EDU 308 On-line: EDU 308 On-line 2010 Chapter 6

Question: With all of the budgets cuts in education, closing of schools, staff position cuts, and some schools are in session four days a week instead of five, Will preschool programs be the next item cut from the budget?
Quote: Multicultural education is a vision of what education can be, should be, and must be for all students. Hilda Hernandez (2001) What a powerful statement!
Fact: During the early part of the 1990's, Head Start proposed 10 multicultural principles as the framework for its programs. 1. The curriculum process in multicultural education is what emerges after a careful analysis of the needs, individual and family characteristcis, and interests of the child and also of the particular cultural and societal needs of the community.2.) Discuss James Banks' four levels:
Level 1 - The Contributions Approach which at this level topics of ethnic groups are added to the regular curriculum. It is the beginning effort to intergrate multicultural ideas into the curriculum.
Level 2 - The Additive Approach is the addition of themes and concepts to the curriculum without changing its basic structure. Teachers will begin by selecting a topic then plan activities around it. Level 3 - The Transformation Approach is to enable the student to examine the issue with different view points. This level gives the students a closer look at the target group. It is requires that teachers that work within this level must be constanly planning and flexible to make changes. Level 4 - The Social Action Approach is the forth and highest level and includes all the levels. It encourages the student to make decisions and take actions based on the concept, issue, or problem that they have studied related to the topics in the multicultural curriculum. 3.) The antibias approach was created by Paulo Freire, who defined the approach as the "practice to freedom" This aproach was developed to address diversity issues in the early childhood classroom, which helps children to develop positive attitudes toward diversity.4.) Which approach would you select as a multicultural educator? Why would you use this one? I think as a multicultural educator, first I would have to learn about the needs of the children, their families, and the community that I would be teaching in. I do like the Human Relations Approach because the goals and objectives are age appropriate. I want their educational experience to be a positive one, in which they would learn to get along with others, accept differences, and be proud of who they are. I think the amazing thing about young children is that they do not always see things black and white.Children see a friend, they do not always see that a child may have a different color of skin or that the child has a disability.