Mulitcultural Literacy

        I have been thinking lately about the experience of students who come to a new country as children with out speaking the language or understanding the culture. I went to a small elementary school in a small town and I did not have classmates from other cultures. I never understood that experience.
My fiance came to Bloomington from Venezuela when he was 11 years old. He did not speak English and was placed directly into school without any special assistance. He struggled in school trying to learn the language and to do the school work. He was embarrassed by his differences and his culture. He only wanted to fit in. He learned English by watching television, and did his best to not be different. He never liked school and always claimed that he was not good at it. I wonder how his experience would have been different with the right kind of support. If he had received help would he have been able to feel successful in school? If he had received affirmations about his culture would have felt like it was okay to maintain a sense of identity with South America. He worked so hard to leave his culture behind so he would not be different, and I wonder if there could have been a way for him to feel good about his differences and for his classmates to learn through them.
        When I see students in the classroom for whom English is not their first language. I think about my fiance in that same position and I hope that these students get the support that I wish my fiance had gotten. I am so happy that this issue is receiving attention, and that we as teachers are learning how to best support these students in the classroom.
          When I was fifteen I lived for a year in Haiti and though I went to an English school, most of my classmates were Haitian and spoke Creole outside of the classroom. I was difficult at first to make friends and I gravitated towards students who spoke English as a first language. I understand how uncomfortable and alienating it can be. I am hoping to find ways to bring multiculturalism into my classroom, and to help all students to be successful.
       There can be such a great benefit to having students of different culture in an elementary classroom. Many young children are not exposed to many different cultures or countries. When students can teach each other about different cultures, there is the opportunity for students to broaden their horizons and expand their perspectives. It is an opportunity for students to learn to be people who accept and appreciate people's differences. This is a very valuable ability.