ED 282 MULTICULTURAL FOUNDATIONS FALL 2015

NORTHERN MARIANAS COLLEGE

ED 282 Multicultural Foundations

Take Home Mid-Term
Scottie Lee S. Aguon

ED 282 MULTICULTURAL FOUNDATIONS FALL 2015

ED 282 Multicultural Foundations Mid-term

1. Briefly define multicultural education and summarize the importance of studying
multicultural foundations. Provide examples of how you would incorporate it into your
future work situation (teaching/ human services).
Multicultural education is the teaching of diversity and diversity issues (page
1). Studying and understanding multicultural foundations in an educators point of

view means helping students come to terms with their cultural identity.
i. Example Activity: Circles of My Multicultural Self Activity
There are four approaches to integrate multicultural content: (Levels of
Integration of Multicultural Content James A. Banks Handout )
i. The Contributions Approach focuses on heroes, holidays, and discrete
cultural elements.
ii. The Additive Approach content, concepts, themes, and perspectives are
added to curriculum without changing its structure.
iii. The Transformation Approach the structure of the curriculum is changed
to enable students to view concepts, issues, events and themes from the
perspectives of diverse ethnic and cultural groups.
iv. The Social Action Approach students make decisions on important social

issues and take actions to solve them.

2. Identify the essential goals of multicultural education. Which do you align with? Why?
Teaching students about diversity and diversity issues.
Make students come to terms with their cultural identity.
Prevent racism, segregation, prejudices, and discrimination in a school setting.
i. I align most with this goal because racism, segregation, prejudices, and
discrimination all lead to some bullying. To me, bullying is the biggest
consequence of misunderstanding anothers culture, and personally it is
an issue I wish to stop.
3. Define cultural values and explain cultural values adjustment with a brief description of
your own cultural values.

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Cultural values are beliefs and ideals within a culture such as: morals, ethics, and

etiquette
i. Morals: Nothing is more important than family.
ii. Ethics: Respect the elders
iii. Etiquette: Amen relatives
4. Explain the implications of cultural values adjustment and maladjustment for
multicultural education.
Cultural value adjustment suggests that no cultural system is perfect
(Domnwachukwu 47) and no cultural system is perfect (Domnwachukwu 47).
i. Also means to become more accommodating and accepting of other

cultures.
Cultural value maladjustment is when one has not been exposed too other cultures
and beliefs, or has rejected to be exposed to other cultures.
i. This creates cultural biases amongst the teachers and students in a

classroom.
5. Name and provide a brief explanation of the four landmark legal rulings on which the
struggle for equal opportunities is anchored in the U.S. Then select the one you believe to
be the most important and why.
Plessy vs. Fergusan This case resulted in the creation of the Separate but

Equal doctrine, creating racial segregation in the U.S.

Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka the court ruling found that segregation
was not equal and overturned the Separate but equal doctrine.
i. This to me is the most important event for equal educational opportunities,
because breaking the barriers of segregation in institutions like a school
creates an optimum environment for students to culturally adjust
themselves to diversity. This exposes students to multiculturalism and can

lead to the breakdown of racial stereotypes.

San Antonio Independent School District vs. Rodriguez a school districts
funding is in according to the amount of collected property tax within the district.
Thus, school districts with lower income and smaller populations get significantly

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less funding, compared to school districts with substantial funding because of

higher income citizens and larger populations. Though this was a violation of the

14th amendment as proposed.

Lau vs. Nichols Due to the lack of educational accommodations for non-English
speakers, the court ruling resulted in all schools must provide the necessary and

accommodations Non-English speakers.

6. The struggle for equal education opportunities continues; which area do you think needs
the most attention and why.
To me it is the need for more programs that will accommodate for students with
special needs and students who are at-risk. In my observations on island, I have
noticed that students who are considered at-risk have no type of mental-disability,
but are being referred to a SPED department or left in the classroom to eventually
fail. There are numerous programs for GATE students, but scarce programs for
students who require special accommodations.
7. Explain how the civil rights movement influenced the development of multicultural
education while describing what you think (person/action) was the biggest influence.
Because of the Civil Rights movement, events like the Lau vs. Nichols in 1974,
Bilingual Education Act of 1968, Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1974, and
others like these were possible. Lau is part of the forefront of creating English
programs for ELLs (English Language Learners), programs such as ELD (English
Language Development Program and SDAIE (Specially Designed Academic
Instruction in English).
8. Briefly describe which piece of legislation that you think most impacted the development
of multicultural education movement in the U.S.
The Equal Education Act, where no state shall deny equal education opportunity
to an individual on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin
(Domnwachukwu 119).

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9. Explain the purpose and importance of the Title 1 categorical fund and why it should
never go unfunded.
The purpose of Title 1 funding is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal,
and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education (Domnwachukwu
99) in order to meet the academic standards and benchmarks of the state. Title 1
should never go funded not only because it is the primary source of funding for
thousands of schools within and under the U.S., but also because it is one of the
few funds that target educational equity (Domnwachukwu 99).
10. Describe the strengths & weaknesses of the English Only movements as they pertain to
the CNMI.
Because of the English only movements, children need to learn English in order to
succeed in school. If a student did not know English prior to attending school,
then the child will already be at a disadvantage because of the language barrier.
On Saipan the negative results from a cultural standpoint means loss in the native
language. This is evident today because as the amount of English speakers rise,
the amount of fluent Chamorro speakers dwindles. Though coming from an
students point of view, knowing English opens the doors for higher education and
career opportunities.