by Irene Sarno
Multicultural education theories and charter school missions uphold basic constitutional principles. Multicultural education supports the ideal of equitable learning for all, where as charter schools support the freedom of school choice. However, this right to choose may in fact hinder the efforts of multiculturalism.
Multicultural education attempts to reduce intergroup conflict by supporting culture, diversity, equality, social justice, and democracy in the classroom. Teaching and learning incorporates the diversity of students through education equitably. Educators working with families and communities can create an environment that is supportive of multiculturalism. Thus, schools should become models for the expression of human rights and respect for cultural and group differences. (Gollnick & Chinn, 2008, pg.4)
As defined by The Center for Educational Reform (2007), charter schools are public schools that operate under a contract or "charter" which details the school's mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. The charter school movement believes giving individual schools greater freedom to make education more effective by addressing the needs of the community served. Charter schools operate on the three basic principles of choice, accountability and freedom. Primarily, charter schools afford families the opportunity to pick the school most suitable for their child’s education. Next, charter schools are judged on how well they meet the student achievement goals established by their charter contract. Lastly, although charter schools must adhere to the same major laws and regulations as all other public schools, they are free to establish curriculum and procedures to support the charter.
Charter schools are increasing in popularity; so much so, that is has become a hot topic in Election 2008 amongst the candidates for President. Their popularity can be attributed by the innovative, accountable education they provide and as with multicultural theories, focus on the needs of its students. Also aligned with multiculturalism, charter schools typically engage local businesses and other organizations to help provide resources and services to the school and its families. (Wyans, 2008) Thus, charter schools act as a catalyst to improve the public school system.
Although the popularity of charter schools is on the rise, there are still disadvantages associated with them. Due to the limited number of charter schools, the size of the student body for each school is also limited. Many charter schools cater to affluent and academically gifted students, as opposed to high-risk, high cost students. (Wyans, 2008) Hence, dependent upon acceptance procedures, fairness and equality may be compromised. Multicultural educators continually tout the benefits of racial and ethnic diversity in schools, yet findings show charter schools are largely more segregated than public schools (Gollnick & Chinn, 2008, p.77). Based on the study of ten California school districts by Amy Stuart Wells (1993) the issue of racial equity is one of concern.
Despite many parents' preferences for integrated schools and choice policies, many state charter laws are not explicitly supportive of racial diversity. Even where legislative requirements do exist, most charter schools were found to be non-compliant (Wells, 1993). Even when charter schools attempt to diversify the student body, the racial segregation of the local communities coupled with the lack of affordable transportation for “out of district’ students results in an impossible goal. Lastly, As Stuart Wells notes, wealthy communities, have more access to the types of resources that are necessary to create viable schools. Since there exists a parallel between segregation by race and poverty and educational inequality this segregation may result in serious problem for students left behind. With appropriate civil rights policies, integration is possible. Using the lesson of Brown v. Board of Education, this issue should be addressed and resolved. (Frankenberg & Lee, 2003) Thus, instead, the right to choose attending a charter school, in fact becomes a privilege due to the inequities that abound.
In conclusion, the charter school movement is a very promising reform of increasing educational standards in the United States. However, in order to create a system that allows students to attend Charter schools on an equitable basis, guiding principles should be strictly followed and monitored. Any publicly funded schools should enforce policy to ensure racial/ethnic/religious integration, thus abiding by the multicultural principle of meeting the diversified needs of all students. Charter schools should be a place where all students could be effectively educated.
REFERENCES:
Wyans, J. (2008, Sptember 25) The Pros and Cons of Charter School Systems, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1038682/the_pros_and_cons_of_charter_school.html?cat=4
Gollnick, D., and Chinn, P., (2008). Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, Eighth Edition, Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.
The Center for Educational Reform. (2007) Just the FAQS: Charter Schools. http://www.edreform.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=document&documentID=60
Amy Stuart Wells. (1998). Beyond the Rhetoric of Charter School Reform: A Study of Ten California School Districts. http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/docs/charter.pdf
Frankenberg, E. and Lee, C. (2003, September 5). Charter schools and race: A lost opportunity for integrated education. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11(32). http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v11n32.
