Masters level: Culture and education

You are to revisit and analyse your initial short essay (Part A) four times in the first half of the semester. ( Dear writer please find the short essay at the end of this instruction i past it there.) Readings composory: Topic 2 Required readings Alizadeh, A. 2008, ‘Citizenship test', in Culture is…Australian stories across cultures: An anthology, ed. A. Smith, Wakefield Press, Kent Town, South Australia, pp. 30-31. Beeby, B. 2008, ‘The face in the mirror', in Growing up Asian in Australia, ed. A. Pung, Black Inc., Melbourne, pp. 323-329. Chau, K. 2008, ‘The terrorists', in Growing up Asian in Australia, ed. A. Pung, Black Inc., Melbourne, pp. 26. Chong, J. 2008, ‘Anzac Day', in Growing up Asian in Australia, ed. A. Pung, Black Inc., Melbourne, pp. 239. Dao, C. 2001, ‘Race', in Rethinking our classrooms: Teaching for equity and justice [Vol. 2], eds. B. Bigelow, B. Harvey, S. Karp, & L. Miller, Rethinking Schools Ltd. Milwaukee, pp. 15. Hopwood, J. 2008, ‘Joy Hopwood', in Growing up Asian in Australia, ed. A. Pung, Black Inc., Melbourne, pp. 275-279. Jamal, N. & Chandab, T. 2005, ‘Soft targets', in The glory garage: Growing up Lebanese Muslim in Australia, ed. N. Jamal & T. Chandab, , Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, pp. 102-111. Pham, H. 2008, ‘Hoa Pham', in Growing up Asian in Australia, ed. A. Pung, Black Inc., Melbourne, pp. 261-263. Poynting, S. 2004, Living with racism: The experience and reporting by Arab and Muslim Australians of discrimination, abuse and violence since 11 September 2001, Center for Cultural Research, University of Western Sydney, Sydney. **Soutphommasane, T. 2010, The one day of the year is also important to non-Anglo immigrants, The Australian (28 Apirl). Available from http://www(dot)theaustralian(dot)com(dot)au/news/opinion/one-day-of-the-year-alsoimportant- to-non-anglo-immigrants/story-e6frg6zo-1225859054103 Tatum, B. 1999, ‘Defining racism: “Can we talk?”' in “Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?” and other conversations about race, Basic Books, New York, pp. 3-17. Available from e-reserve at http://www(dot)une(dot)edu(dot)au/ereserve/?biblioID=R43803 Thao, M. 2001, ‘I am proud to be bilingual, in Rethinking our classrooms: Teaching for equity and justice [Vol. 2], eds. B. Bigelow, B. Harvey, S. Karp, & L. Miller, Rethinking Schools Ltd. Milwaukee, pp. 32. Vidal, B. 2008, ‘The first Australian', in Culture is…Australian stories across cultures: An anthology, ed. A. Smith, Wakefield Press, Kent Town, SA, pp. 1- 13. Topic 2 Suggested readings Ang, I. 2000, ‘Asians in Australia: A contradiction in terms?' in Race, colour & identity in Australia and New Zealand, ed. J. Docker & G. Fischer, UNSW Press, Sydney, pp. 115-130. *Hollinsworth, D. 2006, ‘Nationalism, multiculturalism and contemporary racial discourse', in Race and racism in Australia, 3rd edn, Social Science Press, Katoomba, pp. 226-247. Leong, H. 1995, ‘Photographic essay: An Australian', in Asian & Pacific inscriptions, identities, ethnicities, nationalities, ed. S. Perera, School of English, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, pp. 111-120. Mansouri, F. 2005, ‘Citizenship, identity and belonging in contemporary Australia', in Islam and the West: Reflections from Australia, ed. S. Akbarzadeh & S. Yasmeen, UNSW Press, Sydney, pp. 149-164. #Rogen, J. 2010, Growing up as an ‘other' in Australia, EDUC403 Assignment 1 (Topic 2), University of New Engalnd, Armidale. (PDF on home page. Suggested steps for assignment completion Read the required readings for the designated topics (see above) in their entirety. Read some of the suggested readings as well especially if you are aiming for a D or above! Step 2: Identify and briefly summarize central themes and ideas presented in the readings. Instead of discussing readings one by one, try to tease out a few common themes and perspectives that can be drawn from all the readings. Step 3: Revisit your initial short essay find( attached down in instruction). Ask yourself what new light, if any, the themes and ideas introduced in the readings shed on what you discussed in the short essay. Have they allowed you to wonder about things that you did not initially consider? Step 4: Discuss how your initial views have been reshaped or reinforced since them. Step 5: Make sure you've made references to a minimum of 6 readings from the designated topics in your blog entry. What we are looking for in your writing? With this assignment, we are asking you to demonstrate the following two things. First, we want you to demonstrate the process of your reflective thinking as you engage with unit readings. This will require you to constantly revisit your state of thinking in previous weeks and analyse how your thinking has changed (or not changed) as the semester progresses. When we say “to engage with unit readings,” we don't mean at all that you have to agree to what authors argue. We want you to first of all carefully listen to what they have to say. And then consider how you would respond to their claims. Should you disagree with them, discuss your views and experiences that counter them. Second, we want you not only to demonstrate your comprehension of the readings but more importantly your ability to apply the new ideas and concepts introduced by them in interrogating your earlier beliefs and views. My short essay you need to use for this assignment : By and large, culture has direct impacts on learning and teaching. In the school setting, multiple types of linguistic, socio-economic, racial and cultural diversity abound given the different backgrounds of the students. For instance, in my past schooling, most of my classmates were from different social, cultural, linguistic and cultural backgrounds. They comprised of students of German, Turkish, Moroccan, African and Iranian descent. Largely therefore, the class was made up of culturally different students who subscribed to different cultural practices, values and learning patterns other than my native German ones. In response to these differences, the school had adopted a form of teaching that accommodated the divergence with German as the only instructional language. As such, students with inadequate skills in German were required to enrol in language classes before joining the institution. Similarly, classmates shared individual cultures among themselves and organise multicultural events that allowed them to celebrate diversity. Additionally, teachers used the unique cultures in enhancing the academic performance of the entire class. This involved exploitation of work styles of different ethnicities especially those that emphasise group success. The teachers also clarified incorrect portrayals of various ethnic groups to enhance understanding of cultural in the classroom. These efforts appropriately addressed the diversity among the students, thereby facilitating learning. As a teacher of a racially, socio-economically, and linguistically diverse students I would adopt a number of strategies to ensure learning. Firstly, given the immigrant students' difficulties with English as the instructional language, I would employ the symbolic curriculum. The culturally receptive curriculum would allow me to use bulletin board posters, decorations and banners to deliver multicultural content through easily understandable symbols. This would also reduce the need to solely rely on language for instruction. Secondly, I would adopt instructional strategies that utilise learning patterns emphasized by the students' cultures. Thirdly, I would organise a multicultural day during which students and their parents would be required to present and share their ethnic dishes.