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Bridges to Practice -- Dual License Program
Fall 2000 -- Tuesdays 9:45-12:00

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"Multicultural Me, Multicultural You"

Rotation 1 begins Sept. 12, 2000
Rotation 2 begins Oct. 3, 2000
Rotation 3 begins Nov. 28, 2000

Instructor:	Julia Scherba de Valenzuela, Ph.D. ............................
Office:	Education Office Building, rm. 203

E-mail:	devalenz@unm.edu	Phone:	7-1406
Web site:	http://www.unm.edu/~devalenz/	Fax:	7-8679
Office Hours:	Mondays and Tuesdays 4-6 on a drop-in basis

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Description of 'Bridges to Practice':
The purpose of the "Bridges to Practice" component of your student teaching seminar is to provide small group settings where you can engage in thoughtful reflection on dilemmas of practice in the field. This semester (Fall, 2000), the Bridges topics will include: :Staying Cool" (Kelley Peters), "Literacy in the Classroom" (Danielle Allen), and "Multicultural Me, Multicultural You" (Julia Scherba de Valenzuela). "Multicultural Me, Multicultural You" is designed to provide a series of activities and experiences through which you will be challenged to consider issues of diversity (cultural, linguistic, sociocultural, etc.). Students will be asked to reflect on their own perspectives on ethnicity, class, disability, and gender and to then consider how these play out in classroom settings. Some of the activities presented in this Bridges will be appropriate for use in public school settings and discussion will also include ideas about how to translate these activities for different grade levels.

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Rationale:
The mission of the College of Education is to advance the quality of the educational experience for all learners and to educate professionals who can facilitate human growth in schools, homes, communities, and workplaces. In carrying out this mission, the College explicitly values diversity in people and perspectives. This course is designed to contribute to the fulfillment of this mission, by explicitly focusing on student diversity, in terms of learning, abilities, background, and experiences.

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Objectives of "Bridges to Practice -- Multicultural Me, Multicultural You":
The objectives of this 'Bridges' topic are to prepare and develop teachers and other leaders who:

understand the difference between individual characteristics, disabilities, and handicaps,

understand that handicaps are a result of the interactions between individuals with disabilities and their environments;

understand the relationship of special education to the broader social, political and educational context;

value and support multiple perspectives in issues facing diverse exceptional learners and their families and communities;

are advocates for students and families;

recognize all individuals, including themselves, as life-long learners;

support diverse exceptional learners in their efforts to create for themselves personally satisfying lives; and

recognize the unique multicultural environment of New Mexico.

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Required Readings
The following reading will be made available to students for "Bridges to Practice: Multicultural Me, Multicultural You":

Kohl, H. (1995). Should we burn Babar: Essays on children's literature and the power of stories. New York: The New Press. (chapter 1 -- Should we burn Babar: Questioning power in children's literature)

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Topic Schedule:

Session 1 (Sept. 12, Oct. 3, & Nov. 28)
Topic: Exploring our own identity
Read: no reading due
Activities:

1) individual culture pie,
2) pictorial history, and
3) discussion about using these activities in the classroom

Session 2 (Sept. 19, Oct. 10, & Dec. 5)
Topic: Multicultural literacy
Read: Should we burn Babar?
Assignment: bring in several chapter books from your classroom
Activities:

1) introduction of the notion of no value-free representations,
2) show and tell - analysis of classroom books for underlying assumptions, morals, and difficult questions students might raise, and
3) discussion of reading (Babar) -- where do you stand on this issue and why?

Session 3 (Sept. 26, Oct. 17, & Dec. 12)
Topic: Critical and media literacy
Read: no reading assigned
Activities:

1) analysis of images in popular magazines (i.e. Martha Stewart Living, GQ, Cosmopolitan, Modern Bride),
2) analysis of 'Ping the Duck' (Chinese New year) lesson plan, and
3) discussion of how a "tourist" approach to multicultural education promotes stereotypes and assumptions.

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Last updated: September 4, 2000