Lesson 3

Multicultural Literacy
This lesson familiarizes the learners with multicultural literacy. Topics such as
issues in teaching and learning multicultural literacy in the Philippines and the
likes will be discussed as well.

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 define multicultural literacy;
 identify the skills and knowledge required to be a multicultural literate
individual;
 appreciate the importance of multicultural literacy;
 express discriminatory practices through an essay.

Express your idea on the picture through a short poem of your choice.

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Answer the question before proceeding to the discussion.
1. Why do you think the picture has the title of discrimination? Explain
your answer.
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MULTICULTURAL LITERACY

- as cultures begin to mix and change as a result of globalization, conflicts

inevitably arise over identity, values, and worldviews. This situation
consequently needs for a literacy that enables us to quickly and easily
identify and resolve such conflicts, preferably before they even begin.

In America
o it has very strong learnings toward knowing or identifying the poly-ethnic
origins of knowledge with the express goal of fostering equality,
diversity, and social justice.

o In direct response to the “Euro-centric” and “white-dominant” traditions

of education that in the eyes of American cultural minorities (particularly
the blacks) is a form of racial injustice.

In Europe
o Comes more in the form of intercultural communication competence
(ICC) as a composite of skills, abilities, attitudes, personality patterns,
etc, necessary for clear and productive communication with cultures
other than our town.

o Complex of abilities needed to perform effectively and appropriately

when interacting with others who are linguistically and culturally
different from oneself.

- A “different culture” is not just limited to “someone from another

country.” But could also include someone whose gender, economic
 background, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or even sense of
fashion is different from our own.
The skills and knowledge required to be multi-culturally literate are:

1. Be selfless – an attitude of selflessness – one that is less concerned with

how I feel and more concerned with how I am making others feel – is crucial to
multicultural literacy, as so much of the offense and conflict associated with the
meeting of different cultures is the result of a “me first” attitude: I should be
accommodated, you should be the one to adjust to me, I should feel
comfortable with you before I make efforts to make you feel comfortable, etc.
Such selflessness is not instinctive to people, and is especially difficult when
one feels insecure of oneself and identity.

2. Know that good and useful things can (and do) come from those
different from us – Hand-in-hand with a dismissive attitude toward another
culture is the idea that nothing good can come from them. Furthermore, there
is a tendency to ignore or outright dismiss evidence to the contrary. Simply
acknowledging that good ideas and products have come from cultures we might
not like goes a long way in preparing our minds to perceive them as being
equally valuable.

3. Be willing to compromise – any significant interaction with someone from

a different culture is governed by the principle of “He/she wants something, and
I want something.” In other words, cultures do not interact out of pure
magnanimity. If both of you are willing to give the other what they want, well
and good. But what happens when one or both are unwilling to give what the
other wants? There must be a compromise; a reciprocal adjustment of
demands and expectations to accommodate what the other party is willing to
give.

4. Accept that there are limits – at some point however, one or both cultures
will be unwilling/unable to adjust their wants for the sake of the other any further.
Beyond this point, the productivity of the interaction drops and one must either
change the purpose of interaction or walk away, accepting that what you want
cannot be had from that particular source. Attempting to force the other party
to adjust (when you refuse to do the same) only results in misunderstanding,
hurt, and conflict. The sooner we accept this; the sooner we can set realistic
expectations of one another.

5. Idea that we cannot be friends with everyone.

ISSUES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING MULTICULTURAL

LITERACY IN THE PHILIPPINES

A number of important issues stand in the way of Philippine educators

attempting to learn multicultural literacy for themselves and teach it in turn to
others, which are different from what can be found in Western literature,
particularly those of the United States.
 Conflicting Requirements for Peace

When all is said and done, the heart of multicultural literary is peace among
different cultures – that is, productive and non-violent interaction. It is easy to
assume that all cultures value peace to the same degree and are therefore
willing to make the same compromises in order to attain it, but this is not
necessarily true.

