Multiculturalism (Entry #4)

There has always been a trend throughout history involving protests of people who feel "left out."  In today's modern society, we've done a great job at integrating all cultures and making everyone not only feel equal, but be treated as equals.  When I first started to read the article, "Organizers See 'New Civil Rights Movement' in Immigration Protests," I didn't know what to expect.  After reading the article, I feel that the legislation passed will be beneficial.  This country is composed of immigrants from every country around the world, but it's important that everyone pays taxes equally.  I also feel that it's important to teach multiculturalism in schools, to show people that the world is a melting pot of ideas, beliefs, and people.  However, "Towards a Centrist Curriculum" points out that we cannot teach an ethnic history month, if students cannot read and effectively understand the concepts being taught.

In the school I teach at, one of the teacher's had a parent complaint because she was teaching about other religions.  Teaching the five major religions of the world is part of her curriculum in teaching world history, just as it's part of my curriculum, teaching world geography.  In order to teach the world, it's important to study the religions that greatly influences the way people behave throughout the world.  All religions are taught on an equal, unbiased, lesson to prevent "separation of church and state" and promoting a religion.  This would be an example that my school used social control.  Additionally, as of this school year, students are no longer allowed to have hats on campus under any circumstance.  In the past, students had to take off their hats before entering the school building.  Now, students cannot even have hats in their possession.  This is a good example of a policy that uses a means of social control.