Challenges of Multiculturalism
In a world with a large number of issues undergoing the complicated process of resolving like racial and gender discrimination, it is of no wonder that heated debates and arguments have been happening in all corners of the society. Philosophers, sociologists and even functionalists have mustered up enough grounds to curiously question the origins and possible answers to these arguments. Moralists like the famous teacher-student duo, Socrates and Plato, have stimulated the intelligent minds of the people regarding the morals and virtues concerning the significance of the challenges that discrimination presents. Sociologists like Karl Marx and Max Weber have tried to academically explain the influence of diversity to social interaction and development. Even the holy institution of the Church has examined their religious views and doctrines so as to give the society their respected stand in these issues. And yes, even children, with their innocent and bright outlook on life, are battling the implications of mingling with classmates or playmates that are different in terms of race, religion or class.
Looking back at the aforementioned statement about children living in a multi-diverse community, it is obviously inevitable that their own behaviours are influenced by the society. It is always a question regarding biological patterns and social experiences in trying to study an individual’s attributes. If one would indulge himself to this study, he may come upon the debate presented by the Nature versus Nurture theory. It is said that a culmination of more than half a century of research collected on 14.5 million pairs of twins has finally concluded that the nature versus nurture debate is a draw (Nature vs Nurture Debate, 2015). This emphasizes the true essence of the study of psychology. In a case where a pair of twins, of course coming off the same intelligence quotient from their parents, is nurtured through contrasting environmental factors, the result is that they still may have different attitudes and aptitudes. This is because one cannot just take into account the personality or character of a person based on his biological origins. This would not be enough if taken into account the saying, “No man is an island.” Now, this gives an emphasis to the great influence that the environment or the society places upon the minds and hearts of a person. If one of the twins is raised in a poor family with no enough financial capability to send him to a good school, will he be different from his brother who is studying in a prestigious school surrounded by academically-educated friends and mentors? Or will his mindset be a lot different from his brother who is being fed with adequate supply of vitamins and nutritious food? The thing is psychologists are in the middle ground here. They more or less incline their stand towards a draw. The primary and the most important factor for this is the all-natural case of individual differences. As Howard Gardner states in his theory of the multiple intelligences, each individual has his unique set of attitudes and approaches on how he is able to cope and adapt to the inevitable physical and social factors set before him. This makes it difficult for even the most renowned psychologists to cater to the world a permanent standard as to how an individual’s behavior should be interpreted and assessed.
The argument that the previous statements are building up to is the influence of one’s culture to the society. It is of no escape that an individual, no matter how he abhors his ancestral origins, will be affected, one way or the other, by the practices, traditions and beliefs of his culture. Now, culture is like an old tree with sturdy branches that grow off it. These strong branches, no matter how old they are, will be almost impossible to wither or even to be toppled off. These branches could represent societal areas affected by culture like education, religion, food, clothing, arts and even technology. Due to people’s tendency of being loyal and sentimental, these cultural areas are then preserved and treasured.
Throughout ages, history tells the people that one of the most celebrated ways of business in the old times is through the system of barter. Through this system, merchants or businessmen of different nationalities exchange goods, especially spices, so as to discover new products. Actually, this became a worldwide sensation as this method of business making developed into some sort of getting bragging rights for each country. As if it’s not enough, several countries especially the Western places, honed their competitive edges by improving their mode of transportation and eventually navigating their way around the world. Due to this unmitigated method of mingling with new people, some explorers and businessmen developed intimate relationships with people of other nationalities, resulting to a cultural mix of breeding.
If one would have an intensive analysis of this piece of history, he would come up with a conclusion that it gave birth to multiculturalism. But before plunging into the depths of the arguments for and against multiculturalism, it’s very important to create a definitive meaning or function of the word “culture”.
Culture is one of the most quoted terms in referring to the society as a whole. First thing that people would interconnect with culture is the norm of the society. The so-called norms of a particular society emphasize the various standards that are considered acceptable within the community. Acceptance of these norms is very subjective as each nationality is bound, consciously or unconsciously, to its ancestral origins. To give a concrete example of these norms, an individual should try to come up with explanations as to how beauty is perceived throughout time and space. Everybody knows the saying which goes like, “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” This is very accurate if taking into account the cultural diversity of the people. To put it simply, a creatively-constructed building is more probably feasting to the eyes of an architect than to a teacher. A novel written in the most thrilling and fascinating technique will catch the attention of a wide reader than a graceful dancer. These examples show that the norms of a specific group or community should not follow a certain standard on which another group is following. That will be really unfair and impractical. Norms are subjective, not objective.
Another thing about culture is that one cannot categorize a group without mentioning the culture where it is from. It’s just absolutely impossible to eradicate culture from any equation that formulates the description of a certain group, community or ethnic tribe. Without culture, it will be like light without the dark or vice versa. Culture and society are forever interconnected. They are completely inseparable.
