The school in which I am in for my junior field experience, celebrated their annual multi-culture day May 24, 2007. The day dedicates about two hours of the school day to acknowledge and appreciate the various cultures with in the school and around the world by gathering teachers and students in the gym for an assembly presented by participating students and teachers of the school. Parents, family, and friends were all invited to the event to watch their children represent either their culture or another culture of choice. The assembly consisted of assorted performances such as poem readings, songs, dances, and a showcase of costumes from each country.
The multi-culture assembly was extremely interesting, exciting, and enthusiastic. The students really got into dressing up and performing. I thought the idea of multi-culture day was a great way to honor the many different cultures of the students. It offered students to represent and demonstrate what their individual culture is about. For a school that contains students from so many countries I feel that it is important for the students to hold onto their cultures and be proud to display where they are from. In a school atmosphere students typically leave their cultures in their home to return to when they get home. This day allows students to bring their cultures with them to school and educate their peers about their lives and history.
The school that I am assigned to has many ELL from other countries or students that are first generation to America. I feel it is important for families to hold onto their cultures and never forget who they are. However, in many school settings students are to leave a majority of their families cultures at home. By dedicating a day for celebrating multi-cultures students get the chance to share with teachers and peers of who they are, their customs, foods, and clothing of their countries culture. I really enjoyed getting the chance to learn about all the various cultures with my class let alone the entire school.
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My school that I am doing my junior field also had a multicultural day, yet we called it International Day. It was a lot of fun. Each child in the school was in charge of making the flag where their family originated from. Also, the sixth grade students made poster board sized flags of different countries. It was fun to walk around the school and see all the different countries flags. The 8th grade made their coat of arms which was also fun to see. I believe it encourages them to look into their families backgrounds and understand who they are. The parents brought in all different variations of foods from their culture. There was Mexican, Italian, German, etc. and it was all so good. The choir did a performance of a song in five different languages. The dance group did a salsa dance. There was so much going on. It was fun for the kids to get to see a different culture other than their own. I believe all schools should do this.
It was surprising to see that two of my fellow classmates also took part in a “Multi-Cultural Day” at the schools where they are doing their junior field experience, because, I too, witnessed a similar event. However, it is almost unfortunate to report, that it took place in just my individual social studies class rather than school wide. The reason I say that this is unfortunate, is because I feel that as the ELL student population continues to rise in our state’s schools, as well as that of the diversity in the student’s cultures as whole, it would have benefited every student in the school if it was something that they all could have taken part in.
My junior field experience is at a middle school, in particularly, in a 7th and 8th grade social studies classroom. This past Friday, the students participated in a “History of their World Day”. Basically, each student brought in something from their cultural background that they wanted to share with the class. Everything from food to clothing and toys was brought it for display. The student sat in a circle and stood up when it was their time to talk about their culture and explain what they had brought it. I found it fascinating just how different two cultures can be from each other and just how much students did know about their background and where they came from.
After the day was over, I discussed with my cooperating teacher, my feelings and questions I had from that day’s activity, which is something we have been doing all along. I asked him why he participated in this and why he found it important that students do the same. He expressed to me that it is fundamental for students know where they come from so that they are aware of how to act and interact with their fellow classmates, as well as the world as a whole. I found this to be very profound because it really is true, yet was something I never thought of on my own. In order to understand others, you need to understand yourself, this way you can put yourself in their shoes and embrace the differences you share.
As an aspiring social studies teacher, if given the chance, I would love to engage my students in this same activity. It was wonderful and very enlightening.
I feel that multi-cultural day at schools is a great idea for students to find out who their peers are and what life is like for them. I feel that because our society is a melting pot of nationalities it is important to know what other cultures are like. It is important because as Americans we don’t have the strong bonds others have and tend to criticize others for dressing differently or eating certain foods. I feel schools need to make multi-cultural day more publicized, maybe get the entire town involved. From my experiences, multi-cultural day tends to be on half days when most studnets care less and don't attend classes which makes it pointless to have in the first place. A better idea would be to do it within the classroom itself so studnets will be more willing to learn.
During my junior field this summer I also experienced Multicultural day, too. I think it is a great idea. As a future world language teacher, I understand how important it is to teach culture to our students. This is why I chose to teach this subject matter. It is because I feel that if students are exposed to different cultures the less ignorant they will be. If they know and understand a culture, it will reduce their fear of it, thereofor decreasing societal problems such as racism and stereotyping.
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