Commentary and Criticism about the National Education Association
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“… it is fair to say that proponents of multiculturalism reject the ideal of the ‘melting pot’ in which members of minority groups are expected to assimilate into the dominant culture …”
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy “Hey honey, did someone turn off the burner? Nothing seems to be melting in the pot.” John Cardone, Anti-NEA Blog Writer THESIS OF THIS BLOG POST Whatever happened to E pluribus unum? You know, the unofficial motto of the United States, adopted by Congress in 1782… “Out of many, one” is the typical translation of this Latin phrase (although it is commonly referred to as the American “melting pot.”) Why has it seemingly been replaced these days by an emphasis on a concept called multiculturalism? Before readers start calling me a racist, please understand that I reject the idea of multiculturalism because I don’t put students into categories based on ethnicity, sexual orientation, color, religion, culture or any other grouping that social “justice” promoters might want to suggest. I see students as unique individuals. And if I wanted to comment on their status as a group, I would simply say: "They are all American." Society’s hyper-focus on multiculturalism is not bringing diverse groups together. It is actually creating larger rifts. THE NEA AND MULTICULTURALISM Why discuss this on the Anti-NEA blog website? Because the NEA is complicit in promoting multiculturalism. If you don’t believe me, just do a search on NEA.org using the term “multiculturalism” and see for yourself. Probably 100 or so articles will be returned in your results pages. I have listed a couple of the results below as a representative sample to support my contention that the NEA is all for multiculturalism: National Multicultural Diversity Day (NMDD) “For more than a decade, educators have celebrated National Multicultural Diversity Day (NMDD) on the third Monday in October ... [to] increase awareness of the tremendous need to celebrate our diversity collectively." Resources for Addressing Multicultural and Diversity Issues in Your Classroom - Books, Websites and Other Resources Help You Learn about Multicultural and Diversity Issues 50 Multicultural Books Every Child Should Read Multicultural Math: Lessons from the Mayas CONCLUSION – Focus on what unites us as human beings. No one is denying that we need to acknowledge the diversity of our student’s backgrounds. But that’s it – stop right there. When you continue to promote multiculturalism by highlighting our cultural differences this doesn’t bring people together at all. It simply creates animosity and division. Multiculturalism should emphasize identifying what unites us as human beings, not what makes us different. It is one thing to teach multicultural tolerance – we all agree with that. It is quite another to focus on diversity and multiculturalism as ends in themselves.
1 Comment
David (Randy) Bryan
1/20/2018 10:20:20 pm
I was, unfortunately, right there, in NJ, when the "multicultural" movement took root. Our high school assistant principal, the late Bill Roach, was a huge proponent of multiculturalism, which, I believe, was also strongly pushed on the campus of Middlesex County College. This was probably in the early 90's. I was wary of this " movement" and did not hesitate to speak with my colleagues about what I believed to be far reaching adverse consequences, not the least of which would be increasing fragmentation and division in our country. I was right in my assessment, although multiculturalism has proved to be far worse than I ever imagined. The supreme irony is that America has always been multicultural, but at the same time has strived to have unity, as you say, e pluribus unum. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas correctly says that we have the pluribus, but no longer the unum. As for America always having been diverse, one only need read Walt Whitman, the most inclusive poet ever. He correctly is described as "poet of democracy," emphasizing always both individualism and comradeship or brotherhood. Whitman believed strongly in diversity and celebrated it, yet he also championed camaraderie and respect for all. He famously wrote, "I am the poet of the woman as well as the man, and I say it as great to be a woman as to be a man." So why was there ever any need for a new movement called "multiculturalism"? There wasn't. The entire modus operandi and goal of multiculturalism has been to tear America apart, not bring us together.
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October 2018
AuthorJonathan Smith - A New Jersey Public School Teacher who disagrees with the National Education Association. |