The opening pages of this article clearly demonstrate the importance of qualitative testing, rather than relying on quantitative testing alone. I thought the most provocative quote was that qualitative research allows us to learn from “those whose voices are not normally heard.” Too often teachers are forced to focus on the mainstream, simply because we do not have the time to “deal” with the more difficult cases. Every year, thousands of kids are being pushed to the side--children like Danny, for instance. He was full of life--possessing several interesting hobbies and talents that a teacher might never discover. After reading about these cases, I started to wonder how many truly insightful kids that I missed out on.
As the article points out, American Indians have been forced to “mainstream” their language and practices since the onset of Native American schools. They were forced to cut their hair, adopt a new religion, wear more “civilized” clothing, and speak English. Every time that I look at one of the photographs of these children from the 19th century, it saddens me. They look completely lifeless--no expression of happiness on their faces at all. Even though this was over a century ago, I can’t help but to think that children across the United States are facing these same emotions. In an attempt to standardize everything, we are, in fact, leaving many children behind. Minority students, especially, are being stripped of their culture, for the sake of being “civilized.” Although America is often called the “melting pot,” I think that we should take offense to that. The melting pot idea suggests that we take everyone and make one final uniform product. Is this really what we want and need? I don’t know about anyone else, but the ideal place does not include a group of people with exactly the same interests, dialects, religions, etc. I am afraid that educational policies in the United States today are steering our country in that direction.
I believe that the “slogan” that our country should use is that we are the “salad bowl” of the world. We have our unique lettuces, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, cheese, etc. Each of these kinds of characters adds to the value of our “salad”--rather than taking value away from it. We need to promote the idea that children should be true to themselves, and find their own path in this world. Sometimes we need that really crazy pickle to pull our salad together.
Heather Coe
Comments (6)
Hi Heather. I think your idea of a salad bowl nation is a much better description to use. I see exactly what you mean. I think the idea of the melting pot in its beginning had the best intentions of saying that we all bring different cultures into our country but we at the same time our one nation of people. However, I think that it doesn’t correctly represent what we really want. We don’t want our individual cultures to be lost, to be melted away. Instead we want to acknowledge the different perspectives that we all bring and become better people because of it. I’ve never thought about the salad bowl metaphor but it does work. Each piece of the salad has it’s own great features but when it’s mixed with other salad pieces it makes something even better. Then our classrooms must be mini-salad bowls, huh?
Posted by Amie Snow | February 28, 2009 12:08 PM
Posted on February 28, 2009 12:08
Heather, I love your salad bowl analogy. I think that recent generations of students have taught us to celebrate our unique quailites. I think we are beginning to see a shift in our thinking. If I recall, this article was written in the 90's. It's good to see that things are changing for the better.
Posted by Jayne Thompson | March 1, 2009 2:41 PM
Posted on March 1, 2009 14:41
I too, love your salad bowl analogy. If everyone had this view, was willing to celebrate our differences and work to make everyone feel accepted perhaps we wouldn't have stories like Daniels and Zonnies. I agree that because they did not meet the expected norm they were pushed aside in favor of students who were the norm. I want my class to be a side salad, where everyone is loved, valued and appreciated.
SuSu Watson
Posted by SuSu Watson | March 1, 2009 3:17 PM
Posted on March 1, 2009 15:17
I had never really thought of the true implications of the "melting pot" and how it impacts the unique cultures we have in our nation. These articles have really made me think about how we need to truly celebrate our differences and cultures, but more than for just a month or one assignment. We need to weave opportunities for our children to learn about each other and celebrate each others talents on a regular basis.
Amy Spade
Posted by Amy Spade | March 1, 2009 8:33 PM
Posted on March 1, 2009 20:33
Heather, I have always loved the analogy of the salad bowl rather than the melting pot. The melting pot to me just says that we were once a variety of people but that we have been assimilated and became the same throughout. A melting pot reminds me of a homogeneous mixture, when I would like to think that America is more of a heterogeneous mixture. In a salad bowl, all of the pieces come together to make one dish; however, you can still distinctly see the color and shape of every piece.
Posted by Brittany Guy | March 2, 2009 1:14 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 13:14
Heather,
I'm glad you picked up on the notion of voice and silence and how this article accentuates the unheard voices in curriculum. What I hope teachers are able to do after reading this particular research article is to listen to those unheard voices and make changes in their practice!
Posted by Alecia Jackson | March 18, 2009 8:22 PM
Posted on March 18, 2009 20:22