Embracing multicultural texts as part of the curriculum in education gives students from varying backgrounds opportunities to be educated on issues surrounding race and to gain a fully rounded understanding of why racism is rightly frowned upon.
The argument
Teaching multicultural literature in a classroom setting allows both students and teachers to develop a better understanding of other cultures and their differences. Multicultural literature will enable students to explore cultural customs and diverse language. By learning these differences, students will likely evolve to become more sensitive and understanding of cultures different than their own, and to stand against racism. When students have exposure to multicultural literature, they learn to empathize with those who experience discrimination, as well as reflecting on their cultural viewpoints and stances. Promoting discussion about cultural difference teaches students to have greater cultural understanding. In a time where society is opposing bigotry, multicultural literature is a great way to promote better understanding in the next generation.
Premises
Counter-arguments
Having open classroom discussions about multicultural literature and cultural differences does not always reach students. Teachers don't have the proper guidelines on how to teach multicultural literature, resulting in students not grasping the whole idea behind what they are reading Students should discover these resources on their own if they please. But mandating that teachers and schools adopt multicultural literature causes more controversy than is worth the trouble.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] Exposure to a text is not the same as understanding a culture, and the premise assumes the transfer. What a curriculum actually delivers depends on selection, framing and how discussion is led, and a poorly framed unit can confirm existing assumptions as readily as unsettle them, particularly where a culture is presented through a single narrative. [Rejecting P2] The empathy claim is offered without evidence, and the research is mixed. Some studies report short-term effects on perspective-taking from reading literary fiction, replications have been inconsistent, and effects on attitudes measured weeks later are generally small. [Rejecting P3] The step from individual understanding to standing against racism is the largest and least supported in the argument, since attitude change and behaviour change come apart. The conclusion is also about a curriculum requirement, which needs its own case — what it displaces, who selects the texts, how teachers are prepared — the ground the counter raises directly. A stronger version of this position would rest as well on students seeing themselves represented, and on the merit of the works as literature, neither of which the argument uses.