Natalie Anderson
1. The name of my organization is Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI). I found out about this organization by searching for journals in the Education library that related to issues of elementary education and poverty. I was directed to the journal of Childhood Education. I looked through the issues and found one that had an article that interested me. I then proceeded to learn more about the association that produced this publication by visiting the ACEI website <www.acei.org>. The mission and vision statements of ACEI:
OUR MISSION
“is to promote and support in the global community the optimal education and development of children, from birth through early adolescence, and to influence the professional growth of educators and the efforts of others who are committed to the needs of children in a changing society.”
OUR VISION
“Every child in every nation will have access to a quality education. This education will prepare children to become responsible and engaged citizens and ready them for life in a changing world.”
ACEI is involved in numerous projects. For example, the organization publishes many different journals: Focus Forms, published quarterly; Childhood Education; Journal of Research in Childhood Education; Curriculum Development: Perspectives from Around the world. ACEI also published books. “The Earth Is Our Home: Children Caring for the Environment” Ed. James L. Hoot is one of the organizations most recent publications. Other endeavours include hosting yearly local (USA) and worldwide conferences. The local conference for 2011 will be held April 13 to 16 in New Orleans, Louisiana. ACEI is also involved in many other worldwide initiatives such as international exchange programs. The exchange programs allow educators to travel to different countries to observe schools,
Although ACEI is based in the United States, I think that this organization would be a valuable resource for accessing materials such as books and journals that pertain to issues I will deal with in my future as an elementary school teacher. The publications discuss a wide variety of educational issues such multiculturalism and environmental accountability. I found the articles helpful because the authors discussed a topic and provided strategies which teachers can apply in the classroom to address that particular issue. ACEI members are also eligible for awards, scholarships, and grants. As I am interested in working in low-income schools, I feel that becoming a member of ACEI may be valuable in the future. I think it would be wonderful to be part of an organization that provides its members with opportunities to secure funding for new school projects and programs as well as to nominate other educators or students for awards and scholarships.
2. Volume 86(4), Summer 2010 of the journal Childhood Education for educators and caregivers provides an informative discussion on integrating multiculturalism into the curriculum. In an article entitled “More Alike Than Different: Promoting Respect Through Multicultural Book and Literacy Strategies” authors, Laurie J. Harper and Susan Trostle Brand explain how multicultural literature can be effectively used to foster children’s acceptance and understanding of human difference and similarity.[1] More importantly, Harper and Trostle provide a checklist of criteria teachers can consult to ensure they are selecting high-quality multicultural literature for their primary students. The authors also discuss five hands-on activities that teachers can use in the classroom: concept map, Venn diagram, open-minded Portrait, vocabulary cube, vocabulary puzzle. These five activities have been designed using five specific children’s books. However, the authors give many examples of other multicultural children’s books that could be adapted to these teaching strategies. There is also a comprehensive list of high-quality literature resources at the end of the article.
3. When considering how to incorporate multiculturalism into the classroom teachers must be careful that their approaches do not perpetuate stereotypes or misconceptions. I think this issue is important to my future as an educator. However, I realize that I also need to approach it carefully and thoughtfully. I read a number of articles online to brainstorm other pedagogical strategies I could use in my future classrooms. Many authors criticized approaches that only celebrated “heroes and holidays.” I want to avoid making these mistakes. One of my textbooks discusses fostering “ethnic pride” in the classroom by incorporating students’ first languages into everyday practices.[2] For example, teachers and schools should make it a priority to display multilingual signs as this gives students an opportunity to use their first language. From a pedagogical perspective, teachers could assign reading and writing assignments and allow students to read a book that is written in their first language. The written component would be completed in English but teachers could still encourage students to incorporate key vocabulary from their books into their written reflections. I hope this activity would demonstrate to those students that speak other languages that the teacher values the language of all students in the class. Other ideas I have to incorporate multiculturalism into the classroom include a family recipe assignment. Students would be instructed to research and write out a recipe for a dish that is special to their family. This would give students that eat dishes unique to a particular culture or heritage a chance to share this information with the class. This would also be a great way to begin a discussion about different types of food and how people eat differently in other parts of the world.
[1] Harper, J. Laurie and Susan Trostle Brand, “More Alike Than Different: Promoting Respect Through Multicultural Books and Literacy Strategies,” Childhood Education 86, no.4 (Summer 2010): 224-233.
[2] Woolfolk, Anite E., et.all, Educational Psychology, 4th Ed. (Toronto: Pearson Canada, 2010), 89.
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