhisorherstudentsandincrease

theirpotentiallysufferingselfesteem(Perez152).Introducingthelanguageorcultureofall
studentsintheclassintothecurriculumwillcommunicatethatstudentsofthatcultureare
important(Perez153).However,ateachershouldnotassumethata"Latinolooking"student
grewupintheLatinocultureandknowsaboutit.ManytimesLatinostudents(andother
studentsfromdifferentracesandethnicities)willhavegrownupinthesamecultureasallthe
otherstudentswhogrewupinAmerica(unfortunatelythiscultureismostoftenknownasthe
"t.v.culture"thatistakingoverAmericanhouseholds).Therefore,teachersshouldnotrelyon
"Latinolooking"studentsforinformationabouttheLatinoculture.Ifyouareteachingauniton
Latinoculture,askthestudentsoutofclasswhetherornottheycancontributetothelesson
anddonotbesurprisedoftheytellyouthattheydonotknowanythingaboutLatinoculture.
Thirdly,donot"gooverboard"andbringuptheLatinocultureineveryclassjusttomakethe
Latinostudentsfeelbetter,thiswillonlyembarrassthem.Perhapsthebiggestfaultofa
textbookthatcontainsinformationfromEuropeanAmericanperspective,whethergoodor
bad,isthatitwillsuggesttostudentsthattheEuropeanAmericancultureisthemost
importantcultureandthatCaucasiansaresomehowsuperiortoothercultures.Certainlythis
isnottrue,butintheimmediatepastandeventodayoureducationalsystemissendingthis
messagetostudentsacrossAmerica.Multiculturalclassroomsincorporatecontentfrom
differentculturesEVERYDAYsothatallculturesareconsideredvaluableandwonderful.
Inordertoestablisharespectforotherculturesintheclassroom,teachersmustmove
beyond"multiculturalmoments"orpseudomulticulturalism(Miller88).CelebratingBlack
Historymonthisagreatexampleofamulticulturalmomentthatmanyteachersincorporate
intotheircurriculumonceayear.NotonlydoBlackHistoryunitspresentedexclusivelyin
Februaryhindertheabilityforteacherstocoverawiderangeofculturesatthesametime,
creatingthistypeofcurriculumsendsamessagetostudentsthatBlackHistoryisseparate
fromandinferiortoEuropeanHistory.ThisistruebecauseBlackHistorywillonlybe
discussedonceayear(BlackHistoryMonth)anditwillbediscussedseparatefromthe
chronologicalorderthatisusedwhendiscussingEuropeanHistory(mostofthetime).
HowardM.MillersuggeststhatoneverysimplewayforALLteacherstoaddmulticultural
ideasandcontenttohisorhercurriculumistobuildaclassroomlibraryofmulticultural
literature(Miller88).Nomatterwhatsubjectyouteachyoucanbuildalibraryofbooksby
and/oraboutdifferentcultures.AmathbookwrittenbyanAfricanAmericanmanorwoman
willsendgoodmessagestoapopulationofstudentsthathasseenmathbooksthat
exclusivelyfeaturesthewritingstyleandcraftsmanshipofaEuropeanAmerican.
Incorporatingmulticulturalliteratureintotheclassisveryimportant,ifteachersdonotdothis
theywillfallintoatrapofbuying"thebookthathasalwaysbeenused"or"abookthatis
goodenough."Thoughtslikethosewillleadteacherstoasaddaywhenthey'repackingupall
theirbooksonthelastdayofschoolandsuddenlytheyrealizethattheyhavebeensendinga
messagetotheirstudentsthatonlyWhitepeopleexistinMath.Thisisthemessagethat
manystudentsaregettingtoday,nomatteriftheyareWhite,Black,AsianandHispanic
etc...thatteachersmustdoawaywith.
