Comentários / Prefeitura de Niterói - RJ (Prefeitura Municipal de Niterói) - Professor II - COSEAC (Coordenadoria de Seleção - Universidade Federal Fluminense) - 2016

Texto II

As questões 06 a 10 referem-se ao Texto 2.

Texto 2

Multicultural Education in Your Classroom

By: E.K. Garcia

America has always been referred to as a melting

pot, but ideally, it's a place where we strive to invite

everyone to celebrate exactly who they are. As the

US. population is becoming increasingly diverse and

technology makes the world feel increasingly

smaller, it is time to make every classroom a

multicultural classroom.

Multicultural education is more than celebrating

Cinco de Mayo with tacos and piñatas or reading

the latest biography of Martin Luther King Jr. It is an

educational movement built on basic American

values such as freedom, justice, opportunity, and

equality. It is a set of strategies aimed to address

the diverse challenges experienced by rapidly

changing U.S. demographics. And it is a beginning

step to shifting the balance of power and privilege

within the education system.

The goals of multicultural education include creating

a safe, accepting and successful learning

environment for all, increasing awareness of global

issues, strengthening cultural consciousness,

strengthening intercultural awareness, teaching

students that there are multiple historical

perspectives, encouraging critical thinking and

preventing prejudice and discrimination.

According to the National Association for

Multicultural Education (NAME), the advantages of

multicultural education are helping students develop

positive self-image, offering students an equitable

educational opportunity, allowing multiple

perspectives and ways of thinking, combating

stereotypes/prejudicial behavior and teaching

students to critique society in the interest of social

justice.

Contrary to popular belief, multicultural education is

more than cultural awareness, but rather an initiative

to encompass all under-represented groups (people

of color, women, people with disabilities, etc) and to

ensure curriculum and content including such

groups is accurate and complete.

Most curriculums focus more on North America and

Europe than any other region. Most students have

learned about genocide through stories of the

Holocaust, but do they know that hundreds of

thousands of people are being killed in places like

Darfur and Rwanda? Despite our close proximity to

Latin America, American schools typically spend

little time reading Latin American literature or

learning about the culture and history.

_______, multicultural education is most successful

when implemented as a schoolwide approach with

reconstruction of not only curriculum, but also

organizational and institutional policy. Educators

must be aware, responsive and embracing of the

diverse beliefs, perspectives and experiences. They

must also be willing and ready to address issues of

controversy.

These issues include, but are not limited to, racism,

sexism, religious intolerance, classism, ageism, etc.

(Adapted from http://www.teachhub.com/multiculturaleducation-your-classroom

Accessed on 21 April 2016)