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Education
Issues
and
Perspectives
Seventh
Edition
James
A.
Banks
and
Cherry
A.
McGee
Banks
Chapter
1
Review
1) What
are
the
three
components
or
elements
of
multicultural
education?
The
three
components
of
multicultural
education
are:
(1)
a
concept
or
idea;
(2)
an
educational
reform
movement;
(3)
a
process.
2) How
does
Banks
define
multicultural
education?
Banks
defines
multicultural
education
as
the
idea
that
all
students
[]
should
have
an
equal
opportunity
to
learn
in
school
and
that
some
students
with
certain
characteristics
(gender,
race,
etc.)
should
have
a
better
chance
to
learn
in
schools
as
they
are
currently
structured
than
do
students
who
belong
to
other
groups
or
who
have
different
cultural
characteristics
(pg.
3).
Essentially,
Banks
asserts
that
multicultural
education
is
the
reform
movement
that
assures
all
students
will
have
an
EQUAL
opportunity
to
learn.
3) Find
other
definitions
of
multicultural
education
in
several
books
listed
under
the
category
Issues
and
Concepts
in
the
Appendix.
How
are
the
definitions
of
multicultural
education
in
these
books
alike
and
different
from
the
ones
presented
in
this
chapter?
4) In
what
ways
did
the
civil
rights
and
womens
rights
movements
of
the
1960s
and
the
1970s
influence
the
development
of
multicultural
education?
There
were
two
main
groups
that
this
text
discusses
as
helping
the
development
of
multicultural
education.
These
two
main
groups
were
African-Americans
and
women.
African-Americans
vital
decade
was
1960,
as
they
began
to
fight
for
equality.
Their
platform
focused
on
public
accommodations,
housing,
employment,
and
education.
According
to
Banks,
the
result
of
their
efforts
from
the
time
period
in
question
was
a
lot
of
holidays
(or
ethnic
celebrations)
and
class
offering
that
focused
on
one
ethnic
group.
These
kinds
of
celebrations
and
classes
were
led
by
members
of
that
specific
group,
and
often
almost
unanimously
attended
by
members
of
the
same
group.
Banks
claims
these
reforms
were
hastily
made,
and
were
not
educationally
sound.
Women
also
were
a
key
reform
in
the
1960s,
as
well
as
in
the
1970s,
and
they
focused
mainly
on
equal
pay,
eliminating
laws
that
discriminated
against
women,
hiring
more
women
in
administration
style
jobs,
and
having
men
take
a
more
active
role
in
the
home.
These
problems
were
very
similar
to
those
of
the
African-Americans.
In
terms
of
educational
reform,
women
demanded
textbooks
be
rewritten
to
include
the
role
of
women
throughout
history
and
they
demanded
more
female
administrators
in
schools.
Other
groups
that
demanded
reform
included
people
with
disabilities,
senior
citizens,
and
gay
rights
advocates.
One
law,
The
Education
for
the
All
Handicapped
Children
Act
of
1975,
required
that
students
with
disabilities
be
educated
in
the
least
restrictive
environment
and
brought
the
term
mainstreaming
into
schools.
Elizabeth
Wood
January
2013
5) Ask several teachers to give you their views and definitions of multicultural education. What generalizations can you make about their responses? [Will be done during interview assignment] 6) Visit a local school and, by observing several classes as well as by interviewing several teachers and the principal, describe what curricular and other practices related to multicultural education have been implemented in the school. Share your report with your classmates and workshop colleagues. [Will be done during interview assignment] 7) What is macroculture? A microculture? A macroculture is the larger of the two cultures, and is considered the core culture. It is the macroculture that sets the values, norms, and characteristics of what is considered acceptable. A microculture is the smaller culture, and is considered part of the core culture. 8) How is culture defined? What are the most important components of culture in a modernized society? According to the text, culture is a groups program for survival in and adaptation to its environment (pg. 8). The components of culture include knowledge, concepts, and values that are shared by group members. Beliefs, symbols, and interpretations are also shared in this group. 9) List and define several core or overarching values and characteristics that make up the macroculture of the US. To what extent are these values and characteristics consistent with practices in the US society? To what extent are the inconsistent? These are what I consider to be core values/characteristics of the US macroculture: - The appearance of choice in politics: Americans like to think they have a choice in the political bodies that govern them. I find this slightly inconsistent because poll numbers indicate that a big population does not participate in voting. Also, when watching shows like Jimmy Kimmell Live, the general public does not appear to be educated on current events and are unaware of what is happening in the government that they hypothetically placed in control. - The idea that more is better: This extends from free refills to buffet lines in restaurants, to bigger cars and huge houses. - The idea of beauty as tall, skinny, and blonde most entertainment displays women who are super skinny and donning a mountain of make-up. Theyre in magazines, on TV, in music videos, etc. Lately, there seems to be an inconsistency with the popularity of plus-size clothing stores and celebrities posting unflattering, online pictures. 10) How is individualism viewed differently in the US and in nations such as Japan or China? Why? What are the behavioral consequences of these varying notions of individualism? Individualism is a common core belief in the US, while it is viewed very negatively in countries such as China and Japan. The ideal of individualism, which stems from Protestant values when the British first came over, stresses the belief that individual success is more important than family, community, and the nation. This belief is instilled in children at a young age, along with the idea that success is based solely on an individuals efforts. This idea contrasts sharply with Groupism, found in many Asian Elizabeth Wood January 2013
