When did you identify yourself as a multicultural educator?

I was sitting in a course I am taking for my ESL certification and was struck by the passions and stories present in my classroom.  Though the room was filled with mainly White teachers, I was in awe of the diversity of experiences present in the room as we shared our Cultural Identities posters.  Each and every person had very specific moments or reasons that they became committed to working with diversity and culture.  It made me ask the question, "At what point do teachers consider themselves multicultural educators or advocates?  Is it an evolution or one or two moments that cause a shift?"  Though a few individuals in the class where born into multicultural families, most of us were raised in very homogeneous White communities, yet I would guess that most of the teachers in the room considered themselves multicultural educators.  Banks and Banks (1995) describe multicultural education as "a field of study and an emerging discipline whose major aim is to create equal educational opportunities for students from diverse racial, ethnic, social-class, and cultural groups.  One of its important goals is to help all students acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to function effectively in a pluralistic democratic society and to interact, negotiate, and communicate with people from diverse groups in order to create a civic and moral community that works for the common good"(p. xi).  At what point did I identify myself as a multicultural advocate?

Beginnings

My journey began as a child.  I was just visiting my tiny North Dakota town and I asked my mother, "When did I become interested in social justice and multicultural issues?"

She said, "When you were in 6th or 7th grade."

"How could you tell?"

"Well, you got really upset when you heard racial slurs used during lunches with extended family.  I guess I got really upset too and said that I wouldn't go to dinner if I had to hear that type of language.  So maybe I was a model for you on that."

I asked, "Did we talk about it?"

"Yeah."

"When did I start reading about these topics?"

Mom said, "Oh, by junior high and high school."

So for me, the interest and passion started at a young age.  I remember the clear racism displayed by elders within my family and the many times that I would have conversations about it with family and friends.  I saw racism as a clear form of injustice.

In college, I delved deeper into social justice issues taking many classes and surrounding myself with friends who would have deep discussions about race, class and gender.  But at that point, I didn't see myself as an advocate yet.  I felt that as a White girl from the prairie, I didn't have the "right" to speak out loudly about these issues. I was still trying to grapple with my own Whiteness.

Delving Deeper 

It was when I began teaching that I really began to push myself to learn more.  I began working with Hmong, Hispanic and African American youth and took classes and workshops on diverse cultures.  I wanted to be able to connect with my students and their families and wanted to learn all that I could from them.  I also heard Julie Landsman speak and read her book, A White Teacher Talks About Race.  In the book, Landsman honestly explores her journey as a White woman teaching a culturally diverse group of students.  Her words and courage inspired me to explore my own successes and mistakes in the classroom.  I began to journal about my experiences as well.  Because of this self-reflection I recognized my limited knowledge base and began taking classes on educational equity, multicultural education and human rights education.  I immediately noticed a difference in levels of student engagement when I began incorporating a wide and diverse group of authors, when I began teaching about oppression, and when I began really listening to my students share.  Our discussions were richer and more open and honest than ever before.  I also attended two years of Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED) courses on inclusive curriculum.  This program, founded by Peggy McIntosh pushes participants to investigate white privilege, classism, and inequity within curriculum and classrooms.  It was a profoundly positive experience for me and I recommend the adoption of this program to any district looking for quality teacher training.  With the background information on multicultural education, with the qualitative data provided by years of listening to my students speak about feeling pushed out of the traditional classroom, I was able to advocate for change within my district.  Sometimes the change came easily, but most often the change developed slowly and at great cost to those involved. I began to realize that fighting for educational equity and multicultural education was difficult work and that it took a toll on the people involved.  When people would say, "Pick your battles!", I would say, "How can I set one issue aside because it is impacting this student?"  I knew the face of the child involved, I had heard their story, and I couldn't just stand by and let injustice continue.  However, my loud voice was not always welcome.  Maneuvering the politics of change has not come easily for me and I am still learning how to time things correctly, when to break the "chain of command" that exists within school settings, and when to be silent and just listen.  Despite the challenges, I identify strongly with being a multicultural educator and will always be working to develop better curriculum and to advocate for change within educational systems.

What is your story?  Did you always advocate for social justice education?  Do you recognize transformative events that happened along your journey?