Addressing Racism in the Classroom

In many schools around the world, teachers celebrate diversity by incorporating multicultural themes in their classrooms. Multicultural education is about recognizing and celebrating differences (i.e., heritage). Unfortunately, multicultural education has been diluted into something that applies mainly to dress, dances, and dinners. Effective multicultural education should emphasize similarity as well as differences. When educators begin to use multicultural education as a tool to incorporate and promote discussions around the way people live, learn, and believe, the discourse becomes valuable. By focusing on our commonalities, such as our basic human qualities, we are able to move towards dealing with the tougher issues of race and racial discrimination.

When addressing racism in the classroom, educators should check in with families and caregivers to gain an understanding of students' backgrounds. It is always important to make sure students have opportunities to learn not just about the identities of students in the classroom, but also about diverse cultures and backgrounds that aren't reflected in the classroom.

            Finally, by creating a classroom where open and honest communication can occur and as educators, we provide a voice for our students who often believe they do not have one. As educators we can also provide our students with examples, historical backgrounds, and activities to learn more about other ethnicities and cultures in the classroom.

  

Written by Julia G (OTECC) @ NU