Issues of Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism: Education's Factional Debate

The desire to represent all ethnic groups and to allow all minority voices to be heard within the classroom has not met with equal support across the spectrum of American educators. Advocates of a multicultural approach to education contend that they are obligated to revise syllabi and curriculum according to previously suppressed moral and political dictums. Without knowledge of many different cultures and appreciation of the diversity of values which they represent, multiculturalists contend that there can be no true apprehension of what cultural principles actually are to be valued. In opposition to this stance are those who are openly antagonistic to the didactic presentation of multiculturalism and its attempts to represent the world as a pluralist society. Yet scholars no longer feel comfortable expressing a unified view of the world, even the concept of the Elizabethan world picture as put forth by Tilliard has been abandoned. Contemporary scholarship increasingly has turned toward an investigation which privileges the theme of many worlds within one world. Today's students need a style of education which allows them to be engaged with and decipher as many different cultural worlds as possible.

One of the primary issues of recent educational debate about multiculturalism revolves around the issue of centrality. Educators who advocate a Great Books or canonist approach to the study of literature contend that

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authammer 124). It is hard to deflect his observation that if separate cultures cannot peacefully coexist in Canada, where might they be able to do so? Examination of a survey of literature surrounding the pros and cons of the multicultural debate should remind educators that the content of their curriculum may not be as important as the manner and style in which this content is handled. If the multicultural perspective is cloaked with anger and resentment and attempts to fuel a revolutionary fever among its listeners than it is being administered in a harmful and short-sighted manner. Advocates of the multiculturalist approach need to be reminded that it is dangerous to teach writings of different groups of suppressed people which highlight their wounds and experiences of social injustice from an incitory platform. If on the other hand multicultural materials are presented from a position of empowerment where readers are encouraged to see the constructive aspects of these writings from a level position than a great deal of positive energy can be generated. One of the strongest test cases for a balanced approach to multicultural materials surfaces with the presentation of black literature and culture. Writing in The Black Sc

Category: Psychology - I