Essay on Multiculturalism In Canada
Multiculturalism In Canada Term Papers
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Canada has long been called "The Mosaic",
due to the fact that it is made up of a varied mix of races, cultures and
ethnicities. As more and more immigrants come to Canada searching for a
better life, the population naturally becomes more diverse. This has, in
turn, spun a great debate over multiculturalism. Some of the issues under
fire are the political state's policies concerning multiculturalism, the
attitudes of Canadians around these policies, immigration, the global market,
and a central point is the education and how to present the material in
a way so as to offend the least amount of people. There are many variations
on these themes as will be discussed in this paper.
In the 1930's several educators called
for programs of cultural diversity that encouraged ethnic and minority
students to study their respective heritages. This is not a simple feat
due to the fact that there is much diversity within individual cultures.
A look at the 1991 Canadian census shows that the population has changed
more noticeable in the last ten years than in any other time in the twentieth
century, with one out of four Canadians identifying themselves as black,
Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, Metis or Native. (Gould 1995: 198)
Most people, from educators to philosophers,
agree that an important first step in succe4ssfully joining multiple cultures
is to develop an understanding of each others background. However, the
similarities stip there. One problem is defining the tem "multiculturalism".
When it is looked at simply as meaning the existence of a culturally integrated
society, many people have no problems. However, when you go beyond that
and try to suggest a different way of arriving at theat culturally integrated
society, everyone seems to have a different opinion on what will work.
Since education is at the root of the problem,
it might be appropriate to use an example in that context. In 1980, the
American school, Stanford University came up with a program - later known
as the "Stanford-style multicultural curriculum" which aimed to familiarize
students with traditions, philosophy, literature and history of the West.
The program consisted of fifteen required books by writers such as Plato,
Aristotle, Homer, Aquinas, Marx and Freud. By 1987, a group called the
Rainbow Coalition argued the fact that the books were all written by DWEM's
or Dead White European Males. They felt that this type of teaching denied
students the knowledge of contributions by people of colour, women, and
other oppressed groups. In 1987, the faculty voted 39-4 to change the curriculum
and do away with the fifteen book requirement and the term "Western" for
the study of at least one non-European culture and proper attention to
be given to the issues of race and gender. (Gould 1995: 201).
Because Canadian University's also followed
a similar plan, even though this example took place in the United States
it centered on issues that effect multiculturalism in all North America.
This debate was very important because its publicity provided the grounds
for the argument that Canada is a pluralistic society and to study only
one people would not accurately portray what really makes up this country.
Proponents of multicultural education argue
that it offers students a balanced appreciation and critique of other cultures
as well as our own. (Stotsky 1992:64) While it is common sense that one
could not have a true understanding of a subject by only possessing knowledge
of one side of it, this brings up the fact that there would never be enough
time in our current school year to equally cover the contributions of each
individual nationality. This leaves teachers with two options. The first
would be to lengthen the school year, which is highly unlikely because
of the political aspects of the situation. The other choice is to modify
the curriculum to only include what the instructor (the school) feels are
the most important contributions, which again leaves them open for criticism
from groups that feel they are not being equally treated.
A national standard is out of the question
because of the fact that different parts of the country contain certain
concentrations of nationalities. An example of this is the high concentration
of Asians in British Columbia or Blacks in the East. Nonetheless, teachers
are at the top of the agenda when it comes to multiculturalism. They can
do the most for children during the early years of learning, when kids
are most impressionable. By engaging students in activities that follow
the lines of their multicultural curriculum, they can open young minds
while making learning fun.
In one first grade classroom in Vancouver,
an inventive teacher used the minority students to her advantage by making
them her helpers as she taught the rest of the class some Chinese words
and customs. This newly acquired vocabulary formed a common bond among
the children in their early years, an appropriate time for learning respect
and understanding. (Pyszkowski 1994: 154)
In order to give a well rounded multicultural
discussion, as James Banks explains, teachers need to let students know
how knowledge reflects the social, political and economic context in which
it was created. Knowledge explained by powerful groups in society differs
greatly from that of its less powerful counterparts. (Banks 1991:11) For
example, it should be pointed out how early Canadians are most often called
"pioneers" or "settlers" in social studies texts, while foreigners are
called "immigrants". They should realize that to Natives, pioneers were
actually the immigrants, but since the "pioneers" later went on to write
the textbooks, it is not usually described that way. Another important
aspect students need to realize is that knowledge alone isn't enough to
shape society. The members themselves have to be willing to put forth the
time and effort and show an interest in shaping their society in order
for it to benefit all people.
