SCTA Newsletter

Hello, future educators! As one of your Ethnic Minority Representatives, I believe it is very important to keep you informed on how to keep diversity and multiculturalism alive.

In this article I will provide you with a website that can help you create an environment that celebrates diversity and multiculturalism in your future classroom. I will also suggest a book that I believe all future educators in California should read.

The web site is http://www.mapnp.org/library/emp_well/diversty/diversty.htm. This website gives you a list of many websites dedicated to diversity appreciation, training and management. Some great topics that can be found at this site include teaching multiculturalism and learning math through cultures. You can also find diversity links dealing with age, ethnicity, race, and sex. Give this website try. It has an abundance of valuable information!

The book that I believe is a must read is Savage Inequalities by Johnathan Kozol. This book deals with real situations and stories about children in American schools. This is what two critics have to say:

"The forces of equity have now been joined by a powerful voice. Kozol has written a searing expose of the extremes of wealth and poverty in America's school system and the blighting effect on poor children, especially those in cities. In public schooling, he argues, social policy during the Reagan-Bush era 'has been turned back almost 100 years.'"
-Emily Mitchel, Time

"This book digs so deeply into the tragedy of the American system of public education that it wrenches the reader's psyche. A must-read for every parent, every educator, and every relevant policy maker."
-Alex Haley, author of Roots and the Autobiography of Malcolm X.

I truly believe that this book and website can help us remember the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt "Among American citizens there should be no forgotten men and no forgotten races." Please, if you know of any great books or websites dealing with diversity and multiculturalism, do not hesitate to e-mail me. Thank you and have a great school year!