countries. In these countries, individuals are expected to value family and the societal group over them selves. Some consequences of individualism: - Married children expect older parents to live independently or in a nursing home, instead of with the married children - Failure is seen as a sign of laziness or not being ambitious, and therefore ones own fault 11) What is the American dilemma defined by Myrdal? To what extent is this concept an accurate description of values in US society? Explain. According to Myrdal, the American dilemma is the fact that the American ideal (equality and human dignity) conflicts with their actions (institutionalized discriminations). He further states that most Americans are willing to eliminate discriminations because they realize the inconsistency with their ideals. Based on what I have read, I would say this is fairly accurate for reasons I addressed in question #4. 12) How do preferred ways of learning and knowing among women and students of color often influence their experiences in the schools as they are currently structured? In what ways can school reform help make the school environment more consistent with the learning and cognitive styles of women and students of color? According to research studies, most women prefer learning from first hand-observations while men tend to prefer separate and individualistic learning methods. Mexican American students prefer person knowledge as well, and respond positively to information presented in a humanized/story format. In addition to common differentiation methods, I think the Common Core changes are being made in an effort to accommodate learning preferences such as these. 13) In what ways does the process of identifying and labeling students with mental retardation discriminate against groups such as African Americans and Latinos? The identification of African Americans and Latinos as mentally retarded is unfair because methods for labeling them as such are based on intelligence tests that reflect the skills and knowledge of the macroculture. The macroculture is White, Male, and middle-to-upper class. The tests also emphasize verbal skills and knowledge that are very different from their own microculture. 14) In what ways can the characteristics of a group help us understand an individuals behavior? In what ways are group characteristics limited in explaining an individuals behavior? According to sociologists, studying a groups characteristics cannot predict an individuals behavior, but it can indicate what is probable. This is because groups possess certain characteristics that transcend the lives of individuals. Religion can be one of the most influential indicators. Ethnicity also becomes important when an individual goes from being part of the majority to the minority. Elizabeth Wood January 2013
The reason knowing characteristics of a group is somewhat limited is because human will has to be a factor as well. Not every individual within a group makes the same decision. 15) How do variables such as race, class, and gender interact to influence the behavior of students? Give examples to support your response. According to the text, some general observations have been made about students behaviors. Middle- class students and higher-class Mexican American students tend to be more field-independent than lower-class students and lower-class Mexican Americans. African Americans students tend to be more group orientated than White students. Overall, females also are prone to groups as opposed to males. 16) What is meant by social construction of categories? In what ways are concepts such as gender, race, social class, and exceptionality social categories? Social construction of categories means that society has created these groupings. The categories include gender, race, ethnicity, class, and exceptionality. Gender is a social category because even though its usually defined by physical characteristics, in common day it is seen as a mental state of being. There are many cases of a person being born one gender and changing to accommodate what they feel they truly are. Race is defined by physical characteristics, while ethnicity refers to the microculture found within the race. The social part to these categories are the perceptions and values of each group. Whether a person is exceptional or disabled is socially constructed. In terms of exception-ability, while there are students who are classified as gifted with special talents and abilities, others are labeled as such because their parents are smart or yield some kind of power in the community/school. Therefore, these students are exceptional simply because society decrees it. 17) List and define 5 dimensions of multicultural education. The five dimensions of multicultural education are: 1) Content Integration 2) The Knowledge Construction Process 3) Prejudice Reduction 4) An Equity Pedagogy 5) An Empowering School Culture