Living in a Multicultural Society Essay example -- social issues, mult

The class activity was simple: draw a self-portrait. As Ms. Caldera began to look through her students' work, one stood out to her. The drawing was of a young fair-skinned, blond-hair, and blue-eyed girl. Normally this would not be a problem, but in this case it was. The girl who had drawn herself was actually quite the opposite: rich dark skin, brown hair, and brown eyes (Caldera). Considering that the United States is such a large melting pot of cultures, it is normal for children to have difficulty balancing between two cultures. Culture, is really important for a child's development because it ultimately influences their morals and values. Although it is difficult for children to balance the traditions and such of two cultures, they are recompensed with a greater knowledge about the world, and understanding of people. Culture is very important when it comes to shaping a person's beliefs and what they stand for, it will basically determine many of their decisions. In specific, children form their behaviors based on their culture, which leads to different customs and beliefs because of the variety of cultures. Different cultures express different character traits in a person; this can lead to the development and prevalence of a child (Culture). Although the United States consists of a shared core culture, it also consists of many other minor cultures; because of this there are many different characteristics, values, and norms that might be interpreted differently by other cultures. Consequently, this can cause cultural misunderstandings, conflict, and discrimination which also leads to an imbalance for children because they do not know what is acceptable in certain cultures. Banks acknowledges that â€Å"Multicultural educ... ... Banks, James and Cherry Banks. Multicultural Education. John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2004. Print Caldera, Araceli. Personal Interview. English Language Program Facilitator. 14 June 2015. â€Å"Constructing Race.† Signs of Life in the USA. 2009 ed. Print. â€Å"Culture.† Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. 2012 ed. Web. 10 June 2015. Davidman, Leonard and Patricia T. Davidman. Teaching with a Multicultural Perspective. New York: Longman, 1997. Print. Grosjean, Francois. â€Å"Advantages of Being Bicultural.† Psychology Today. 19 Apr. 2013. Print. McCarthy, Steve. â€Å"Understanding Bilingualism: What it Means to Be Bicultural.† Childreaserch.net. 2 Jan. 2010. Web. 8 June 2015. Parrish, Patrick, and Jennifer A. Linder-VanBerschot. â€Å"Addressing the Challenges of MulticulturalInstruction.† Cultural Dimensions of Learning 11.2 (2010): 10 pgs. Web. 8 June 2015.