 Nationalistic and Regionalistic Pushback

The increasing demand for multicultural sensitivity, inclusion, and diversity

in the recent years has also given rise to resistance from groups who believe
that their identity is being “watered –down” by the needed compromises.

Case in point is the very recent proposal of “Ortograpiya ti Pagsasao nga

Ilokano” by officials of the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF) in October of
2018. The proposal was met with intense backlash from group of Ilokano writers
and language advocates over the “incompetence in preparing the Ilokano
orthography that didn’t conform with the existing orthography being used by the
Ilokano writers and experts,” claiming that the proposed orthography was based
on Tagalog and not Ilokano and that the commission’s attempts to compel the
regional language to conform to the standards of the Ortograpiyang Pambansa
(National Orthography) would “destroy the identity of the Ilokano language”
(Dumlao, 2018).

 The Persistence of the Problem

On the surface, multicultural literacy might seem to just be a matter of “good

common sense,” and understandably so, no one actively desires to experience
discrimination regarding what they know and what they can and cannot do
simply on the basis of race, ethnicity, or in the case of the Philippines, region
or origin.

Therefore, the primary issue that educators face in teaching multicultural

literacy to their students and learning for themselves is, “why does this problem
persist?” Or to put it in another way, “Despite all out advances in science,
technology, and culture, why is this still a problem today?”

 The Question of Value

Another issue in teaching and learning multicultural literacy is better posited

as a question: “Why should I treat people of another culture with respect?”

But it might seem that the answer to the question is a simple one: for peace.
But as we have seen earlier, not everyone values peace to the same degree.
What if, for a certain culture, it is easier to just destroy anyone who opposes
them rather than expend the effort needed to come to a mutual understanding?
 A majority in multicultural literacy stems from the West, specifically the
United States, and focuses on teaching teachers to be more multicultural in
their pedagogies.

 Learn about other cultures. Banks (1991) posits that the first step to
teaching multiculturalism is knowing about cultures that are not your
own. It follows that if you, the teacher, know only your own culture, then
you will be unable to teach your student to appreciate a culture that is
different from your own.

 Familiarize yourself with hoe discrimination and prejudice appears

in your own culture. Boutte (2008) and Banks (1991b) agree that
teachers must be able to identify and confront patterns of discrimination
and prejudice in their own lives before they can teach their students to
do the same.

 As you are, so will you behave. Key to genuine multicultural literacy is

core values – that is, what you, the teacher, really believe about people
who are different from you; not the kind of belief that you and just say
you possess when talking to your class, but the kind that determines
your behavior when you think no one is watching.

Simply put, if you do not truly believe that those who are different have
value equal to your own, it will show, and your students will detect it. It will be
seen in the words you use, in the expression on your face, in the change of
your behavior when you think no one can see, etc. the converse is also true: If
you do believe others have value equal to your own, no matter what their social
class, educational background, skin color, or regional accent, it will show; and
what is shown is what students will learn.

 Model more, tell more. Young students, by nature, will have difficulty in
exercising empathy toward those who are different from them. The ability
is there, but it will naturally lack practice. It is therefore not enough that
teachers tell them to be more compassionate – you, the teacher, must
model for them what empathy and compassion for others look like on a
day-to-day basis.

Answer the following questions briefly. Your answers will be evaluated

with the following rubrics.
Content – 10 points
Organization of ideas – 10 points
Presentation of ideas – 10 points
 1. Consider regional discrimination in the Philippines: If a woman speaks
Cebuano or bisaya in Manila, she is often assumed to be a maid or yaya;
If a man speaks Tagalog with a heavy, provincial accent, he us often
assumed to be a laborer, driver, or involved in some form of manual or
servile labor. What are your own discriminatory practices?
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I can see that you learned well in our today’s topic. You were able to create a
poem using a picture and you were also able to express your thoughts about
your own discriminatory practices. Great job!
I think you are much ready for the next lesson which is about social literacy.