Multicultural

Education Issues and Perspectives Seventh Edition James A. Banks and Cherry A. McGee Banks
Chapter 2 Review: Culture in Society and in Educational Practices 1) The author describes seven conceptions of culture. Form groups in your class or workshop to explore the diverse meanings of culture. Ask one students or workshop participant in each group to become and expert on one conception of culture given by the author. Discuss how the different conceptions of culture are both alike and different. Explain each definition by giving examples. 1) Culture as Cultivation: Art and Fashion a. Classical music, haut cuisine 2) Emerging Understandings of Culture in Social Science a. Ethnic foods and family recipes, folk tales, religion 3) Culture as Information Bits a. How close to stand to someone else, whats too loud. 4) Culture as Symbol System a. The national flag, the matador 5) Culture as Models for Action and Emotion a. Letting the baby cry, and why you should. Not letting the baby cry, and why you should. Being a man. Being a woman. 6) Culture as Distributed along Lines of Power in Society a. Cultural capital insider knowledge and insider connections. What the plant manager knows how to do. What the assembly worker knows how to do. 7) Culture as Residing in Local Communities of Practice a. Families fixing cars and learning how to do that as a family member. Teenagers writing and playing popular songs and learning how to do that. Physicians practicing medicine and learning how to do that. 2) What does the author mean by implicit and invisible aspect of culture? In what ways are these aspects of culture important? Give some examples of invisible aspects of culture. Implicit and invisible culture is the part of culture that is learned without realizing we are learning it. Often, when we meet people with differences of this invisible culture, we consider the other person to be rude or uncooperative. Some examples of implicit and invisible culture are: - How late someone can be before its impolite - How emotional and physical pain is dealt with - What topics arent appropriate for conversation - How one shows interest or attention through listening behaviors - How speakers move from one topic to another in conversation 3) In what ways might differences in invisible culture cause conflict? Give specific examples.

Elizabeth Wood January 2013

When invisible cultural differences occur, people tend to fail to see the differences as cultural and instead blame the individual person. Often when these differences arise, people view the other person as rude or uncooperative, making it a personal rather than a cultural issue. Modern times highlight these moments, in places like hospitals, workplaces, the legal system and schools. 4) How does the author distinguish between a cultural boundary and a cultural border? Why is the distinction important? Is a cultural boundary always a cultural border? Explain. According to the author, a cultural boundary is the presence of some kind of cultural difference while a cultural border is a social construct that is political in origin. Knowing the difference between the two is important; because when a boundary is treated as a border there are often times powerful rights or obligations attached. A cultural boundary is not always a border as well. The best example is the Mexico and USA cultures. On both sides of the border (a cultural border), both English and Spanish are spoken. However, speaking Spanish in Mexico is a positive thing while speaking it in the USA often carries a negative stigma (a cultural boundary). Its the cultural differences that are seen as a resource for conflict, instead of being a cause of conflict. 5) According to the author, does cultural change necessarily mean cultural loss? Explain why or why not? Cultural change does not mean cultural loss. According to the author, these changes are vital to maintenance of ethnic groups. The ethnicity is more important almost because the group counts economically and politically, according to larger society. The ethnic group may have to adapt, but they are still a group. 6) The author states that we sometimes essentialize culture. What does he mean? What problems result, in his view, when culture is essentialized? The term essentializing culture means that we tend to highlight only certain stereotypes. When it comes to teaching, this manner of instruction is called piata curriculum or holidays and heroes, and mostly focuses on facts. Focusing mainly on visible culture can be misleading. It is better to teach the idea that there is variability within cultural groups and that there is a continual presence of cultural change. 7) The author states our conceptions of culture in multicultural education need to become more constructivist and less essentialist. Explain what he means by this statement and its implications for educational practice. This statement is referring to the idea the teachers need to KNOW their students, inside and outside the classroom, so that they are able to help make direct connections between students lives and what they are learning in class. This is a strong contrast from the idea that teachers need to teach students what they need to know.

Elizabeth Wood January 2013

What this means to the teacher is that the teacher (if s/he is doing what the author suggests), will have a continually changing curriculum. This is because the teacher will always be adapting their lessons and content to match the students that s/he has. 8) The author states that multicultural education has an opportunity and a challenge to be counter- hegemonic. Explain the meaning of this statement and give examples of how this might be done by classroom teachers. The author is saying that multicultural education has the opportunity to go against what is considered the norm by the macroculture. Often issues such as race, class privilege, and sexism are not discussed in the classroom. Students that are already marginalized in the community outside of school will continue to feel oppressed when learning about the White man and how the White man conquered all. But, multicultural education should name and acknowledge these tough social issues, and this will make learning possible for students because they will be able to affiliate with the teacher. One way for teachers to achieve this is to make use of the language and speech styles that students use at home and hear in popular culture.

Elizabeth Wood January 2013