That explains the function and significance of knowing culture in terms of describing a particular society. But the thing is, people still tend to put a lot of negativities on their culture. Instead of whining about this, a concerned individual should not just say that this is unavoidable. In fact, it can be prevented if given further attention and deep analysis. If people would only have the mindset of accepting that the society will stay multicultural up until its end, then these prolonged arguments and conflicts will not happen anymore.
Multiculturalism refers to cultural diversity. As previously explained, this is brought upon if and when a person or a group is immersed to a culture that is not originally theirs. In the beginning of the process, one cannot avoid to experience “culture shock”. Culture shock happens when an individual, who is not used to sensing the practices and beliefs of a certain group, is suddenly plunged into the depths of a culture that he is still having a hard time to open his eyes into. However, if this continues for a prolonged period of time, that is when most of the heated conflicts happen.
An example of a dedicated teacher strategically planning his classroom management is a perfect model in solving the challenges of multiculturalism. A concerned leader of a pack, a teacher is one of the persons that every student in the class looks up to and gives respect. This respect from the class is gained through his admirable effort to cater his lessons and programs to the strengths and weaknesses of each individual. In a room of about forty to fifty students, a teacher has to try his best create interactive activities and multi-dimensional assessments that will be fair for each student’s personality.
Gardner’s work was also described as been marked by a desire not to just describe the world but help to create the conditions to change it (Howard Gardner, multiple intelligences and education, n.d.). This statement accurately sums up the multiple intelligences theory. Much has been said and done regarding brilliant scholars and philosophers trying to describe the society’s current state. This particular effort often just results to chaos and confusion among members of the community. It is totally unfair to place the burden of identity crisis and role displacement on an individual, especially if he or she is still a child trying to take his position in the society.
On the other hand, student B’s favorite place is the right side corner of the classroom. He is not a spotlight person. Actually, he is not a fan of even being in the light. His circle of friends constitutes a small number of classmates accompanying him for lunch or his accidental seatmate in the school bus. But the thing is he has a very brilliant mind. He is an observant and a wide reader. Often than not, he already knows the answer to every question of the teacher even before she asks the class. But because of his nonchalant personality, his classmates confuse him to being rude and killjoy.
Now, looking back at the theory of multiple intelligences, this case of two students with different personalities is by far a concrete example why people cannot view things as they are. If a teacher does not have the natural ability to adapt to his students, then he is absolutely ineffective. But a great teacher is one who intensively studies the personal backgrounds of the students which includes a vast number of areas like the occupations of parents, previous educational attainments, achievement and awards, and interests and hobbies. Of course, there are a lot of ways for a teacher to have enough knowledge regarding this matter. Aside from the usual personal file submitted by a student as a requirement in applying for a spot in the educational institution, the teacher must also creatively plan diagnostic assessments and post-lesson evaluations to effectively gauge the student’s capabilities and desires.
Instances like this case in any educational institution give the society a glimpse of how multiculturalism should be sensed and treated. As an individual probably knows, challenges and arguments surrounding culture could be really sensitive. By mentioning cultural sensitivity, the next bright step is to engage one’s mind to the negativities of ethnocentrism.
One of the most quoted definitions used to emphasize ethnocentrism is that it is a mindset or an act of judging other groups as inferior to one’s own (Barger, 2014). This is particularly correct especially to an individual whose knowledge and adaptation to another culture is in its initial stages. But no matter how true this is, ethnocentrism comes with a package of positive and negative attributes.
The positive takeaway from an ethnocentric view of culture is that it says a lot about the pride of a person regarding his origins and beliefs. Patriotism or nationalism is one virtue that a concerned citizen of a country should have. Even if an individual will deny his origins, it will still be evident in his physique, tendencies and of course, his relationship with his family. The argument that pride in one’s culture is equal to loyalty to family actually makes a lot of sense. Both family and country refer to a person’s sense of where he comes from and probably, where he is going to in the future. If one is not able to commit a sense of pride in his own culture, then how can he be able to develop an intimate relationship with his family whose culture is just the same as his?
However, the negative thing about ethnocentrism is the conflicts and trouble that it causes among groups of different cultures and traditions. Too much pride in one’s cultural origin will result into inability to adapt to another group’s beliefs and value systems. Actually, if one would make an analysis on the timeline of history, ethnocentrism was and is still one of the main roots of evil plots among competing countries, especially those among the same regions. The only possible act to prevent these conflicts is to have an open mindset in comprehending and understanding even the most different culture system of any individual.
References
Nature vs. Nurture: Which One Determines Who You Are? (2015). Retrieved June 05, 2016, from http://www.medicaldaily.com/nature-vs-nurture-debate-50-year-twin-study-proves-it-takes-two-determine-human-334686
Howard Gardner, multiple intelligences and education. (2013). Retrieved June 05, 2016, from http://infed.org/mobi/howard-gardner-multiple-intelligences-and-education/
Barger, K. (2014, July 31). ETHNOCENTRISM. Retrieved June 05, 2016, from http://www.iupui.edu/~anthkb/ethnocen.htm
