Janet Castro

December 4, 2016
TED 602
Essay: Multicultural Education

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 America as we know it is the “land of opportunity.” The country in which the American

dream can come true. America is the land where everyone has the freedom of choice, no matter

one’s race, religion, ethnicity, sex, etc. America is a very diverse country often referred to as the

“land of immigrants” (Spring, 2016, p.143). People immigrate to America from their native

homes to create better living and working conditions for their families. In American education

today, it is important to embrace multicultural backgrounds. Cultural diversity is on the rise,

therefore, educators should thrive to provide equality of educational opportunities to all students.

The groups that make the majority of America are White-Americans, Mexican-

Americans, Native-Americans, African-Americans, and Asian-Americans. In the first time in

U.S. public school history (2014), the minority population (non-white) outnumbered the majority

population (whites) (Spring, 2016, p. 143). I imagine there are several factors as to why minority

populations are vastly growing such as: growing families (having more children than the average

American), foreigners moving to America to escape poverty because conditions back home are

scarce, for freedom and democracy, illegal immigration (in search of better opportunities).

According to National Center for Education Statistics, they projected the “new collective

majority of minority school children to be 50.3 percent, driven largely by dramatic growth in the

Latino population and a decline in the white population...” (Spring, 2016, p.143). As one can see

the foreign born population is increasing. A report issued from the U.S. Census Bureau found

that “the size of the foreign born population has increased in the last three decades, [14.1 million

in 1980 to 40.8 million in 2012]” (Spring, 2016, p.144). In other words, what was once the

majority population (white) has now become the minority population and vis-versa. Furthermore,

this gives us educators all more reason to push for multicultural education because of the

increase of cultural diversity in America.

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 Multicultural education is an ongoing practice for foreign students living in America.

According to Spring (2016), “multicultural education involves both immigrant groups and the

legacy of dominated populations” (p.176). In school, foreign students learn English (a new

language) and adjust to American culture (176). School is a great platform in which foreign

students get to learn and practice the American culture. The students that have difficulties

adjusting to American culture is probably because they come from collectivist nations. Spring

(2016) highlights that “often a child from a collectivist society learns to think in individualistic

terms when dealing with American schools and institutions, but switches to a collectivist view

when interacting with family...” (p.181). In addition, Spring (2016) mentions that in

“understanding multicultural education, people can be bicultural in knowing and viewing the

world” (p. 179). It is possible to embrace both collective and individualistic cultures.

The minority populations are vastly increasing. They have now become the majority in

U.S. schools. As educators we must keep up and make the necessary adjustments to create a

successful platform and learning environment for all. It is vital that teachers make the effort to

provide equal educational opportunities to their students to help lead them to success now and in

the future, so that they are able to compete in the labor market.

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 Reference

Spring, J. (2016). American education. (17th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

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