Strengthening Schools One Culture at a Time
</i> Did I ever tell you that Mrs. McCave had twenty-three sons and she named them all Dave? Well she did. And that wasn’t a smart thing to do. You see, when she wants one and calls out, Yoo-Hoo! Come into the house, Dave! She doesn’t get one. All twenty-three Daves of hers come on the run! This makes things quite difficult at the McCaves’ as you can imagine, with so many Daves. And often she wishes that, when they were born, she had named one of them Bodkin Van Horn, …But she did not do it. And now it’s too late. (Seuss, 1989, pp. 37-41).
Just as Mrs. McCave in Too Many Daves discovered problems with homogenizing her children, Mrs. Paley in the novel White Teacher, realizes problems with trying to homogenize her students. Vivian Gussin Paley says, “The homogenized white school and the homogenized black school do not live up to the exciting potential of the multiracial society in which we exist” (p. 99). Paley, a young kindergarten teacher, shares her experiences during the years she spent teaching in an integrated school. She taught in the 1970’s when integration in public schools was first starting to take place. Paley first tried to be “colorblind” and treat all her students the same, but soon realized that each child’s differences strengthen the classroom environment. The classroom environment was strengthened by the student’s dramatic play, parental involvement, and the actions of Mrs. Paley herself. These three components are important for creating a multicultural classroom, and a multicultural classroom is important for creating culturally aware students.
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Play in a kindergarten classroom is essential, helps students express themselves, and, “In their play, they reveal the intuitive and universal language that bind us all together” (p. 135). Dramatic play allows every child to play a certain role, a different role that contributes to the overall success of the final production. For example, Ayana uses her kindness and her motherly instincts while she plays and Ruthie is the peacemaker. Sylvia is the smart one, Joyce is outgoing, and Claire is the sweet one. When the boys play superheroes, they use their creativity and friendship to strengthen their play. Not only do they use their different personality traits to strengthen play, but they use their cultural differences as well. One day in the doll corner, the black girls used their slang speech to change their play from the norm. The girls also used real-life situations in their play. For example, when one of the girl’s father left her and her mother, the girls played divorce in the doll corner (pp. 83-89). While engaged in dramatic play, students use their different personality traits and their different cultures to unite and create a community in the classroom. 
Teachers themselves can also bring culture into the classroom and help keep the class from being homogenized. Mrs. Paley, being Jewish, brought in unique experiences to help keep diversity fluent in her classroom. Also, teachers can incorporate cultural lessons into the curriculum to provide opportunities for students to become culturally sensitive. In Multicultural Education Theory and Practice, information is given on how teachers can look at the make-up of the class and, throughout the year, try to include every race’s learning style into the lesson (p. 299). Teachers can also have posters hanging on the wall that have different cultures present. Again at BlackWater, a fourth grade teacher has posters displayed on the wall representing Indian, Caucasian, and black cultures, allowing the students to physically see differences inside the classroom. Teachers have more power than they sometimes feel they have when it comes to keeping a multicultural atmosphere.Graphics found at the following websites:
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/books_magazines/print_books/the_sneetches_and_other_stories_dr_seuss/_review/432341/
http://www.nhbvi.com/Agenda/Goal1/Book1/images/kidsplaying.jpg
http://www.csusm.edu/giving/images/teacher.jpg
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