Many educators believe it's the schools job to help its students become culturally aware and tolerant individuals by educating them on how different cultures and perspectives contribute to history and future experiences.

In line with this, according to Edutopia.org, "[a]uthors James Banks and Cherry McGee in their book, Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives, recommend two strategies that, when implemented schoolwide over time, have the potency to create lasting multicultural awareness in students."

First, the authors recommend tracing the evolution of science, literature, music, art, and sports and making sure students are aware of the diverse beginnings of each, depending on the subject at hand.

"[T]he emphasis is on how [the subject] emerged from a diverse mix of influences. United States history would reflect how our common history emerged out of an interaction of influences from various racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, and national groups," the article said.

Additionally, the article offers a worksheet educators can use to get students talking about societal issues such as "perspectives on civil rights issues in the past, voting rights at different points in time, or recent police shootings of African American males," to individual school issues such as "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights; students with disabilities; star performers; different cultural and ethnic groups in schools; and limited-English speakers."

To access the worksheet and read the article, click here.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

05/19/2015