Top Ten Characteristics of a Multicultural School Environment

Top Ten Characteristics Of A Multicultural School Environment Not all students are the same so they cannot be taught the same way. Their cultures and experiences the way they learn and respond to schooling. Several cultural factors affect the way students behave in a classroom. Each student is different because of physical and mental abilities, gender, ethnicity, race, language, religion, class, sexual orientation, and age (Gollnick and Chin, p. 6). Multicultural school has different characteristics.

I think the most important is the composition of the faculty, administration, and other staff accurately reflects the pluralistic composition of the United States (Gollnick and Chin, p. 7) because this will influence a student’s behavior. The United States has one of the most extensive and diverse educational systems in the world. US population is composed of different races, each with different cultures. I think it would be helpful for a student to study in an environment wherein they value or give respect to different culture. The school environment and the faculty have great impact on student’s development.

Because of this, students will be assured that they will not be discriminated. US has a federal legislation for elementary and secondary schools, No Child Left Behind, requires standardized testing of students to determine how effective a school is in helping students to learn (Gollnick and Chin, p. 12). A school is an institution where students learn the value of respecting others, if the faculty, staff and school administration lacks this, and then it can be hard for students with different culture to study and interact with others at school.

Second is that the school curriculum incorporates the contributions of many cultural groups and integrates multiple perspectives throughout it (Gollnick and Chin, p. 7). Some people check on a school’s curriculum before they decide on what school they will go. It is important that the school gives value to the contributions of many cultural groups. I rank differences in academic achievement levels disappear between males and females, dominant and oppressed group members, and upper-middle-class and low-income students (Gollnick and Chin, p. ) as third because it is also important that students achievement will not be based on their gender, social group or race instead of their knowledge and abilities. With the persistence of racism, poverty, unemployment, and inequality in major social systems such as education, many persons have found it difficult to reconcile daily realities with the publicized egalitarianism that characterizes the public rhetoric (Gollnick and Chin, p. 36).

In a multicultural school, students should not experience this, instead, they should experience equality no matter what race, culture, gender or social groups they are involved with. The faculty, administrators, and other staff see themselves as learners enhanced and changed by understanding, affirming, and reflecting cultural diversity (Gollnick and Chin, p. 7). The faculty, administrators, and other staff should be open for changes. They should learn on how to interact on different cultures. They should not be one-sided and be open for some changes because it is a part of life.

Teachers and administrators are able to deal with questions of race, inter group relations, and controversial realities on an objective, frank, and professional basis (Gollnick and Chin, p. 7). States and school districts expect new teachers to have proficiencies related to multicultural education by the time they finish a teacher education program (Gollnick and Chin, p. 13). This means, since a teacher is one of the foundation in education, they should be the one to have the skill or proficiency to handle multicultural students.

They should use professionalism in dealing with every student no matter what culture they possess. They should be proficient and unbiased in addressing issues raised by students, however making sure that they answer it based on truth. Students are able to use their own cultural resources and voices to develop new skills and to critically explore subject matter (Gollnick and Chin, p. 7). I rank this as seventh because I believed that school is a place where a person develops his own knowledge and skills. The language in which students are taught is one of the most significant issues for schools.

Many Americans have become concerned about how best to educate students who are new to the English language and to American culture. As children of all ages and from dozens of language backgrounds seek an education, most schools have adopted some variety of bilingual instruction. Students are taught in their native language until their knowledge of English improves, which is often accomplished through an English as a Second Language program. Cultural differences are treated as differences, rather than as deficiencies that must be addressed in compensatory programs (Gollnick and Chin, p. ). A multicultural school should be fair in giving compensatory benefits for students with different culture. Having different culture should not be a factor in receiving benefits that every student should receive. Instructional materials are free of biases, omissions, and stereotypes (Gollnick and Chin, p. 7). Instructional materials are important in teaching, because these are visualization of what the teacher is teaching. These should be free of biases or stereotyping. Students learn to recognize and confront inequities in school and society (Gollnick and Chin, p. 7).

In an environment where there is no discrimination or prejudice, a student will learn how to recognize and confront inequities either in school or society. A multicultural school must teach student on how to address different discrimination. I put this on last because I think discrimination or inequity starts within us. A person must first learn to recognize and confront it inequalities by himself, in can be taught on school but experience is a best teacher. BIBLIOGRAPHY Gollnick, Donna M. Chinn, Philip C. 2006. “Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society. ” Seventh Edition. Prentice-Hall/Merrill.