In chapter 10, the adaptation curriculum for multicultural classrooms has been demonstrated through three curricular adaptations, a study of Cambodia and the Cambodian American experience; transforming pedagogy by detracking math; and expanding definitions of family. Among them, I was deeply impressed by the first two adaptations. Adaptation 1 mainly offers a real good example that teachers with multicultural education perspectives made their best effort to stimulate intellectual growth, deepen understanding, support curiosity, affirm the identities of students from all backgrounds. They focused on a team of seventh grade Cambodian students with poor expression of their culture in several distinct ways and their low academic achievement. To help those students reach their goal, teachers made a whole package of backward unit design, including the “Big Ideas” or “Enduring Understandings”, based on what we know and we don’t know, set up the thematic topics, then, objectives. The question “how long should I spend on this unit” shapes the teaching strategies into three: 1/ events throughout the school year 2/intensive study for one to three weeks 3/the focus group week. Through the visitors, field trips, connection to varied classes, focus groups and the Demonstration Day, teachers are able to reinforce their teaching as well as raise the student’ understanding. Meanwhile, the perspective of “ It’s not only what we teach; It is how we teach” draw a bright line between the traditional teaching and critical thinking of teaching. “Detracking math” was taken as another good example to demonstrate that , for students at different levels or from all backgrounds, varied strategies should be tailored. This can not only help create more access to a rigorous curriculum for a wider range of learners but make serious structural change to achieve multicultural goals.
In my teaching experiences, the way that teachers design the lessons with “Big Ideas” or “Enduring Understanding” really works very efficiently. I often create a big idea in the class when I start a new unit, with a few essential questions which can reflect their learning. Then, objectives needed to be set up so that students understand the direction or the requirement. With a clear blueprint in their mind, both teachers and students work together with a goal and all class activities have purposes and become meaningful. Students are able to connect their prior knowledge with all the small pieces they learned in the new unit to make the whole learning productive. In addition, it can help satisfy those who has little or no interest in academic learning. Through all kinds of strategies such as visitors , field trips, visualized pictures, events, and so forth, students with low academic achievement might become interested or curious about what they are learning so that they could accomplish their academic achievement successfully.
For the Curriculum Adaption 3, Expanding Definitions of Family, it sounds like an attractive theme for teachers because it offers many promising possibilities. The promise lies in the idea that every student from preschool through high school many be able to tell a story about family and relate to ideas about family change. Subsequent thoughtful curriculums have been deliberately designed and tailored for first graders, middle school students and high school students. Obviously , the author is trying to expand the definitions of family beyond the traditional family by involving LGBT , the homosexual or heterosexual adults who are not married and single parent families. However, I am wondering that we as educators should teach our children what the current society looks like whatever is good or bad, right or wrong or input their mind with what the truth is supposed to be. Even though some good curriculums for middle schools are designed comprehensively such as studying our own assumptions, measuring, reflecting and representing, genetics, probability, and critical pedagogy, visual art and visual culture, identity and beauty and so forth, first grade curriculum is still facing big problems. Some big ideas are still TOO BIG for them and it is pretty challenge for them to make this big private profile. As everybody knows, the structure of family today has been largely changed and , for students, they are not at a mature age level to face and accept some kind of changes, such as parents’ divorce, separate, or missing, maybe even worse. For them, family mostly belongs to his or her private not public. So it could be very difficult for some students to tell their stories. Problems also exists in high schools. The high school students , within the so-called multicultural education perspective, are largely encouraged to be critically thinking, challenge the presence and raise the questions for changes. Wait a minute, think about it, why do we try to become critical? What are we critical for? Of course, you might answer the question with the statement that we should make a better change. But is the change good and worthy? Otherwise, any of critical thinking will have to compromise to the truth. So I believe the topic of definition of family will last for a long time. It appears too sensitive, political and controversial. Multicultural education turn out to be very critical, but as educators, what is the most important is that , as educators, what is the right direction we should lead our children to.
In my teaching experiences, the way that teachers design the lessons with “Big Ideas” or “Enduring Understanding” really works very efficiently. I often create a big idea in the class when I start a new unit, with a few essential questions which can reflect their learning. Then, objectives needed to be set up so that students understand the direction or the requirement. With a clear blueprint in their mind, both teachers and students work together with a goal and all class activities have purposes and become meaningful. Students are able to connect their prior knowledge with all the small pieces they learned in the new unit to make the whole learning productive. In addition, it can help satisfy those who has little or no interest in academic learning. Through all kinds of strategies such as visitors , field trips, visualized pictures, events, and so forth, students with low academic achievement might become interested or curious about what they are learning so that they could accomplish their academic achievement successfully.
For the Curriculum Adaption 3, Expanding Definitions of Family, it sounds like an attractive theme for teachers because it offers many promising possibilities. The promise lies in the idea that every student from preschool through high school many be able to tell a story about family and relate to ideas about family change. Subsequent thoughtful curriculums have been deliberately designed and tailored for first graders, middle school students and high school students. Obviously , the author is trying to expand the definitions of family beyond the traditional family by involving LGBT , the homosexual or heterosexual adults who are not married and single parent families. However, I am wondering that we as educators should teach our children what the current society looks like whatever is good or bad, right or wrong or input their mind with what the truth is supposed to be. Even though some good curriculums for middle schools are designed comprehensively such as studying our own assumptions, measuring, reflecting and representing, genetics, probability, and critical pedagogy, visual art and visual culture, identity and beauty and so forth, first grade curriculum is still facing big problems. Some big ideas are still TOO BIG for them and it is pretty challenge for them to make this big private profile. As everybody knows, the structure of family today has been largely changed and , for students, they are not at a mature age level to face and accept some kind of changes, such as parents’ divorce, separate, or missing, maybe even worse. For them, family mostly belongs to his or her private not public. So it could be very difficult for some students to tell their stories. Problems also exists in high schools. The high school students , within the so-called multicultural education perspective, are largely encouraged to be critically thinking, challenge the presence and raise the questions for changes. Wait a minute, think about it, why do we try to become critical? What are we critical for? Of course, you might answer the question with the statement that we should make a better change. But is the change good and worthy? Otherwise, any of critical thinking will have to compromise to the truth. So I believe the topic of definition of family will last for a long time. It appears too sensitive, political and controversial. Multicultural education turn out to be very critical, but as educators, what is the most important is that , as educators, what is the right direction we should lead our children to.
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