Teacherswhoownliteraturebyauthorsformdifferentbackgroundsisgreatbutitisnot
enough.Truemulticulturalactivitiesmustbeongoingandintegrateddailyinbothinformaland
formalactivities.GloriaBoutteandChristineMcCormicksuggestsixbasicprinciplesfor
teacherstousewhenevaluatingtheirculturallydiverseclassroom,theseare,"1)building
multiculturalprograms,2)showingappreciationofdifferences,3)avoidingstereotypes,4)
acknowledgingdifferencesinchildren,5)discoveringthediversitywithintheclassroom,6)
avoidingpseudomulticulturalism"(140).Showingappreciationofdifferencesisveryimportant
becauseateacherwhodoesnotshowappreciationofallthedifferencesintheirclasswillnot
getthechancetoattemptanyoftheotherfiveprinciples.Teachersneedtopayattentionto
theirverbalandnonverballanguagewhenheorsherespondstostudentswhospeak
differently.Forexample,ifachildreads,"Deregothestoman,"theteachershouldavoid
interruptingthestudenttoprovidethecorrectEnglishversion.Instead,theteachershould
thankthestudentforreadingandthenmodelthecorrectEnglishversionwhensheorhe
speaks.However,themostimportantthingtorememberaboutallclassroomsisthepremise
thateverychildisunique.Allchildrenaredifferentandbeautifulintheirownway,noone
studentshouldfeelexcludedfromtheclassespeciallyifthereasontheyfeeltheyare
excludedisbasedonrace,ethnicity,orcolor.Teachersneedtoshowthecolorofourworld
everytimetheyenteraclassroomwhethermath,science,art,orphysicaleducation.
Animportantstepinteachingchildrentobecomfortablewiththeirculturalbackgroundand
essentiallythemselvesistoencourageandvaluetheirinputinasmallgroupofother
students.Thishastodowiththeorganizationoftheclassroomandthedevelopmentof
lessonplans.Whengroupingstudents,teachersshouldputstudentsfromdiffering
backgroundstogether.Theterm"differingbackgrounds"refersto(ingeneral)twotypesof
studentsfromtwodifferentlearningstyles.Studentswhoarefromasocializedculturethat
prioritizesgroupachievement,cooperation,obedience,andrespecttowardauthoritytendto
beexternallymotivated,dependentonpraiseandreinforcementfromsignificantothers,and
moreresponsivetoasociallyorientedcurriculum.Countriesthatteachusingasocial
structureandcurriculumincludeIsrael,Germany,andItaly.Whilestudentswhoarefrom
culturesthatemphasizeindividualism,assertiveness,personalinitiative,andmaterialwell
being(Vietnam,Japan,UnitedStates)tendtobeanalytical,competitive,impersonal,and
taskoriented(Jones14).Althoughitisimperativethatstudentsbeconsideredonan
individualbasis,studentswill(tovaryingdegrees)tendtobemorelikeonecategorythanthe
other.Groupingsociallyorientedchildrenwithchildrenwhoaretaskorientedandimpersonal
allowstheteachertoconfront,explore,andcelebratedifference.Anaccomplishedteacher

shouldbeabletocreateprojectsforagroupofstudentsfromdifferentbackgroundsthatwill
requirestudentstoworktogether,thereforeallowingeachstudenttobeanimportantpartof
thegroupandlearninformationthroughtheinteractionofthegroup.Lessonplansthatcando
thisandintereststudentswillbecomeinvaluableforteacherstopossesastheneedfor
teacherstobecomeculturallyfluentcontinuestogrow.
HackettMiddleSchool,locatedinAlbany,NewYork,isoneofthemostdiverseschoolsin
theAlbanyarea.ThestudentpopulationismixedbetweenstudentsofLatino,African
American,EuropeanAmerican,Asian,andMexicanAmericandescents.Whileobservinga
teamof7thgradestudentsonthedatesofFebruary27,2002throughMarch1,2002Ifound
theirattemptstocreatemulticulturalclassroomsnobleandquitegoodbutthepotentialfor
improvementisimmense.ThefirstandmoststrikingobservationImadewerethepercentage
ofWhitestudentstothepercentageofstudentsofcolorinthehonorsand"slow"classes.In
the"honors"group,therearethirteenWhitechildrenandonlyeightstudentsthatareofa
differentrace.The"slow"class,ontheotherhand,iscomprisedoftwoWhitestudentsand
nineteenstudentsofdifferentraces(mostlyLatinoandAfricanAmerican).Clearly,thereare
someinequitiesintheevaluationprocess.TheWhitestudentsareprobablyreceivingbetter
gradesbecausethemakeupofthe"honors"and"slow"classesaredeterminedbythe
students'averages.However,asateacheroranadministrator,onemustlookatwhythe
Whitestudentsarereceivingbettergrades.Istheevaluationprocessfairtoallracesand
ethnicities?Theevaluationprocessistoocomplicatedandlengthytoobserveinthreedays
butifsomedataandobservationsweremadeatHackettMiddleSchooloveralongperiodof
time,investigationwillprobablyshowthattheevaluationprocessfavorstheCaucasian
students.Alongthesamelines,thetwodaysIspenttutoringchildreninI.S.S.openedmy
eyestoanotherpossiblebiasatHackett.Allthestudents(16total)inI.S.S.onbothdays
wereofeitherAfricanAmericanorMexicanAmericandescentincludingtheteachers.Ina
schoolthathassuchalargepopulationofWhitestudents,whyarenoneoftheminI.S.S.
