Improving Learning and Achievement - Essay Example

Improving Learning and Achievement Improving Learning and Achievement Introduction As a matter of fact, it is the responsibility of the school to offer an all-round education to the learners. Whenever students are taught, they should be given adequate lessons to prepare them for the global community. After all, the society has become a village in which people from all corners of the world freely interact without much challenges. Each and every school should take it upon itself to equip the learners with multicultural education. However, for such results to be attained, all the teachers should be encouraged to be multicultural and possess an ethic of care. It will enable them to deliver their best services for the benefit of their learners. This paper critically analyzes the contributions of multicultural education towards the improvement of the performance of learners. It does this by focusing on the use of this approach in Murrell Taylor Elementary School. Multicultural Education in Murrell Taylor Elementary School Just like the rest of the schools in Arkansas, Murrell Taylor Elementary School is composed of learners from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. It has learners from the native white and the immigrant black and Asian decency. Each of them hails from families with different cultural beliefs. Thus, when they are brought to learn in a similar environment, it might be challenging to accommodate all of them. However, the management of this school has come up with measures, in line with the Department of Education, to ensure that they are effectively accommodated. Their cultural diversities have not been used as a divisive factor. Instead, it has been used as a basis for promoting equality in the classrooms (Banks, 2005). All the teachers have been encouraged to be mindful of the welfare of their learners. Meaning, they are expected to be multicultural in their approach. As professionals, they are required to show a lot of commitments towards multicultural education. First, they have become multicultural people. In their individual capacities, these teachers have decided to comply with the principles of diversities. Upon acknowledging that they are operating in plural contexts, these teachers have learnt to be tolerant. Because of this, they have learnt to recognize each of their learners’ culture and respect them so well. Thus, they have been made much comfortable in their respective classes. It is obvious that the acknowledgement of the learners’ cultural practices is a motivating factor in education (Nieto & Bode, 2012). It makes them to be contented and feel as an important part of the entire education system whose diversities are safeguarded. As an instructor, I have always been concerned about the diversity of my learners. Whenever I am given a class to handle, I have to ensure that I look for the necessary strategies to promote unity, equality, understanding and academic performance. As a multicultural individual, I know, for certain that my contributions are major determining factors towards the success of my learners. As a professional, I understand that it is incumbent upon me to create conducive learning environment for all my learners irrespective of their differences. For me to produce excellent results, I need to establish a good rapport with my learners and amongst the learners themselves (Kincheloe & Steinberg, 2007). In order to accomplish this, I have always strived to have a deeper understanding of myself and learners. As a teacher, I have lots of experiences and trainings which suit me to handle learners. It is for this reason that the management of the school has entrusted me with the responsibility of teaching learners. However, in order to yield optimal results, I have decided to become a dynamic instructor who is ready and flexible to deal with different kinds of learners. By accepting each of them, these learners have learnt a lot of lessons from me. They have been considering me as their mentor who should be emulated at all times. It is for this reason that they have learnt to appreciate and tolerate each of their colleagues’ diverse cultures. The other strategy which I have been using to promote multicultural learning in my classroom is the understanding of each of my learners. For me to fully discharge my duties, I need to have proper knowledge about each and every one of my learners. This has been done by conducting a background study on all of them. I am convinced that by knowing my learners’ backgrounds, I can be in a better position of knowing about their cultural diversities. Indeed, the treatment of my learners as individuals has enabled me to understand everything about them (Banks, 2005). Thus, I have managed to make important decisions regarding the actions I should take to ensure that I accommodate each of them during my lessons. The identification of the learners’ cultural beliefs, values and behaviors is a major step towards the accomplishment of multicultural education in the school. Multicultural education is also improved through the ethics of care in the learning process. The ethics of care enables the teachers to have an obligation of doing the right education activities. For example, teachers must love and respect all students equally during the learning process. Teachers must also be continuously interested in the welfare of all their students. Finally, I have managed to promote multicultural education amongst my learners through the use of collaborative approach. As a professional teacher, I know that team work is an essential element of success in academics. Given that a school set up consists of a diverse class of stakeholders ranging from the learners, teachers, parents, guardians, School Management Board and the local community, it is appropriate to seek the contributions of each of them. They should be incorporated into the learning process since each of them has an important role to play. The inclusion of such stakeholders has made it much easier for me to discharge my duties as a teacher. In fact, it has enabled me to be a multicultural instructor who is concerned about the cultural diversities of the learners. Recommendations Actually, multicultural learning has become inevitable in the contemporary society. The free mobility of people of from different parts of the world has made learning institutions very dynamic. This is because they are full of learners from diverse cultural backgrounds. Hence, it has become necessary for the schools to adopt a multiethnic approach while handling their learners. Although the management of Murrell Taylor Elementary School has done a good work, a lot still need to be done. Therefore, in order to promote further developments in multicultural education within the school, I would like to give the following recommendations: First, I would like to recommend that all the teachers in this school should be motivated. If they are accorded the necessary support that they require, they would be ready to act more responsibly in all their activities. In fact, it would instill in them the spirit of ethics of care. This is the best way through which the teachers would effectively implement multicultural education in the school. Secondly, I would like to recommend that these teachers should be encouraged to adopt a collaborative approach in their teaching activities. Meaning, they should be ready to work in liaison with all the school stakeholders. If this happens, they would be in a better position of understanding the diverse needs of their learners before taking the necessary measures to meet them. Teaching is an exercise which can yield more fruits if done in a collaborative manner. For example, if the teachers collaborate with the parents, they would definitely understand the unique needs of their learners without compromising them. Lastly, I would like to recommend that multicultural education should be effectively evaluated. Evaluation can involve learning assessment. Learning assessments in schools involves documenting in measurable terms, the knowledge, beliefs, skills and attitudes of the students. Tools such as examinations, tests scores, quizzes and brainstorming should also be used to determine the understanding of learners. Test scores which are higher imply that the multicultural education process is effective. The evaluation tools should include the formative and summative assessment strategies to ensure that each stage is captured and appropriately evaluated to ascertain the extent to which their objectives are accomplished. References Banks, J. (2005). An Introduction to Multicultural Education. 4th. Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Publishers. Kincheloe, J. & S. Steinberg (2007) Changing Multiculturalism. London: Open University Press. Nieto, S. & Bode, P. (2012). Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Read More