Showing posts with label multicultural education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label multicultural education. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
The Influence of the Media on Multicultural Education
by Irene Sarno
The primary goal of multicultural education is to create equal educational opportunities for students from diverse racial, ethnic, social-class, religious and cultural groups. The creation of inclusive learning environments, where educators work with families and communities to foster nurturing and accepting arenas, are supportive of the numerous goals of multiculturalism. However, factors such as racism, sexism, cultural behaviors and religious intolerance must be addressed in order to create effective instructional strategies. To that end, each of these factors, are influenced by different forms of media. These opinions must ultimately be identified, understood and sometimes defused.
As noted by Alice Udvari-Solner and Jacqueline S. Thousand in The Inclusive School(1995), goals and outcomes of multicultural education are to: foster human rights and respect for difference, acknowledge the value of cultural diversity, promote an understanding of alternative life choices, establish social justice and equal opportunity, and facilitate equitable power distribution among individuals and groups. (Chapter 5)
A popular strategy for supporting inclusive education is through the use of cooperative learning. This strategy groups students together in an attempt to assist in learning about each other’s culture. One’s “culture provides the blueprint that determines the way an individual thinks, feels, and behaves in society.” (Gollnick & Chinn, 2008, p.36) Thus, attempting to understand each other through interaction is paramount. It is important to note, this communication is difficult, since immigrants become more reserved around those who don't understand their language or their culture. Gollnick and Chinn highlight another interesting dilemma, in that educators often do not live, or have never lived, in the community in which their students live (p.36). These same educators also possess personal beliefs that are based upon their own culture and experience, which invariably are exhibited in their teaching.
Still, when schools employ a multicultural approach they make a commitment to become learner centered thus empowering the student. This is a result of direct interaction as well as increased communication utilizing the media. Media consists of print media such as books, newspapers, and magazines to film, radio, television, advertising, and many other multimedia forms, including video games, computer culture, etc. Since the media also provide role models, perceptions of proper and improper conduct, and provide crucial cultural and political information, they are an important form of pedagogy and socialization. (Kellner, 1995) Hence, media communication becomes a central part of our cultural experience, providing a valuable social and cultural resource. We cannot deny media’s role in forming and reinforcing societal attitudes which help construct our images and understanding of the world. Many are concerned about the negative influence they believe media exert on young people. Media can influence a target group as to how they conceivable “fit” into society. Thus, education must meet the challenge of sensitizing students to the inequities and injustices of a society portrayed in the media. (Lewis, 1996).
Consequently, media literacy becomes an important component of multicultural education since many people's conceptions of gender, race, class, religion and culture are constituted, in part, by the media. A media literate person is able to read, understand, evaluate, discriminate and criticize media materials. This becomes a critical method to determine how people view social groups, gender roles of masculinity and femininity, determine attitudes and behavior and distinguish between good and bad as well as right and wrong. Therefore, training in media literacy must begin at an early age in order to critically educate how to disseminate the media information (Kellner, 1995) as well as identify alternative media which promote healthy multiculturalism ideals. Thus, critical media literacy teaches students to learn from media, to resist media manipulation, and to empower themselves to develop skills that will enhance democratization and promote social change.
Multicultural education aims to create equal educational opportunities for students from diverse racial, ethnic, social-class, and cultural groups. Members of this diverse population must learn to understand and relate to one another. Through the teachings of media literacy one can attempt to disseminate the truth from fiction in order to effectively learn.
Gollnick, D., and Chinn, P., (2008). Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, Eighth Edition, Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.
