Ch 7 Question #3

By Mackenzie Mead
 Brief Background On Ch 7
In the text “Multicultural education of children and adolescents,” Chapter 7 focuses on the understanding of
european american children and adolescents. In the chapter, they discuss:

● “European Americans, their origins, and who they are today. (Pg. 144)”
● “Identify stereotypes...and how they affect peers opinions, as well as educators of their propensity toward
academic success and behavior. (Pg. 144)”
● “Describe European Americans culture, gender, socioeconomics, family, religion, and languages. (Pg. 114)”
● “Describe how European American learners, teaching, their learning practices, how they reflect knowledge of
culture differences, and their learning styles. (Pg.144)”
 Question #3

“How might educators address the history of

european Imigration in the U.S in a way that fosters
multicultural awareness and understanding?”
 Suggestions From The Text
Promoting multicultural awareness to students in the classroom is very important.
The textbook give us multiple examples of how to teach; awareness, and
understanding to our students. The suggestions are as followed:

● Promote cultural identities

● Implement research
● Suggestions for collaborative efforts
● Suggested learning activities
● Expand horizons with books and journals
 Promoting Cultural Identities
● 1st; an most important step, is to always promote positive cultural identities.
- Encourage your students to be proud of their heritage. “Cultural differences play a significant role in a young person's self worth,
and self-image. (Pg.157)”
● 2nd step, is setting aside time in the first week of class to ask each student a bit about their background.
- “Educators can work towards … leading discussions about culture and cultural differences. (Pg. 157)”
● 3rd step, is finding connections within your class.
- Connections can be made between the students, and yourself.
- This helps your student to not feel like an outsider.
● 4th and final step, celebrate differences.
- Although there will be many similarities between each student; don't forget to point out, and celebrate their differences.
- Teach your students to love what makes them unique, and not be afraid to stand out.
- By the end of the day each student should be so interested to learn more about their classmates backgrounds.
 Implementing Research
Once you have successfully discussed each of your students different cultural backgrounds. It might be a great time to introduce
research on European Imigration in the U.S. In the text it is discussed that “researching global prosocial behavior among friends…
helped find connections and sympathy. (Pg. 158)” In the text suggestions are as followed:

● The book suggests that teachers take advantage of friendships. The book does not provide information on the differences
between culture and ethnicity; instead, the author states the importance of prosocial behaviors across culture.What does this
means? The author wants teachers to convey sympathy; and the importance and benefits of others, and their culture. To
demonstrate this to a class providing adequate research is so important. You don't want to turn the discussion into a conversation
about myths, distortions, or stereotypes.
 Suggestions For Collaborative Efforts
The next tip the book gives us, is the ability to implement Collaborative activities. In the last slide we talked about how teachers can
show a few examples of research done on U.S immigrants. After completing this step; your student should be able to ask questions
research, and present their findings to the class. This activities will be done in small groups. They will interview each other, research,
and present their findings together. Having your students interview each other; will allow them to see the similarities they share, and
each person's unique differences. Some examples of questions they could ask are:

● Where are you from? (city, country, continent)

● What is your first language? / How many languages do you speak?
● What does countries flag look like?
● What is a special dish that comes from your country?
● What sport is the most popular where you are from, and do you play it?
● What are the most common animals/ pets where you are from?
● What is the weather like there?
● How do you greet someone in your language?
● Ect.
 Suggesting Learning Activities
Besides the group research activity, the book also suggests other types of learning activities. These activities suggestions however
are not only for the students. There are some suggestions specifically for the teacher.

Suggestions For The Teacher Suggestions For The Student

● 1st- Interview the families ● Interview a first or second generation person of the
- Learn what problems they experience within the same heritage.
school.
● Work on worksheets
- Then later list possible solutions.
● Read literature on U.S immigrants
● 2nd- Interview a first or second generation immigrant.

- Then ask the same questions about their experiences

within school districts.

 Expanding Our Horizons With Books and Journals
Lastly the book tells us to expand our horizons, with additional readings. There are a mixture of books, and journals to
choose from. All of the readings cover topics on european immigrants in the U.S.. Each reading will help to further our
knowledge of:

● White privilege in america.

● Overpopulation of immigrants in special education.
● History of european immigrants in america.
● Information on european culture
● Information regarding european americans and areas of origination.
 Promoting Awareness In My Classroom
I most definitely see myself teaching my students about all types of imigration in the
U.S. Discussing this topic is an ice breaker; that is perfect, for the first week of class. Not
only will I be promoting awareness, I will be getting to know my students and their
backgrounds. Also; because I want to be an world history teacher, this time spent will lend
well to my curriculum. Either way I believe bringing awareness to this topic is important,
and all teachers should do this in their class.
 Resources
Manning, M. Lee, et al. Multicultural Education of Children and Adolescents. 6th ed., Routledge, Taylor Et Francis Group, 2017.
Thank You For
Watching