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The testimonies of our thirteen participants fit directly into the course content we have encountered in class.  We see that each student had formed their unique identity through their experiences and culture.  This diversity highlights the danger of overgeneralizations and stereotypes that lead to false and potentially damaging conclusions concerning entire groups of people (Bode & Nieto 159). Our interviews showed us that our schools are implementing a "fairytale" multicultural education because schools are still using misguided practices, which only focuses on ethnic celebrations, black history month, cultural week, etc. These misguided practices are without sociopolitical context and does not improve our schools significantly (Nieto & Bode 4).  We did notice that these misguided practices might be an improvement however.We came to this assumption when we noticed that one of our older interviewees had no experience with any multicultural education in her schools and all of the younger interviewees had at least some experience so as time continues to pass we should see multicultural education continue to grow and constantly improve.  Also, by their assimilation, or refusal to assimilate, our students show how culture is never stagnant or unchangeable.  In Jennifer Bayan’s case, she has chosen to hold onto specific aspects of her culture that she incorporates from both sides of her family, even into her college years. This shows us as educators that we need to view culture as a process and not a product.  Growing up in the United States we are fortunate enough to be surrounded with many different types of cultures and ethnicites, especially in southern California. However, from the interviews, it is noticeable that people are discriminated against when it came to their educational experience. Some felt left out and felt their culture was not as important as other. As teachers, it is essential to implement an equal learning experience for all students regardless of sexual preference, ethnicity, or religious practice.

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“I feel like cause I’m mixed background I don’t identify with one culture or another because my dad being black and my parents in general a few different things  I just don’t identify with either. At my school we had like black history month but I am also Native American so for cultural day I would just change pick a different one every year. So everyone had a chance to celebrate their culture, heritage or background and everything, but sometimes I would do the Native American thing and my mom was also Russian and Polish so I would do an Eastern European thing or a Jewish thing. I never really felt discriminated cause I think it would be hard though because they didn’t really know what I was. Not even kidding I had pink hair and I would literally sit with the rejects of the class because I feel like look at me and could identify with who I was so they would just wouldn’t sit next to me. I had pink hair so I did not really feel the need to assimilate I was actually trying to be different if anything.”

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“My cultural identity is white...just white. I don’t really have a culture to learn about or relate to, but my school did have events and clubs. One event we had my sophomore year was an acceptance day, where we had people of all cultures, sexuality, sexual orientation, everyone and making sure you weren’t excluded. We also had a bunch clubs for different cultures or other things even though the school was a primarily white. There were also language classes like French, Spanish and Italian where you would learn to speak the languages as well as a little about the culture. Within my friends I never felt discriminated against because I had friends of different races. The only discrimination I can think of is when I was in my AP classes where, not to profile but, the top students were primarily Asian. There would be time where I did not completely understand and these students would kind of look down upon me like ‘this is easy why don’t you understand this’. There were certain times where I did felt discriminated but overall no. I also never really felt like I needed to assimilate.:

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“I guess would say I relate to my Hispanic culture the most because I celebrate holidays such as Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead, which is like the Mexican Halloween. There weren’t really any festivals or clubs or anything really for different cultures. I didn’t really felt the need to assimilate other than maybe language. I feel like everyone has to speak English first and then you can learn other languages. I never really felt discrimination because I grew up in Santa Ana and the school was primarily Hispanic. But I guess the same time the people in my culture feel like I am betraying my culture when I don’t act as Hispanic as I should.”

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“I considered myself Polynesian. My culture wasn’t involved in any aspect of my education. I learned about my culture from my family and whenever I went back to Hawaii. There were very few colored people in my school. Me, my sister, and one other student were the only ones in the school. There wasn’t any discrimination at my school, but I did often feel out of place.”

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“I identify with Mexican American for the most part. During multiculture week they would divide the student body into groups, where we would represent that culture. I am German as well so they would put me in that group since I went to school in Santa Ana and there were already many Mexican Americans. I never really felt any discrimination since I fit the majority of my school’s population.  I also never felt the need to assimilate because most of the students were also Mexican American”

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"I'm Hispanic but they weren't very many other Hispanics at my school. There were some that stuck together but we were definitely the minority. I experienced my fair share of discrimination, I feel like. In my freshman year I took Spanish.  Our teacher spoke Spanish, but she wasn't Hispanic.  She had this expectation of me that I should already know basic Spanish.  She put blame on our parents for us not knowing some phrases she was teaching the rest of the class.  While there was a separation of Whites and Mexicans, I never felt the need to assimilate into American culture."

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"I would identify as American.  I fit in at school, never had any
discrimination or anything. Never felt the need to fit into a certain
culture either."

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"I'm Mexican.  Sometimes we used to have, like, Cinco De Mayo rallies every year, but that's pretty much it.  We had some Mexican history or whatever.  But everyone got it wrong and confused it with other history.  I feel like I've been discriminated against a ton of times. My English teacher was kind've joking, kind've not when he said he doesn't like Mexicans.  He doesn't 'hate' them, but he doesn't like them either.  My classmates joked about me never getting into UCLA because I was "brown" too.

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"Between the Mexican and Filipino culture, I related more to the Mexican culture. I felt I was accepted in school from kindergarten to high school. Since I went to a diverse school, there were always culture showings at school which was pretty interesting to see. In college, I felt more discriminated against by the way I looked (being a woman in science, where it is predominately male) when I entered grad school, but it only made me tried harder. But it did not have to do with my ethnicity. (When it comes to being assimilated into American culture) I feel like, I try not to minimize any culture and I take them both on 50/50. There are aspects of the cultures that I hold onto for different aspects of my life."

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"I am Peruvian. When I first started school, I had a hard time, because there were not a lot of students who spoke Spanish. But, I was accepted by peers. I don't remember too well, but since I was young I was able to assimilate quicker than others. But since the classes were taught in English, I had to learn English. I was very frustrated trying to learn English, and I hated going to school. Compared to other Hispanic cultures, Perviuans were not emphasized, but I never felt offended. I did not think much of it. It is what it is."

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"I come from a Filipino family, but I was raised in America, so I was raised with American values. In high school we did see implementation of Filipino culttures, such as clubs in high schools and I did Filipino dances in elementray school. I felt like my culture was accepted and I did not feel like I was forced to become Americanized, but I went to an American school, so it just sort of happened."

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" I identify with the Hispanic culture. In school, it was just trying to fit in and learn the language. Although everyone was Hispanic people everyone tried to blend in with each other. I did not fell discriminated against until I got into college. My kinder through high school years, I was given a chance to better myself, but largely because it was a Hispanic community. I wanted to assimilate to American culture, but it came easy to me and it was not a dramatic change for me."

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"I am El Salvadorian American. I felt accepted in school, as most of the school population was Hispanic. I never felt discriminated against. I did not feel like I had to assimilate to American culture, if anything, I just adapted to the culture around me to fit in."