Multiculturalism In Gloria Anzaldua's How To Tame A Wild Tongue

To some the word multiculturalism has negative connotations, but if one were to examine the true meaning of multiculturalism, they would find it is a purely positive development. Multiculturalism is not simply about respecting another race; rather a multiculturalist attitude requires recognizing other cultures, religions, languages, and customs as valid and valuable. Adopting an attitude of multiculturalism allows a person become a considerate individual who is sensitive towards the differences of others, and is reverent of those differences. Teaching people about diverse cultures and ethnicities aids in preventing prejudice, additionally, by doing so, people learn to appreciate the uniqueness of others and not rely on hasty, discriminatory

Anzaldua states, “So if you want to really hurt me, talk badly about my language. Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity – I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself” (2951). Here, Anzaldua clearly articulates the importance of acknowledging all parts of other people’s cultures. This is markedly important in regards to childhood education, and education as a whole. Suppose a teacher or mentor rejects certain parts of a student’s culture, doing so would essentially convey to the student that his culture is invaluable, thereby making the student himself invaluable. A message of this sort can potentially create a hostile learning environment where a child is no longer enthusiastic or interested in learning.

“Heightening the Standard of Quality Education,” authored by Dawn Bryant Ferguson explains the benefits of multicultural education and how to incorporate it into the school systems. Dawson states that greater self-esteem, increased motivation, and interest in the learning material, can be achieved through the learning of other cultures (especially among minority children). Furthermore, Dawson adds that “multicultural

In her article “Passport to Understanding,” Marianne Knipe describes how the culturally diverse elementary school where she is employed, established a “passport program” (par 1). This program was designed to teach the students about diverse cultures. The program incorporated workshops, presentations, and lessons through which the children were able to learn about the demonstrated cultures. Doing so revealed to the children that all human beings are actually quite similar to one another, and motivated the children in gaining a sense of pride in their individual