# data[].attributes.body
I am from Kingston which is a city right off of the thruway about an hour south of Albany. I went to Kingston High School and plan on substitute teaching there this upcoming school year. Growing up in this district and attending my K-12 education there, I have seen how the population has changed and grown over the course of just my life as well as my parents perspective from when they lived in this area for their childhoods also. Kingston’s population has grown in diversity greatly in the past 10-15 years, especially an increase in both the ELL population and the economically disadvantaged population in our city. From about 2017-Present Kingston has seen a lot of attention and interest from people in the city as an escape from city life without totally leaving a city vibe. As wealthier individuals have started moving to Kingston for this escape it has, with the help of already high real estate prices, driven up the cost of living in Kingston tremendously which has left many people who have lived here their whole lives at the disadvantage.
Throughout the past 15 years there have been several new apartment buildings that have been built with designated low incoming housing availability to try and ensure that people have affordable living. Kingston was about an even mix politically until more recently it has started to shift more in favor of liberal approaches at Board of Education and City Council meetings. An example of the changing population can be seen in Kingston High Schools enrollment data. In 2013 there were 28 ELL students and 812 economically disadvantaged students, and in the 2022 data there are 139 ELL students and 1,388 economically disadvantaged students 21 of which are homeless and another 10 who are in foster care. Luckily Kingston City School District has been granted the luxury within the past couple of years of providing each student starting in middle school (5th grade) with a Chromebook and a wifi-hotspot if needed. Students in Kingston have the ability to choose to use their own personal device for school work at home, but Chromebooks are provided in school for students to use if wanted/needed. According to the data, 100% of students at Kingston High School have access to the internet from their primary place of residence which means that they all are able to complete assignments as long as they have the devices and material to do so.
The best way to ensure the security of and instill the importance of digital equity within schools and communities is to ensure that everyone is provided with the same starting point. Kingston High School needs to continue striving in their efforts to promote and spread digital equity by continuing to provide students with the technology and devices needed to learn hands on. Communities need to come together and realize the importance and impact of technology on our daily lives and work to prepare younger generations in school for how to properly use and navigate it. Schools and communities need to come together to have this realization so that students can be provided with a baseline of technology as they will definitely need to expand on their knowledge of technology in their future endeavors.

# data[].attributes.body
As school populations continue to increase in diversity, it is important that this diversity is brought into the classroom and the classroom content by educators. Diversity is something that we should celebrate, the ability to learn about things from a number of perspectives whether it's a racial, gender, religious, or cultural difference is something that we should strive to teach our students as educators. The ability to provide a multicultural education, that is inclusive of all populations, provides students with the skills to look at problems with a larger lens that goes beyond their own identity and perspectives which creates a more unified and understanding society. Multicultural education is a reform to education that was made to provide students of all backgrounds with an equal opportunity to education(Banks, 2014). This statement is something that I believe is extremely important for educators to keep in mind while creating content to share with their students. Teaching students content that only relates to their own culture or background denies them the opportunity of the perspectives of other other ethnic groups(Banks, 2014). Multicultural education calls for all children to learn new information and content without distain or bias towards other groups. Multicultural education does not benefit just one specific group, it is something that has been put forward for the benefit of everyone.

The incorporation of multicultural education into a student's everyday education teaches students that there is more than one way to view situations, and that in some scenarios it is best to take a step back and try viewing it with different perspectives in mind to obtain the best results. The most important goal of multicultural education is to teach students the value and importance of other perspectives. Before taking multicultural education into account, teachers whether it is intentional or not, often teach from the point of view/perspective of the dominant group(Nieto, 2018). In cases where traditional education and or the banking system(Freire, 2000) are used in classroom settings, students miss out on the opportunity to learn about and interact with others who have different perspectives and opinions on situations. Traditional education and the banking system value are static and focus on drilling content and material into students without caring if the students are actually interacting or comprehending the material. Multicultural education has a very different approach that focuses on breaking apart the usual material to identify how different groups of people might interpret it in order to teach students to be more conscious and understanding of how their interactions may be perceived by others. Traditional education and the banking system lack an understanding of the value of others and their experiences, and does not provide all students with the opportunities to learn about and immerse themselves in different cultures/perspectives which is something that is granted with multicultural education.

There are many goals of multicultural education, the most centralized goal of this educational reform is to help individuals see themselves and their interactions from the perspectives of others for future endeavors(Banks, 2014). Multicultural education aims to make individuals realize that differences are something to be values not turned away from. The ability to take a step back from a situation and question how others might interpret it is a skill that students can take with them and use in their experiences that are bound to come up in the future that require this skill, especially while working with others.

There are many different strategies and techniques that can be used to promote multicultural education in the classroom and community. One of the best ways to do this is by creating a community environment in the classroom that understands the common goal of valuing others perspectives. This is done by taking the time to get to know your students by showing interest in their lives by asking questions and learning about their culture/backgrounds. This is the best way for educators to get an understanding of their classroom population so they can adjust their content to be as inclusive of everyone as possible so other students may learn more about them and become more understanding of their perspectives. Educators may also find it to be beneficial to have training opportunities where they could voice their concerns and questions regarding how to incorporate multicultural education in the classroom setting(Hooks, 2022).

