Mulitcultural Essay

There are many people who come to the United States seeking a better life and better opportunities. A really good benefit for living in the United States is our schools. We provide the best education out there and there are many international students who would love to attend our colleges. For this reason, the United States is made up of many different cultures. Your neighbor could be of Asian decent, Hispanic, Russian, European, and many more. That is why it is beneficial to know the cultures of the people who live around you. These people are part of our everyday lives. They work with us; they attend school with us, and their people who drive next to us as well. The awareness of different cultures comes from schools, and it would be useful for students to have a requirement of a multicultural course in colleges.

This course would provide students with the education of knowing who their neighbors are and where they come from. It would give them a better of understanding of who they are, and perhaps appreciate and embrace different cultures. There is also a possibility of reducing racism and misjudging people for what they look like or how they speak. Universities such as UC Berkeley, Stanford, and UCLA have already begun programs where they teach students about different cultures. The purpose for this is to make the students more aware of the people around them when they get out of college. It gives the students a different perspective of their environment.

At UC Berkeley they provide a course called American Studies, where they introduce multicultural fields. Their course description says, "American culture and cultural change, with attention to the multicultural basis of American society and emphasis on the need for multiple methods of analysis. The course will consistently draw on the arts, material culture, and various fields affecting cultural production and meaning. Those areas include literature, film, history, architecture, history of art, religion, music, engineering, environmental studies, anthropology, politics, economics, law, and medicine." They provide several of these courses required for freshman and sophomores to take.

It would be of educational value if all colleges could provide this service. It would mean more education for the students, but it would be something of their interest. It could also mean more job placements for teachers. It would give new or already teachers more of an opportunity for work. This class could also be placed in the elective part of requirements and be worth about three units. The course could also provide students with hands on experiences. Not only reading about different, but also being able to see it and touch it. For instance, West Los Angeles College provides students with the multicultural festival. It should be made that students taking this course be part of the multicultural festival. Contribute what they can to make it known of their culture.

In 1998, Ronald Takaki wrote an essay discussing why American colleges and universities should require students to take a multicultural course.