“But I’m a nice guy,” the young man sitting across from me said plaintively, attempting to explai... more “But I’m a nice guy,” the young man sitting across from me said plaintively, attempting to explain why all the talk about racism in education in our class was so unsettling to him. He would soon begin his teaching career, no doubt in an urban school, and he believed that being “nice” would see him through the challenges of teaching young people with whom he had very little experience or connection until then.
Diversity always has been an important characteristic of the United States, and this is truer tod... more Diversity always has been an important characteristic of the United States, and this is truer today than ever before. From the many indigenous groups already here before In this special section of the Record, five Kappa Delta Pi Laureates explore the interrelated topics of diversity, globalization, and education. Their essays set the stage for the Laureate Panel at KDP’s upcoming Convocation in Dallas.
Alicia López and Sonia Nieto share their cowriting experiences and reflect on writing bravely ove... more Alicia López and Sonia Nieto share their cowriting experiences and reflect on writing bravely over the years
“We want our students to develop tolerance of others,” says a teacher when asked what multicultur... more “We want our students to develop tolerance of others,” says a teacher when asked what multicultural education means to her. “The greatest gift we can give our students is a tolerance for differences,” is how a principal explains it. A school’s mission statement might be more explicit: “Students at the Jefferson School will develop critical habits of the mind, a capacity for creativity and risk-taking, and tolerance for those different from themselves.” In fact, if we were to listen to pronouncements at school board meetings, or conversations in teachers’ rooms, or if we perused school handbooks, we would probably discover that when mentioned at all, multicultural education is associated more often with the term tolerance than with any other. My purpose in this article is to challenge readers, and indeed the very way that multicultural education is practiced in schools in general, to move beyond tolerance in both conceptualization and implementation. It is my belief that a movement beyond tolerance is absolutely necessary if multicultural education is to become more than a superficial “bandaid” or a “feel-good” additive to our school curricula. I will argue that tolerance is actually a low level of multicultural support, reflecting as it does an acceptance of the status quo with but slight accommodations to difference. I will review and expand upon a model of multicultural education that I have developed elsewhere (See Sonia Nieto, By Sonia Nieto
Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 2020
In this personal reflection, Sonia Nieto recounts the lessons she learned about language and lite... more In this personal reflection, Sonia Nieto recounts the lessons she learned about language and literacy from learning to speak Spanish and then English; to reading and writing; and the impact of these lessons on her identity, teaching, research, and life; and, more broadly, on the fields of education and literacy.
Dear Richard,The last time I saw you was at UMass, my university and a place where I had never se... more Dear Richard,The last time I saw you was at UMass, my university and a place where I had never seen you before, although I guess you had been here many years before when you were a doctoral student...
“But I’m a nice guy,” the young man sitting across from me said plaintively, attempting to explai... more “But I’m a nice guy,” the young man sitting across from me said plaintively, attempting to explain why all the talk about racism in education in our class was so unsettling to him. He would soon begin his teaching career, no doubt in an urban school, and he believed that being “nice” would see him through the challenges of teaching young people with whom he had very little experience or connection until then.
Diversity always has been an important characteristic of the United States, and this is truer tod... more Diversity always has been an important characteristic of the United States, and this is truer today than ever before. From the many indigenous groups already here before In this special section of the Record, five Kappa Delta Pi Laureates explore the interrelated topics of diversity, globalization, and education. Their essays set the stage for the Laureate Panel at KDP’s upcoming Convocation in Dallas.
Alicia López and Sonia Nieto share their cowriting experiences and reflect on writing bravely ove... more Alicia López and Sonia Nieto share their cowriting experiences and reflect on writing bravely over the years
“We want our students to develop tolerance of others,” says a teacher when asked what multicultur... more “We want our students to develop tolerance of others,” says a teacher when asked what multicultural education means to her. “The greatest gift we can give our students is a tolerance for differences,” is how a principal explains it. A school’s mission statement might be more explicit: “Students at the Jefferson School will develop critical habits of the mind, a capacity for creativity and risk-taking, and tolerance for those different from themselves.” In fact, if we were to listen to pronouncements at school board meetings, or conversations in teachers’ rooms, or if we perused school handbooks, we would probably discover that when mentioned at all, multicultural education is associated more often with the term tolerance than with any other. My purpose in this article is to challenge readers, and indeed the very way that multicultural education is practiced in schools in general, to move beyond tolerance in both conceptualization and implementation. It is my belief that a movement beyond tolerance is absolutely necessary if multicultural education is to become more than a superficial “bandaid” or a “feel-good” additive to our school curricula. I will argue that tolerance is actually a low level of multicultural support, reflecting as it does an acceptance of the status quo with but slight accommodations to difference. I will review and expand upon a model of multicultural education that I have developed elsewhere (See Sonia Nieto, By Sonia Nieto
Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 2020
In this personal reflection, Sonia Nieto recounts the lessons she learned about language and lite... more In this personal reflection, Sonia Nieto recounts the lessons she learned about language and literacy from learning to speak Spanish and then English; to reading and writing; and the impact of these lessons on her identity, teaching, research, and life; and, more broadly, on the fields of education and literacy.
Dear Richard,The last time I saw you was at UMass, my university and a place where I had never se... more Dear Richard,The last time I saw you was at UMass, my university and a place where I had never seen you before, although I guess you had been here many years before when you were a doctoral student...
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