In common with any other implementation of an educational reform, multicultural education can leave teachers with challenges to face. One of the main challenges is that not all students feel comfortable expressing things about themselves in class, which means their opinion on certain topics may go unknown. All students come with their own set of experiences and perspectives, and when their opinions are not shared with the group, the other students miss out on the opportunity to learn about and consider those perspectives. Education needs to shift away from the static position it has become comfortable in, students are not vessels and it is not the object of the teacher to pack them with knowledge. The purpose of multicultural education is to help education itself become dynamic in the way of ensuring that students learn about content from all perspectives which will enable them to have a more complete and understanding view on their experiences.

References

Banks, J.A. (2014). An Introduction to multicultural education (5th ed.). Pearson.

https://ucarecdn.com/d82827b2-9e39-40fe-a717-a1aca81ce4a9/

Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum.

https://envs.ucsc.edu/internships/internship-readings/freire-pedagogy-of-the-oppressed.pdf

Hooks, B. (2022). Chapter 3. Embracing Change Teaching in a Multicultural World. In Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom (p. 35-44). Essay, DEV Publishers & Distributors.

http://maui.hawaii.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/05/Teaching-to-Transgress-Embracing-Change-Teaching-in-a-Multicultural-World.pdf

Nieto,S.;Bode,P. (2018). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education. Pearson: New York. ISBN 0134047230

# data[].attributes.headline
How Can The Invisible Knapsack Help Us Understand More About Privilege and Inequality in Society?

# data[].attributes.subject
How Can The Invisible Knapsack Help Us Understand More About Privilege and Inequality in Society?

# data[].attributes.body
The invisible knapsack is highlighted as a concept that helps us understand the privilege and inequality that is present in society by distinguishing common actions that those of the white race take for granted. This concept can help us understand more about privilege and inequality in society by making people aware of these privileges which sparks the question of what to do about it. Making people, specifically white people aware of their leg-up, or “invisible package of unearned assets”(McIntosh, 1989) on others allows people to be aware and more conscious of their own feelings as well as other people and their feelings. Awareness is a key factor in respectful and long-lasting relationships, so it is imperative to keep this in mind and consider how your privilege could affect your actions and the feelings of others in said relationship.

Throughout the article the author, Peggy McIntosh focused on both male and white privilege in society. She does this by explaining how society is set up to make us unaware of these privileges in order to protect inequality for the people who are the most privileged in society. McIntosh stated, “As a white person, I have realized I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage”(McIntosh, 1989). I love how McIntosh explained this concept because I completely agree with it and I feel as if it resonates with my own experiences as a white female. Growing up I too was taught about racism and the ‘causes and effects’ of it, but I was never made aware of the privileges that I hold over others just for being a white woman. Growing up I have become more aware, conscious, and considerate of my privilege during my interactions with others. I wish I was able to have learned more about my privilege from a young age because I feel like I could have taken into account my privilege as a child more rather than taking it for granted. It is also not a bad thing to learn about your privilege, it is what you do after you learn about your privilege that defines you as a person in my opinion. As long as you are aware and respectful of your privilege as a person, I believe that the inequality in our society could be minimized.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Psychosocial Impacts of Native American Mascots

# data[].attributes.subject
The Psychosocial Impacts of Native American Mascots

# data[].attributes.body
The New York State Department of Education distributed a memo calling for the end of the use of Native American mascots in New York Schools. After reading through several research studies on the psychosocial impacts of these mascots on both Native and non-Native American children, I find this decision to be the correct one. To me an academic environment should be designed to make all students feel safe and comfortable in order to receive the best educational experience possible, and these mascots were making people uncomfortable, therefore there should not be any push back in simply making a mascot change. The academic setting also expands outside of schools, it goes into the community since you live in the community that you attend school. I understand that mascots are very widespread and can be difficult to change, but at the end of the day despite the difficulty the circumstances call for change and it is a good effort to make a needed change. As explained by Fryberg et al. (2008), even if Native American mascots were put in place with good intentions, there was still evidence that these mascots had negative psychosocial effects on Native students in the way they view their community and even themselves. If Native American mascots are used, Native students are subject to feelings of decreased self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and hostility. These are all feelings that educators and administrators should be taking into consideration and work toward remedying it for the future by changing their schools' mascots. The research studies that I read also looked at the effect of Native American mascots on non-Native students which was something I was very interested to read about. One study from Angle et al. (2017) focused on the impact of a Native sport logo on non-Native participants and the results of the study showed that despite opinions on Native mascots, exposure to the logo alone can increase the stereotyping of Native Americans by non-Native people. This is something that needs to be taken into consideration by school boards and department of educations to ensure that ALL students are receiving the most nondiscriminatory and valuable education possible. Overall, I very much understand and agree with the decision from the New York State Department of Education to ensure that Native students feel the best that they can about themselves, their education, and their community.