A Multicultural and Democratic Education
Knowledge is beautiful and powerful because it is influential and vast. In fact, it is pivotal for one to understand that knowledge will forever be limitless. For instance, modern day education philosophers such as bell hooks and Ann Sharp are known for their thought-provoking intellectual beliefs regarding education. Nonetheless, bell hooks is known for her intriguing philosophies regarding African-American feminism in cultural studies, social issues, and education. hooks’ beliefs derived from her personal experience with social and racial discrimination in the 1950s and 1960s. On the other hand, Ann Sharp is known for fighting against ageism; she believes that children should be respected as individuals. …show more content…
For instance, bell hooks “is a well-regarded contemporary public intellectual because of her thoughtfulness and provocative discussions on the connections among class, gender, race, ethnicity, and language” (“bell hooks,” n.d., p. 655). hooks’ knowledge and beliefs enable me to view the role of care and caring thinking from a culturally responsive perspective. In fact, when I think of class, gender, race, ethnicity, and language, I think of culturally responsive teaching. A pedagogy that requires teachers to recognize how vital it is for him or her to include his or her students’ cultural references in the classroom (“Culturally Responsive Teaching,” n.d.). One’s culture is central to his or her learning, and for that reason, it is pivotal for schools to reshape their curriculums. An ideal curriculum is one that is significant, student-centered, and multicultural especially since the end goal is to have students apply his or her knowledge in the real world--a meaningful education. To conclude, hooks has forced me to realize that a care thinking educator is one that encourages culturally responsive teaching--respect for all …show more content…
Childhood is a crucial stage in one’s life; it is the phase of curiosity. Yet, Ann Sharp believes that society does not respect children as individuals, and for that reason, it is important for adults to understand that his or her child must have a voice and be respected: “Adults have an ethical obligation to respect children as persons, and this respect is the only way to create a more peaceful and equitable future” (“Ann Margaret Sharp,” n.d.). Society’s children are the future; thus, it is pivotal for elementary teachers to establish democratic classroom environments in his or her classroom. A democratic setting in an elementary classroom allows children to form a community; a pre-exposure to a real life democratic society--adulthood. A democratic community promotes care and care thinking. How so? Think about it: Sharp argues that such community helps individuals develop crucial “...skills of dialogue, questioning, reflective inquiry, and good judgment” (“Sharp,” n.d.). To end, here, it is evident that Sharp wants educators to realize that having students strive for a successful and meaningful future is important, especially since he or she is the future citizen of this great democracy--The United States of America. Thus, in my future classroom, my goal is to make learning meaningful to my students, mainly because I want him or her to apply his or her