whilesixteenstudentsofcolorwerecurrentlyservingtimein"InSchoolSuspension."Along
investigationwouldbeneededtofindoutifthereisabiasamongtheteacherswhosendthe
studentstoI.S.S.buttheevidencethatIgatheredonmybriefobservationismildlyalarming.
TeachersatHackettaredoingagreatjobofusingmulticulturalliteratureandtheotherbasic
principleslistedearlierinthispaper.WhileIobservingMrs.Anderson'sEnglishclass,the
"honors"classwasreadingTheHouseonMangoStreetbySandraCisneros,whichisastory
aboutaHispanicgirlnamedEsperanzaandhersearchforidentitywhilegrowingupinatown
ofmixedraces.However,Isawnomath,science,orhistorybookswrittenbyauthorsofcolor
whileIwasaHackett.Thisisahugestepincreatingamulticulturalclassroomthatall
teacherscando.Additionally,puttingstudentsintobiracialgroupsisanareawhereHackett
needssomeimprovement.Inscienceclassthestudentssittwopertableandonlyonetable
inthewholeclassroomoftwentythreestudents(fourteenWhiteandnineAfricanorMexican
Americans)wascomprisedofaWhitestudentandastudentthatiseitherAfricanorMexican
American.Also,inanEnglishclasswithasimilarratioofWhitestudentstostudentsofcolor,
Mrs.Andersonsplittheclassintogroupsandonlyonegroupwascomprisedofstudentsof
differentracesanditwasthe"who'severleft"group.
Creatingmulticulturalclassroomsisagrowingpriorityforallteachersandadministrators.This
includesrestructuringclassroomevaluationandpunishmenttechniques,but,more
importantly,itincludesembracingdifferenceandopeninguptheclassroomfor
communication.SchoolslikeHackettMiddleSchoolinAlbany,NewYorkaremakingvast
improvementsinthisareabutmorestillneedstobedone.Thisisacolorfulworldletus,the
futureteachers,makesurethatwepaintourclassroomswiththesecolorseverysingleday.
WorksCited
Boutte,GloriaS.andChristineMcCormick."AuthenticMulticulturalActivities:Avoiding
Pseudomulticulturalism."ChildhoodEducation68(1992):14044.
Canning,Christine."GettingfromtheOutsideIn:TeachingMexicanAmericansWhenYou
Arean'Anglo.'"HighSchoolJournal78(1995):195205.
Jones,CharlotteM.PracticalApplicationsofMulticulturalCommunicationTheoryinthe
ClassroomSetting.TypedversionofspeechgivenattheAnnualMeetingofTheWestern
SpeechCommunicationAssociation(Fresno,CA,Feb.1619,1985).
Kazemek,FrancisE."AfricanLiteratureintheSecondaryEnglishLanguageArtsClassroom."
EnglishJournal84(1995):95102.
Miller,HowardM."Beyond'MulticulturalMoments'(MiddleGorund)."EnglishJournal86
(1997):8890.
Perez,SamuelA."RespondingDifferentlytoDiversity."ChildhoodEducation70(1994):151
53.
Tomic,AliceD.F."ChallengesandRewardsintheMixedCultureClassroom."College
Teaching44(1996):6973.

anEdChangeproject
PaulC.Gorski,19952015