Our world is a very diverse one. People come in all sorts of shapes and colors and genders. They speak many different languages and come from places located across the planet. Despite the diversity of people and places, our world is plagued with racism, discrimination, and prejudice. In the homeschooling world, though seemingly isolated from these troubles; the homeschooling world actually echoes these. Homeschoolers are sectioned off into mini cliques which mimic many of these behaviors, leaving those who look or speak differently at the border of the homeschooling world feeling ostracized and fending for themselves. We have to change this around. All children not only deserve an education representative of them but one that also teaches them to embrace the differences of others as well.
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“Our diversity is our strength. What a dull and pointless life it would be if everyone was the same.”
-Angelina Jolie
Imagine leaving the traditional educational avenues due to dissatisfaction with the underrepresentation of varying cultures and the lack of support for members of these said groups only to find the same disturbing trends in the homeschooling world too.
On the other side of that, imagine the way it feels when your world is suddenly larger than what you initially thought and that everything you thought you knew was based upon preconceived notions and biased information.
Readily available materials tend to show only one viewpoint. Here, in the United States, education is taught from a European view of the world. However, the United States is not and was never a European or Anglo nation. Actual people already inhabited the land. The United States is part of one land, one continent, America. America is divided into the North and the South, both of which were lands occupied by brown people prior to the arrival of the Pilgrims and other European groups.
After the establishment of the United States, one continent suddenly became two. Native groups such as Africans (yes, a little known fact is that Africans were in the Americas hundreds of years before Europeans, well before the arrival of the famed murderer Columbus), Native Americans, and Mexicans were moved from their lands. Africans were forced to join other Africans kidnapped from Africa into slavery and denied indigenous status, Native Americans were rounded into reservations, and Mexico, which once covered most of North America, was reduced to what we know and recognize as now as Mexico.
The gruesome truths of these genocides are often painted from a view that white settlers were saving these groups of people from savagery, which is sad and disgusting. For both sides, the lack of understanding, the feeling of being left out, or misunderstood leads to tensions that eventually give way to chaos. This chaos is passed down to our children, generation after generation, and perpetuates the problem.
Culturally inclusive homeschooling is homeschooling that is culturally responsive. It facilitates the learning of all peoples. This means that it takes into consideration and includes persons of varying or different backgrounds. Rather than limiting the homeschooling environment to one that is reflective of traditional education, using the same divisive and biased products, and resources that reflect an all white, all male audience only, it reflects the diversification of the world. It accentuates worldly cultural references, making it relatable and accessible to all rather than just a few. Culturally inclusive homeschooling highlights the backgrounds, cultures, languages, experiences, and practices of others to create a wholesome environment for everyone. Its intersectionality encompasses comprehensive strategies to engage all learners. Culturally inclusive homeschooling should include women, people of color, various genders, and persons of varying abilities. It is a necessary ingredient of quality education.
Multicultural Education can be implemented through:
- Daily Task
- Dual Immersion
- Field Trips
- Geography Lessons
- Language Learning
- Travel
How do you implement multicultural homeschooling in your program?
Hasta Pronto!
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Hi! I’m Kat aka Mama Dot! Nice to meet you. I’m a homeschooling mom of three boys. By day, I run a mom’s blog (Being Mama Dot) and subscription service (Wombology). In my downtime, I create resources for families homeschooling children of color at Our Learning Curve. I love coffee, reggaeton (music in Spanish), knitting, and reading. My favorite thing to do is to feel my feet in the sand. #beachbum. Currently, I am an MA/Ph.D. student in Africana and Latin American studies. When I am not in school, I spend my days running my online business and taking care of my little ones. Make sure to check out OLC’s Instagram, Twitter, or join us over at Facebook.