Cultural Applications Ideas for Teacher Education Programs

Cultural Applications

Bartone, Michael. (2001). "Cultural applications: Ideas for teacher education programs."

Perspectives on Urban Education, 91-94.

According to Michael Bartone's article "Cultural applications: Ideas for teacher education programs," adequate preparation for teachers demands a multifaceted approach to the instructor's education. It is not enough for teachers to merely be academically competent at teaching their subject matter. Future teachers must also have an awareness of the cultural and socioeconomic background of the students they are instructing. While the population of white students is declining, the population of non-Caucasian students is increasing across the nation, and this trend is likely to continue. However, given that the population of non-white teachers has remained steady, this means there is a vast discrepancy between the appearance and more importantly the background of the population doing the instructing and the population they are teaching.

To address this problem, Bartone states, requires a multifaceted solution. First and foremost, colleges of teaching must make a more aggressive effort to recruit members of historically-discriminated against minorities, to ensure that the demographics of the teaching profession becomes more diverse in nature. When they feel that the teacher looks and sounds 'like them,' students will be more responsive to what is taught in the classroom, Secondly, teaching colleges must combine coursework in multicultural education with fieldwork amongst diverse populations. Bartone cites his own experience as proof of this need. He grew up in a relatively homogeneous area, and only after venturing into the teaching profession and seeking out opportunities for greater exposure to diversity did he truly feel competent as a teacher (Bartone 2001: 91). He admits that current research suggests that diverse placement settings alone do not appear to foster efficacy and increase teacher's comfort levels, but believes that when combined with adequate academic preparation in addressing multicultural issues, hands-on experience is a vital component of teachers' future success. Part of this preparation, though, must address the teachers' emotional attitudes as well as their intellectual understanding of how to serve the needs of challenged populations. A willingness to be self-critical about one's own attitudes and a desire to change were vital components in successfully becoming a multicultural educator (Bartone 2001: 92).

Bartone gives examples of his own current teaching style as a point of reference, stating that he is unafraid to ask his classes challenging questions when teaching about the history of prejudice within America, and offers lessons even to the very youngest about subjects like the Civil Rights movement (Bartone 2001: 92-93). Even elementary school children have questions about race and justice. But he stresses that his ability to address sensitive issues such as racial injustice at an elementary school level only came with hard work. He immersed himself in the community where he was teaching, and strove to become active in the social environment of the area -- going to church and visiting the homes of members of the community. Only with this type of preparation, he believes, was he able to navigate the school's emotional terrain in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center, teaching a class composed of many religions and ethnic groups.