Geographically Based Multicultural Education :: social issues

Geographically Based Multicultural Education Many Whites in the United States have a strong sense of ethnic identity that is tied to their immigrant ancestors’ country of origin (Italian Americans, Irish Americans, Swedish Americans) or to their experience in this country (New England Yankees, Midwestern Hoosiers, Appalachians, and so on). There are many subgroups within the White experience, but ...[m]any United States Whites with a strong sense of ethnic identity do not have a strong sense of racial identity. Indeed, ...many Whites take their Whiteness for granted to the extent that they do not consciously think about it. Nevertheless, their identity as members of the White group in the United States has a profound impact on their lives. "White Racial Identity Development in the United States" by Rita Hardiman in Race, Ethnicity, and Self: Identity in Multicultural Perspective, edited by Elizabeth Pathy Salett and Diane R. Koslow (Washington, DC: NMCI Publications, 1994). Among the challenges that face all Americans is to explore race and to educate their children about its impact in society. America is the "melting pot" of society and the most diverse nation in the world. Making it seem from the media that flashes pictures upon our retinas almost everyday. In reality, we live our lives in increasingly homogenized communities composed of single races. Many people never learn or are taught the difference that divide and bring us together. There needs to be a change in the way history is shown to children in America, including whom is a part of it and how it is taught. We need to create an environment that promotes a geographically based multicultural education. In school our children have been historically educated and taught history, epitomized by the glorification, or at least passing reference to Christopher Columbus’ atrocities in the Americas. There is no conspiracy to neglect others views and the hardships of history. Rather the European dominance that forms the basis for the general American culture manifests itself in skewed views of history. The dominate societal segment always writes the text, but the problem now is that, white America, no longer controls the culture as much as it did. As other populations of people grow, their side of history is added to the texts. This change in education started back in the thirties as "white" students examined their cultural heritage. As the non-Anglo Saxon population of whites came into power and position, they also wanted their heritages to be explained and glorified.