MultiCultural Education ECS 116

Fall 2007 Ticket # 1462

Classes begin August 20, 2007
Classes end December 20, 2007

**This website is used in conjunction with a Blackboard Course!**

Instructor: Henry Danielson Email hdanielson@hancockcollege.edu

Required Reading: (The Textbooks listed below are required)

Roots & Wings by Stacy York, Redleaf Press Publishing Company; 2003

Working with Children from Culturally Diverse Backgrounds by M. Diane Klein Deborah Chen. Delmar and Thomson Learning Publishing 2003

(Flexible Calendar)

CLASS SYLLABUS

SELF AWARENESS PAPER NEEDS TO BE SENT BY September 7th

ACTION PROJECT NEEDS TO BE SENT BY December 10th

Anxiety & Disconfirmed Expectations

Reading topics are listed below

1. Introduction Roots & Wings #1
2. Children &Prejudice Roots & Wings #2
3. Culture Klein & Chen #1
4. Family & Community Roots & Wings #6
5. Environments & Culture Klein & Chen # 2
6. Test # 1 September 7 Review notes and Reading
7. Multicultural Ed Roots & Wings #7
8. Anti-bias Class Roots & Wings #8
9. Social Skills & Behavior Klein & Chen #4 (S.A.P. Due September 7th)
10. Racism Roots & Wings #3
11. Test # 2 November 5th Review notes and Reading
12. Culturally Responsive Roots & Wings #4
13. Communication Klein & Chen # 5
14. School Readiness/Activities Klein & Chen #6
15. Applications/ /Klein & Chen #7 ACTION PROJECTS (Due December 10th)
16. Culturally Responsive Roots & Wings #9
17. Special Topics in ECS Quickwrite#16 (Discussion Board Bb)
18. FINAL EXAM on Chapters R&W#4,9/ K&C#5,6,7, Dec 14th

Please Note:
Failure to withdrawal from the class before the deadline is the responsibility of you the student. Failure to withdraw by the dates listed in the Schedule of Classes will result in a Failing grade.

Explanation Course Requirements
Assignments
• Weekly readings: Reading the textbook and other handouts will help you understand and participate in class discussions; the readings also help you learn more about yourself and your values as well as master course concepts. Readings are to be completed prior to online meetings.
• Quick writes: The quick writes encourage you to analyze and address class topics.
• Self-Awareness paper:
• Semester action project: (see list of suggestions)
• Exams: All tests are mandatory including final exam. See syllabus for test dates. There is no make up for the final.
• Attendance: Regular online attendance is necessary. I monitor your online time within Bb.In general two online class sessions can be missed without point penalty. If you decided not to attend please officially drop the class so that you do not receive an “F” grade for failure to appear in class.
Grades
Point distribution for the final grade is as follows:
Quick writes, quizzes, reading assignments and participation 100 points
Self Awareness Paper 50
Semester Action Project
(60 pts. Project 20 pts.understanding) 80
Two tests and Final (50pts. Each) 150
Total points 380
Grade Point System 380 – 342 = A Grade
342 – 304 = B
304 - 266 = C
266 - 228 = D

Action Project Suggestions

PLEASE SUBMIT/ EMAIL IN MICROSOFT WORD DOCUMENTOR TEXT FILE
Each of you are required to complete a semester project. Listed are several options so you can choose a project that matched your personal and professional interests. Assignments should be typed and free of spelling/sentence errors, single spaced 14 point font, and revisited for errors.You will be graded on grammar and errors. Research and or interview projects should be no less than four pages and include a bibliography. Other homemade or activity projects require a typed cover page that explains the project and how it can be used with children. 1. You may visit a group or organization that particularly makes you feel uncomfortable; for example P-FLAG (Parents and friends of Lesbians and Gays) and Talk to members of the organization and receives literature about the history and purpose of the group.
2. You may use a wheelchair for a day and try to go about your daily business including public transportation, grocery shopping, banking, and picking up a child from school, etc.
3. You can visit (3) government subsidy offices around the city and observe the treatment of the applicants/recipients (Social Security offices, Social Services, Public Health Clinic etc.) Each office has to be observed for (1) ONE hour and write about your experiences
4. Interview a minimum of three members of your family on how racism or other prejudice is/was handled and how values have changed between generations.
5. Create a minimum of five lesson plans that deal with multicultural/anti-bias curriculum and present theses lesson plans to a group of children. Write about what the children’s response was and what you as a person learned.
6. Create a multicultural/anti-bias check list evaluating a classroom’s physical environment. Visit three class rooms and evaluate the classroom’s environment and interview on teacher regarding their views on multicultural curriculum.
7. Write a (6) page (double spaced error free of grammar/spelling) research paper on hate crimes, prop 227 or immigration.
8. Develop a series of lessons (min of 6) for children about people who have worked to eliminate racism or other prejudice in our society.
9. Video tape your classroom work with children using anti-racism activities.
10. Your Idea? Talk with instructor.

Self Awareness Paper

PLEASE SUBMIT/ EMAIL IN MICROSOFT WORD DOCUMENT OR TEXT FILE

1. Personal Examination and Awareness (Choosing and Prizing)
Method: Each participant engages in reflection by jotting down answers to the following questions. (This activity was developed by Louise Derman-Sparks.) Must be at least 3 pages (double spaced, font size 12, free of grammar errors and in a WORD document or TEXT file emailed to me) in length.
Questions:
1. What makes you who you are? Describe your racial, ethnic, and gender identity, physical ability, and appearance.
2. What aspects of your identity do you consider important for others to know about, and what aspects do you choose not to share? Why?
3. What specific incidents from your childhood may have shaped how you view yourself/your identity? What feelings are associated with these incidents?
4. What or who was influential in shaping your present attitudes toward your own background and toward people from different backgrounds?
5. If your feelings regarding your perceived identity have changed since childhood, who or what contributed to this change?
2. Becoming Aware of How Stereotypes and Assumptions Are Created (Prizing)
Method: Each participant makes a list of those items with which they feel comfortable. (This activity was developed by Ricky Sherover-Marcuse.)
1. What I want other people to know about my racial/ethnic/gender/class/religious identity.
2. What I want others to say about my racial/ethnic/gender/class/religious identity.
3. How I would prefer a person to acquire information about my culture; ways in which I appreciate how people are exposed to and learn about my culture.

Anxiety & Disconfirmed Expectations

• Question #1
Can you think of times when anxiety was evident in your life and how it might have interfered with your ability to function most effectively?

• Question #2
Can you recall a time when you experienced disconfirmed expectations and thought the situation would be one way when in fact it was quite different? How did you fix the difference?

Anxiety: as individuals encounter unexpected or unfamiliar behavior of others, they are likely to become anxious about whether or not their own behavior is appropriate. Children in new schools, families in new communities, and teachers in new schools will all experience some degree of anxiety as they attempt to modify their own behavior to fit the new circumstances. Feelings of anxiety may result in a strong desire to avoid the situation altogether and individuals sometimes go to great lengths to do so, all the while rationalizing their avoidance behavior on other grounds.

Disconfirmed expectations: Individuals may become upset or uncomfortable, not because of the specific circumstances they encounter but because the situation differs from what they expect. Despite our recognition that differences are all around us, we have a tendency to expect others to think and behave in ways similar to ourselves. Most people enter interactions with others expecting that others will think and behave according to preconceived, often inaccurate, notions. They then act on those inaccurate judgments, and find that their actions do not produce the intended result.

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