Running head: CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE CLASSROOMS: WHY MULTICULTURALISM Cooper 1

Culturally Responsive Classrooms: Why Multiculturalism

Needs to be a Focus in Classrooms

Heather Cooper

College of Western Idaho

Spring 2018
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Culturally Responsive Classrooms: Why Multiculturalism

Needs to be a Focus in Classrooms

One of the greatest things about modern day America is the diversity we experience in

our everyday lives. Many cultures have found a home in this country, and many of our children

have such a rich cultural and ethnic background. In The Development of Children, authors

Lightfoot, Cole, and Cole state that culture can be explained in “terms of its own particular world

view, a dominant way of thinking about and relating to the world… [it] arises from a people’s

common historical experience” (Lightfoot, Cole, & Cole 2014). Having a child of a different

ethnicity or from a separate culture in the classroom is a great opportunity to not only teach

tolerance and acceptance, but to also give the student’s a real world perspective on differing

cultures. While the idea of having a culturally responsive classroom sounds like it should be a

relatively normal concept, teachers are often not able to integrate cultural-based curriculum into

their classroom, especially when it comes to special education classes.

Ana Maria Villegas, faculty member of a teacher education program, states in her article

for the Journal of Teacher Education that she believes it is vital for multicultural and special

education teachers to collaborate on a consistent basis not just because educators need to be

better versed in all aspects of education, but also because it's important that educators are able to

"understand how his or her experiences within [their] different social groups combine to shape

his or her identity" (Villegas, 2012). Since a student's feeling of identity is tied into many

different parts of their lives- such as their culture, ethnicity, family values, language, religion, or

disabilities- Villegas believes that there needs to be more collaboration between general ed and

special ed teachers, especially when dealing with multiculturalism, and that they operate too

independently of each other. This lack of partnership oftentimes results in students who slip
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through the cracks; they may not be properly educated, or placed in special education classes

because of a language barrier or cultural misunderstanding. As more and more special education

children are taught in a general education classroom, general education teachers are finding

themselves unprepared to teach those children effectively.

Villegas also believes that there is a lot at stake if we are unable to properly collaborate,

and it seems like the biggest worry is the failure of educators in recognizing all of the different

dimensions in diversity, leading to more and more students being improperly placed in special

education, and not having the opportunity to reach their full potential. Villegas points out that

many of the merged programs are still focusing mostly on disabilities, and not factoring in the

elements of diversity; because these programs are failing to properly prepare their educators to

teach to multicultural children, educators are doing a disservice to the multicultural students that

are placed in their classroom.

I agree with the author of this article, for multiple reasons. Firstly, as we are becoming

more politically correct and social-justice focused, it's important that we look at how we are

teaching our students, especially those who are multicultural. Educators have the unique

opportunity of being not only role models to their students, but also an authority on societal

decency. Kids take a lot of their cues on how to treat others from adults- if they see that their

teachers are well-versed in multiculturalism and tolerance, they are likely to follow suit. As

Daniel Hallahan remarks in Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education, "the

mark of a truly civilized society is its acceptance and celebration of diversity" (Hallahan, 2015).

Secondly, as educators we have a duty and responsibility to provide the best possible education

we can to our students- if we aren't properly educated ourselves, how are we to fulfill those

responsibilities? How are we going to make sure our students are leaving our classrooms armed
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with the proper tools to succeed? And lastly- educators should never stop learning. Education is

an always evolving world, with new strategies and ideas to be found constantly. It isn't enough to

get your degree and go teach- we need to have that desire to learn more, do better for ourselves

and our students, and have that motivation and self-recognition to know when some part of our

own personal education is lacking.

I’m interested in this topic, as it relates to my service learning, because I am currently

working with middle school students who are placed in English Second Language (ESL) classes.

These students all come from different backgrounds and cultures, and in that classroom, as a

native English speaker, I am a minority. Being in the classroom and helping these students with

practicing their English reading, writing, and oral skills helps me to understand better the goal of

ESL. Some might believe that these classes are trying to tamp down the student’s cultural self-

identity by forcing them to adhere to strict English rules, but ESL classes are more focused on

providing these students with the best tools of success they can have without oppressing what

makes them culturally diverse.

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References

Hallahan, Daniel (2015). Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education (13th ed.).

Pearson.

Lightfoot, C.; Cole, M.; Cole, S.R. (2014). The Development of Children (7th ed.). MacMillan.

Villegas, Ana Maria (2012). “Collaboration Between Multicultural and Special Education

Teachers: Pulling Together the Threads in the Conversation.” Journal of Teacher

Education 2012 63:286. doi:10.1177/0022487112446513.