Ravitch’s article is useful in that it puts the importance of cultural and ethnic diversity into perspective. As a teacher it is more important for me to allow my students a voice in history, rather than a finite explanation for all of the historical occurrences we encounter as a class. The article has also taught me that the importance of a common culture should not be understated. We can embrace one another’s various backgrounds and differing opinions while sharing in something larger. Without acknowledging that we are in fact threads in a common quilt, there is no need for public education. Finally, if I believe that minority students can only achieve academic success and self-esteem by learning about people who are racially the same as them, I rob them of valuable learning experiences. …show more content…
Chisholm opens her paper with a brief description of the teaching field. She cites that an overwhelming majority of teaching students are both white and female. This causes a disparity between teachers and their students, who belong to the minority classification in rapidly expanding numbers. Her article is unique in that its audience is not specifically secondary teachers but rather teachers who educate students in the teaching field. Her article is a list of remedies for how she feels teachers can bridge the gap between their white interpretation of historical material and the interpretation of their diverse students. Chisholm feels that teaching students needs to learn how to become more reflective practitioners, gain cultural competence, become effective cross-culture communicators, understand the interrelationship between language and culture, understand that cultural roots of cognition are linked to language, and they must adapt the content of instruction and teaching style to students’ cultural and individual