Multicultural Education

1. What was interesting and possibly new knowledge?

One point of view that I thought was interesting was that which was taken by Justice Harry Blackmun in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. "In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. In order to treat people equally we must treat them differently." I had always thought that the best way to avoid discrimination was to ignore race entirely, and the idea that is the opposite is quite interesting. There is much debate over this issue and both sides are very impassioned, so I don't see it being resolved anytime soon.

2. What I liked and what I disagreed with and why.

I disagree that there should be so much emphasis placed on multicultural education. I feel that, at lower levels of education, it does little more than call attention to the fact that the educator believes that there is problem. The kids pick up on it, and will start thinking in terms or race. It simply has a negative effect.

One thing I do like about the chapter is that it covers several different approaches to this issue. With a topic like this one, it is important to cover all the bases, so that the reader can make an informed decision.

3. What I may do with this knowledge.

Well, I am not planning on going into teaching, but this is something that I can apply in my everyday life. Having a well rounded understanding of race relations can be a very powerful tool in the business world. This is especially true at the management level.

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