There certainly is no easy answer to the
problem of multicultural education. Proponents will continue to argue the
benefits that unfortunately seem to be too far out of reach for our imperfect
society. The hard truth is that it is impossible for our public school
system to fairly cater to hundreds of nationalities that already exist,
let alone the hundreds more that are projected to arrive during the next
century. In order for us to live together in the same society, we must
sometimes be willing to overlook parts of our distant past in exchange
for a new hope in the future.
Our countries sense of nationalism and
identity is based in our attitudes toward multiculturalism. This is one
thing that separates us from the Americans or any other westernized country.
In 1991 the Department of Multiculturalism and Citizenship were contracted
to provide public opinion information that was to be used for developing
policy, public educations and communications initiatives. (N.S.R. 1991:
2)
The research objectives were to:
Study the values and view shared by Canadians
on Canadian identity, citizenship and ethnic diversity. To measure the
degree of public understanding, acceptance and support of the government's
multiculturalism policy and of the distinctive elements of that policy.
To establish the current character of public attitudes related to the ethnocultural
diversity, racial discrimination and multiculturalism policies, as well
as their role in Canadian nation building. To identify the key demographic,
social and psycho-social factors which have an impact on perceptions of
citizenship, multiculturalism and race relations within Canada...and to
identify the thrusts for long-term public education initiatives in support
of the government's multiculturalism policies. (N.S.R. 1991:3)
The survey found high levels of Canadian
values and identity. 89% of those surveyed identified with being Canadian
while only 6% did not. Six in ten described a "deep emotional attachment
to Canada" and 95% believe they can be proud of being a citizen as well
as being proud of their ancestry at the same time.
There is much ethnic diversity in Canada
and there are four out of five citizens that live in neighborhoods with
some or many persons of different ethnic or racial backgrounds. In fact,
40% of people surveyed said they have family members of different ethnic
or racial backgrounds. 79% said they believed "multiculturalism is vital
to uniting Canada and 90% believed that promoting equality among Canadians
of all origins regardless of racial or ethnic origin was important. (N.S.R.
1991:26)
One of the biggest steps forward in achieving
a ethnically diverse country is the Canadian Multiculturalism Act. It was
passed unanimously by the Parliament of Canada in 1988. The Preamble declares
that its aim is to preserve and enhance multiculturalism by promoting the
recognition of Canada's ethnocultural diversity:
...the Government of Canada recognizes
the diversity of Canadians as regards...national or ethnic origin, colour
and religion, as a fundamental characteristic of Canadian society, and
its committed to a policy of multiculturalism designed to preserve and
enhance the multicultural heritage of Canadians while working to achieve
the equality of all Canadians in the economic, social, cultural and political
life of Canada...(C.M.A. 1988:3)
Our growing ethnocultural diversity requires
making certain adjustments to ensure that all Canadians can participate
fully in our society. The policy enables the integration of minority Canadians
while encouraging our institutions to remove discriminatory barriers. (Blackman
1993: 29)
On similar lines with the Multicultural
Act is the Employment Equity Act because both involve dealing with minorities.
The Employment Equity Act was proclaimed in 1986 to achieve equity in employment.
Employers covered by this Act must ensure that members of four general
groups achieve equitable representation and participation in the work force.
These four groups are women, Aboriginal people, persons with disabilities
and members of visible minorities. This concern with members of visible
minority groups and Aboriginal people, among the other groups, means that
the Employment Equity Act also arises from the fact of Canada as a multicultural
society. Both policies seek to gain the commitment of federal institutions
to employ, manage and serve all Canadians fairly and equally. This, too,
may account for some of the confusion. However, there are several important
distinctions between the policies: Employment Equity focuses on the workplace,
whereas multiculturalism policy, which has strong social, cultural, political
and economic dimensions, has a wider scope and focuses on the whole of
society.
Multiculturalism addresses all Canadians,
not just ethnocultural communities. Employment Equity focuses on four designated
groups: women, Aboriginal people, persons with disabilities and members
of visible minorities. Employment Equity has an enforcement or regulatory
aspect. Thus organizations that do not comply with its provisions can be
penalized. Multiculturalism policy, on the other hand, is persuasive and
has a political accountability mechanism, which is the annual report on
implementation that is tabled before a House of Commons committee. (Blackman
1993: 105)
The government has a broad frame-work of
Acts, Bills and Amendments that each draw strength from the others. The
preamble of the C.M.A. puts the act within the middle of this broad frame-work.
Some of the other pieces of legislation and policy that the C.M.A. draws
upon are:
The Citizen Act (1947)
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948)
The Canadian Bill of...
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