There are two different kinds of multiculturalism in a classroom. The obvious version involves looking outside the Western ideology and way of life to a broader spectrum of fads and trends from other cultures. The more complex and, I believe, more profound way of thinking about multiculturalism is in bringing about a different culture of learning than students and even teachers are used to.
The other day in class I had the opportunity to implement both of these ideas types of multiculturalism. The class was a preparation for watching West Side Story, and was spent discussing gangs. We discussed the nature of gangs, and characteristics about their appearance, actions, and most importantly their humanity. It was my goal to show the students that the people who join gangs are not all vicious and mean like they had originally thought. However, while I was teaching I noticed another issue come up. The issue was one of race, and the type of issue I’m referring to is what Deborah Bradley, in her article Oh that Magic Feeling, describes as “us and them.” I found that the students, who live in a world of white upper class suburbia, were turning the topic of gangs into one of black vs. white.
The lesson really opened my eyes to the ignorance of eighth grade students. I never assumed that race would be an issue in the lesson because, to me, it’s not. It has been hard for me to address the issue without feeling like I’m making it worse. For me, talking about the differences between two ethnicities, because they are different ethnicities, is further widening the gap between them. However, it’s not the gap that I’m worried about, I’m worried about blaming it on race. When I spend the majority of class time addressing an issue because of race, I feel that I’m a part of creating and antagonizing that issue. Bradley’s idea of multicultural human subjectivity really struck me. I perceived the idea as looking at people for the human they are, and seeing that the differences are caused because of human differences. They are differences that can happen to anyone, and are not limited to one or another ethnicity. In the lesson my goal was to bring in this different culture, of the inner city "gang scene," but also I was able to challenge my students in a new way of thinking about the world. My goal as a teacher, especially at the middle school age, is to create more open minded students, to help them realize if they are close minded, and to help them get out of that mentality.