How Multicultural Curriculum Hurts

Q. Why are there so many unfamiliar books assigned today?

It's because of multiculturalism � a desire to be "inclusive" of all cultures and lifestyles in school. That's an admirable cause. But it often winds up trashing the great educational curriculum of the past. We're substitute contemporary books and materials that don't have the quality of content and vocabulary of the "great books." Boys and girls don't like reading "issues-based" books. So they don't read so much anymore at all.

How did this happen? First, you can't teach what you don't know. Today's teachers aren't as familiar with great books, because THEY weren't assigned to read them in school, EITHER. Classic kiddie lit has been out of style in public education since the 1960s.

Also, it's tempting for districts to choose books from publishers' lists of new books, with the pre-packaged teaching materials that come with. Whatever publishers push, districts teach. Publishers rarely promote the classics; they aren't "new."

Another factor: TV, computer and video games and other distractions steal reading time away from kids. Teachers feel that, to compete, books have to be as spicy, funny, unchallenging, controversial or exciting as TV. Quality literature "doesn't cut it."

Overall, though, kids today lack the vocabulary and reading comprehension needed for the classics. Why? They aren't taught to read with phonics. They don't have the word attack skills to take on all the foreign words and unfamiliar names, settings, practices and themes that are found in multicultural books today.

Solution: go back to assigning the classics of children's literature, and teaching phonics correctly, beginning in the early grades. Parents, don't be shy in making suggestions for what you'd like your child to read. A surprising number of the great books you loved, �way back when, are multicultural in setting, character and theme. They provide quality experiences with literature and the great lessons of tolerance and diversity that we all want. Then kids of ALL backgrounds will win.

Homework: An excellent book, "Losing Our Language," by Sandra Stotsky, explains this well. Also see the article on the hazards of overdoing multiculturalism on: http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=16159