Udvari-Solner, A., and Thousand, J., (1995). Creating an Inclusive School. http://www.ascd.org/ed_topics/1995villa_ch5.html
Kellner, D., (1995). Media Literacies and Critical Pedagogy in a Multicultural Society. retrieved from: www.gseis.ucla.edu/courses/ed253a/newdk/medlit.htm
Lewis, J., (Summer 1996). Rethinking Media Literacy: A Critical Pedagogy of Representation, Afterimage, retrieved from: //findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2479/is_/ai_18627294
The primary goal of multicultural education is to create equal educational opportunities for students from diverse racial, ethnic, social-class, religious and cultural groups. The creation of inclusive learning environments, where educators work with families and communities to foster nurturing and accepting arenas, are supportive of the numerous goals of multiculturalism. However, factors such as racism, sexism, cultural behaviors and religious intolerance must be addressed in order to create effective instructional strategies. To that end, each of these factors, are influenced by different forms of media. These opinions must ultimately be identified, understood and sometimes defused.
As noted by Alice Udvari-Solner and Jacqueline S. Thousand in The Inclusive School(1995), goals and outcomes of multicultural education are to: foster human rights and respect for difference, acknowledge the value of cultural diversity, promote an understanding of alternative life choices, establish social justice and equal opportunity, and facilitate equitable power distribution among individuals and groups. (Chapter 5)
A popular strategy for supporting inclusive education is through the use of cooperative learning. This strategy groups students together in an attempt to assist in learning about each other’s culture. One’s “culture provides the blueprint that determines the way an individual thinks, feels, and behaves in society.” (Gollnick & Chinn, 2008, p.36) Thus, attempting to understand each other through interaction is paramount. It is important to note, this communication is difficult, since immigrants become more reserved around those who don't understand their language or their culture. Gollnick and Chinn highlight another interesting dilemma, in that educators often do not live, or have never lived, in the community in which their students live (p.36). These same educators also possess personal beliefs that are based upon their own culture and experience, which invariably are exhibited in their teaching.
Still, when schools employ a multicultural approach they make a commitment to become learner centered thus empowering the student. This is a result of direct interaction as well as increased communication utilizing the media. Media consists of print media such as books, newspapers, and magazines to film, radio, television, advertising, and many other multimedia forms, including video games, computer culture, etc. Since the media also provide role models, perceptions of proper and improper conduct, and provide crucial cultural and political information, they are an important form of pedagogy and socialization. (Kellner, 1995) Hence, media communication becomes a central part of our cultural experience, providing a valuable social and cultural resource. We cannot deny media’s role in forming and reinforcing societal attitudes which help construct our images and understanding of the world. Many are concerned about the negative influence they believe media exert on young people. Media can influence a target group as to how they conceivable “fit” into society. Thus, education must meet the challenge of sensitizing students to the inequities and injustices of a society portrayed in the media. (Lewis, 1996).
Consequently, media literacy becomes an important component of multicultural education since many people's conceptions of gender, race, class, religion and culture are constituted, in part, by the media. A media literate person is able to read, understand, evaluate, discriminate and criticize media materials. This becomes a critical method to determine how people view social groups, gender roles of masculinity and femininity, determine attitudes and behavior and distinguish between good and bad as well as right and wrong. Therefore, training in media literacy must begin at an early age in order to critically educate how to disseminate the media information (Kellner, 1995) as well as identify alternative media which promote healthy multiculturalism ideals. Thus, critical media literacy teaches students to learn from media, to resist media manipulation, and to empower themselves to develop skills that will enhance democratization and promote social change.
Multicultural education aims to create equal educational opportunities for students from diverse racial, ethnic, social-class, and cultural groups. Members of this diverse population must learn to understand and relate to one another. Through the teachings of media literacy one can attempt to disseminate the truth from fiction in order to effectively learn.
Gollnick, D., and Chinn, P., (2008). Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, Eighth Edition, Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.
Udvari-Solner, A., and Thousand, J., (1995). Creating an Inclusive School. http://www.ascd.org/ed_topics/1995villa_ch5.html
Kellner, D., (1995). Media Literacies and Critical Pedagogy in a Multicultural Society. retrieved from: www.gseis.ucla.edu/courses/ed253a/newdk/medlit.htm
Lewis, J., (Summer 1996). Rethinking Media Literacy: A Critical Pedagogy of Representation, Afterimage, retrieved from: //findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2479/is_/ai_18627294
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