Bilingual education in schools in the United States is very important for the fact that it makes the transition to the American life much easier for immigrants. I think having bilingual education makes immigrant students feel more comfortable and welcomed in schools which I believe would have a positive effect on them academically and socially. I had mixed feelings when reading about the Mexican American Student boycotts during the 60’s. On one hand, I agree that the schools in Los Angeles should have allowed for the use of Spanish in schools and should have incorporated teachings of Mexican American culture. I could definitely understand why the students would demand such things and they had every right to do so. On the other hand, I disagree with the belief that the schools should have gone out of their way to completely cater to one specific culture. As I mentioned, I think it’s very important for immigrants to feel accepted, but at the same time, I think immigrants should have an obligation to transition to and be more accepting of the American Culture and other cultures as well. This is why I strongly believe in multicultural education.
I found the culture wars surrounding multicultural education very interesting. I completely disagree with the idea surrounding ethnocentric schools. I don’t think it is very productive and beneficial to students to only learn of their own specific cultures. I do believe that individuals should learn and have a very good understanding of their cultures and backgrounds, but at the same time be educated in the cultures and histories of other individuals. I believe this will make individuals more accepting and understanding of others and this will definitely promote tolerance of other cultures and ideas which is vitally important in ensuring that everyone gets along with one another and respects one another’s ideas and beliefs. This would benefit society as a whole. I believe James Banks was right in advocating for the learning of different cultural perspectives for this very reason.
Would James Banks’ ideas surrounding multicultural education be more beneficial to students in today’s education system than that of ethnocentric schools? Which one seems to be given more focus or priority today?
