The Wrong Kind of Different: Challenging the Meaning of Diversity in American Classrooms
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.98 (982 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 080775384X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 144 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-11-12 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
How can multiculturalism go wrong? Through extensive interviews conducted in a large Midwestern district, Antonia Randolph explores how teachers perceive students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and the unintended consequences of a kind of ''colorblind multiculturalism.'' She unearths a hierarchy of acceptance and legitimacy that excludes most poor Black students and favors certain immigrant minorities. In addition, she discovers how some teachers distinguish their support for certain forms of student diversity from curriculum diversity, such as accommodating bilingual education, which they find burdensome. This provocative book challenges readers to look beyond the surface benefits of diversity and raises issues about American schools that need to be addressed, including: How school diversity policy has become detached from concerns about equity and social justice, how teachers see diversity as a ''good'' thing as long as it doesn't inconvenience them or lower their schools scores on standardized tests, how some immigrant children receive favorable treatment sanctioned by multicultural ideology and practice, how many African-American students and schools suffer racial penalties for being ''the wrong kind of different.''
"A horrible attack once again on teachers and the educational community" according to Amazon Customer. Wide-sweeping generalizations by the author results in the same prejudices that she accuses others of. A horrible attack once again on teachers and the educational community.. William H. Stokes said Sociological Observations. Sociology is the science of the "obvious." Dr. Randolph does an excellent job of covering everything her synopsis states that she will. The Wrong Kind of Different uses a complex Venn diagram of class,ethnicity, and race to analyze the meaning of "diversity" and what it really means from the perspective of teachers in "Laketown." Dr. Randolph need not fear the consequences of divulging the identity of Laketown on pg. 67of the paperback edition as it is a large enough city for the teachers interviewed to retain their anonymity.The most overwhelmingly redeeming feature of this work is that it will stimulate valuable discussion in both cl. I didn't really enjoy reading the book especially I needed the book for a presentation in my "Diversity in Education" grad class. I didn't really enjoy reading the book especially, but it served the purpose.
. About the Author Antonia Randolph is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware
Antonia Randolph is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware.