Multiculturalism in School Curriculum
by: Adam Waxler
What is multiculturalism in school curriculum?
Personally, I disagree with the many teachers today who are pushing the notion that in order to teach multiculturalism in school curriculum, teachers must actually move away from the traditional curriculum. Yes, we must move away from the textbook, but not necessarily the curriculum.
Don’t get me wrong, teachers must include all the cultures that make up our history, but we must not do so in a way that we are forced to pull out each culture and teach it as a separate entity such as Black History Month or Women’s History Month. This is not multicultural education, but rather what I call “intellectual segregation” and it is wrong. All cultures should be taught throughout all the units in order to be a truly multicultural education. Having separate months for different cultures is exactly the opposite of what a true multicultural education should be trying to achieve.
Nor do we have to move away from the traditional curriculum to a theme based curriculum as many suggest. Different cultures and perspectives can and should be incorporated throughout the various units within the traditional curriculum. For example, when teaching the Progressive Era (part of the traditional curriculum), my students work in pairs to write and present an interview on one person from the time period. I provide students with information from a variety of perspectives and from a variety of races and genders. I do the same for many of my units.
Another example is from my World War II unit. Part of the curriculum is life on the “home front” during World War II. My students are split into groups with each group receiving information on a different group of Americans (African-Americans, women, children, Mexican-Americans etc.). Students use the information they are provided to create a five minute newscast about their particular group and present the newscast to the rest of the class.
Likewise, in my unit on Vietnam, students examine various perspectives on the war from various groups of Americans from different genders and races before they write their five paragraph essay arguing whether they think the U.S. should be praised or condemned for their involvement in Vietnam. The students are allowed to form their own opinions and arguments. My job is simply to provide them with the information and be objective.
Honestly, I can go on and on providing example after example, but my point is this: The traditional curriculum can be taught in way that is truly a multicultural education, that addresses various perspectives and allows students to draw their own conclusions.
The beauty of teaching multicultural history in this manner is that it also addresses how students learn. Arguing and judging are at the highest level of Bloom’s taxonomy and by having students make arguments and back up those arguments, whether you as the teacher agree with them or not, is how students will retain information. Fortunately, this retention will also translate into higher standardized test scores.
The bottom line is this: We can teach a variety of perspectives and cultures on a given curriculum in a student-centered classroom that inspires active learning and also increases standardized test scores.
Copyright 2005 Adam Waxler
About The Author
Adam Waxler is a middle school social studies teacher, teacher mentor, and author of eTeach: A Teacher Resource for Learning the Strategies of Master Teachers. Find out more about his book here: http://www.teaching-teacher.com and check out his blog for free teaching tips here: http://www.teaching-tips-machine.com/blog.
Mexicans love their bread recipes and perhaps you have been lucky enough to try some authentic Mexican bread. Cornbread is perhaps the best known type of Mexican bread and this goes beautifully with a Mexican soup recipe or stew recipe. It is perfect for dunking in chili con carne and equally good served as a dessert with honey poured over it.
Bolillos are one of the most popular breads sold in Mexican bakeries. This bread is baked on the bottom of the oven, to give it a crunchy, thick crust. Puerquitos are fun, piglet-shaped breads made with a piglet-shaped cookie cutter. The main ingredients in this bread are milk, sugar, molasses, and wheat flour.
Sweet Mexican Breads and Pastries
Feite is a sugary bread, made by alternating butter and dough layers. When it is baked, the moisture trapped between the layers fluffs the feite up. Pan fino is always found in a Mexican bakery. This is a cinnamon-flavored, soft bread. It is shaped by hand so comes in all different shapes. It might be frosted or filled with fruit.
Conchas, which literally translates to mean, “shells,” are also very popular. These sugar-rich buns come in all colors including pink, yellow, white and brown and they contain eggs and butter. They are made by hand and then covered in a sweet paste. They look like shells because of the design on top. There are many more Mexican bread and pasty recipes too and if you have a Mexican bakery near you, it is a great idea to check out some of the delicious buns, rolls and baked goods on sale there.
Recipe for Authentic Mexican Bolillos
This easy bread recipe makes thirty six bolillos. These Mexican buns smell gorgeous while they cook and they are incredible when served warm from the oven. You do not need a bread machine or any special equipment for this simple Mexican bolillos recipe.
What you will need:
- 6 cups sifted all purpose flour
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups warm water
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- Oil or melted butter, for greasing
- Extra flour, for sprinkling
How to make them:
Combine the sugar with the yeast and then stir in the warm water. Add the salt and then beat in four cups of the flour gradually. Add the rest if necessary, until the dough becomes too stiff for stirring.
Turn it on to a lightly floured cutting board and knead the dough for about ten minutes or until it is smooth. Put it in a lightly greased bowl and turn it so it is greased all over. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it rise somewhere warm for an hour or until it doubles in size.
Punch the dough down and let it double in size again. Cut it into thirty six pieces and shape each one like a flattish ball with twisted ends. Arrange them a couple of inches from one another on a floured baking sheet and slash the tops using a sharp knife.
Cover them again with a towel and let them double in size again. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease the tops of the rolls, using a pastry brush, then bake them for twenty five minutes or until they are golden brown.
There are lots of delicious Mexican recipes you can make, to go with bolillos or any kind of tasty homemade Mexican bread. The best authentic Mexican recipes are those which are easy, nutritious and bursting with wonderful flavor. Luckily, that applies to most Mexican recipes.
MexicanFoodRecipes.org When it has to be Real Authentic Mexican Food
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