FNED 502 Social
Issues in Education
May 28, 2018
Deculturalization and the Claim of Racial and
Cultural Superiority by Anglo Americans Written by Joel Spring
Joel Spring in his article writes about how in North America the crash of languages
and cultures were accompanied by racism, economic exploitation and cultural
intolerance. English, who invaded America in the 17thcentury,
brought their idea of “superior white Protestant English” with them. Educational
policies were intended and written in favor of those whose interests was to
take advantage of others. Joel Spring states that when the English Invasion of North
America linguistic and cultural diversity already existed. The article argues
that Native Americans were seen as the “others”, as “racially inferior”. English
Invaders saw Native Americans as pagans, degenerates, as a plague and quickly
tried to destroy them and replace them with the new culture, (The Anglo-American
Culture).
Deculturation
was an evil force that tried to diminish the Native American Culture and its
language. An example of this deculturation was visible at the schools
(boarding). The children’s identities
were being repressed while attending this schools.
As we can see in the two pictures above the Native American Culture was threaten
by the European Americans who tirelessly tried to create one system, the
American culture. Segregated was the mechanism they Europeans used to separate
Native American children from their families/reservation. Multiculturalism was
not in their agenda. It is clear that we have not changed a bit. Now a days,
our education system is doing exactly the same thing boarding schools did to
Native American Children. I found a Video title the “Native American Boarding
School” This documentary video shows us thousands of Native Indian children
were taken far away from their reservations, placed into these schools. The philosophy
of many of these schools was “Only a good Indian is a dead one”. Life for many
of these children was one of suffering as they were being abuse by the white
men. https://youtu.be/YlG2-7yI3mc.
Sadly in many school districts around the Nation, minority children are told
to “Speak English” This is America and you should only English” I hear that all
the time, even at my own School. I truly
believe that as educators we have an obligation to have faith to believe in our
student’s. As a Bilingual person, I believe that adopting and welcoming
bilingualism, multiculturalism in our classrooms and our schools is vital to
our children’s education process. In our District (Providence) we have a very
diverse student population. So, but unfortunately we still have a lot of work
to do regarding accepting and teaching/learning about cultures differences. Learning to know why people from different
cultures act and behave the way they do is crucial in order to welcome
Diversity. I believe that Teachers who value diversity helps them create an
environment where each student feels valued and respected.
This article takes us back to how as an education system, were still have a
lot of work to do. The Every Student Success Act of 2015 (ESSA) and the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) are an example of how the American
Education System
Both acts focused on improving
the educational opportunities and outcomes for children from lower-income
families. While we
still has a long way to go, especially with closing the achievement gaps, of
minority children. The following Video “Discrimination
in US education system widespread for minorities” talks about how getting equal
education in the United States is all
but a dream for African Americans and other minorities https://youtu.be/15mZuVeYrIU. A government report now says
whites are getting far better education in the country. The educational gap
between white children and minority children is huge, but it seems like the
problem will not be solved for a long time. The United States of America is the most powerful nation in the world and is not capable of solving a small issue, the disparity in education between white American groups and the minorities groups. A sad truth!
Please pardon the appearance of the blog. Tried to align the post, but was not able to.
Hi Alex,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that taking the time to learn and understand one another really makes a difference. I liked when you said, "Learning to know why people from different cultures act and behave the way they do is crucial in order to welcome Diversity." Obviously the European Americans did not take the time to learn about the Native American culture and what it has to offer, if they did, they may have learned some valuable insight! I think language is a huge part of culture and should be embraced in our schools, like you metion. It is depressing to see how Native American children were forced to learn English and had to completely erase their native language. I know in our school, all announcements that are sent home are translated in both English and Spanish. I think this method works for a lot of families, but what about the other languages that our families speak?
"I truly believe that as educators we have an obligation to have faith to believe in our student’s. As a Bilingual person, I believe that adopting and welcoming bilingualism, multiculturalism in our classrooms and our schools is vital to our children’s education process." This is such an important message. I have heard people also say, "if they have come to this country they should learn to speak what this country speaks." However, these people are forgetting that this country is made up of immigrants who have spoken all different languages.
ReplyDeleteYes and they're also forgetting the U.S. has no official language. English is not the official language of the U.S.
DeleteAlex,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog and your belief statement "I believe that Teachers who value diversity helps them create an environment where each student feels valued and respected." mirrors what I have added to my own teaching philosophy. I believe that learning another language is an asset, not a deficit. There is no such thing as a typical language learner. English language learners are as distinct as any other kind of learner and benefit from teachers who know them well and who use that understanding to plan for their growth. As educators, it is critical that we actively demonstrate the value they see in each student’s culture, beliefs and ideas and provide opportunities for language learners to use their primary language to engage with content.I want to encourage my students to participate in classroom discussions, let them know I welcome their thoughts and ideas and create an environment where they feel comfortable and safe.
Alex -- your post here has me thinking about how deculturalization continues today in English-only programs (as one example) and also about the ongoing erasure and marginalization of Indigenous youth. In what ways do schools today still function to strip away students' cultures and identities? And who benefits from this process -- the way the white settlers benefited in Spring's article. Is deculturalization in schools today about MORE than just erasure -- is it also about stealing land, resources, etc?
ReplyDelete