My experience with learning opportunities in a multicultural classroom dates back to high school and has continued to grow. I remember my first day in class when a few international students joined our school for an exchange program from Africa. Our teacher introduced the students and requested that we support them in their onboarding process while incorporating our American learning environment. We would borrow life-experiential stories from our international students, just as they borrowed from us. It became a means of learning more about other cultures and understanding how our interactions impacted our approaches to diversity. I realized later that our high school teachers were exposing us to multicultural approaches to education, where exposure to different visions from other cultures is meant to influence our literacy and make us active participants in knowledge acquisition.
While interacting with my new friends from other cultures, I learned about cultural tolerance and extracting meaning from different behaviors. It was fun to experience other cultures through interaction. I remember one day when one of the international students came to me to express his interest in joining me for the Colombiano Festival on July 17th annually. The festival, held in Houston, Texas, celebrates Colombia’s independence and allows participants to enjoy Colombian culture through traditional dances, arts and crafts, and a variety of Colombian foods and drinks. Based on our closeness and the mutual relationship we had built, I took the chance without hesitation since a vital and fulfilling bond was on the line.
During the event, we enjoyed the food and drinks served, and it was at that time, we got to discuss indigenous African foods and what we believed to be truly American in the recreational space. I understood the significance of food served during various festivals and given to people of different ages. I appreciated the influence of age as a source of experience in a culture where certain groups would visit each other as a means of modern-day consultative meetings before and after different functions. It struck me that our generation and culture lost their identity due to their obsession with modernity. Africans were slow to accommodate many modern practices whose impact on their identity was significant. The power of having a similar approach struck me, and I felt a new energy through which I would approach learning.
Moving forward, we went back to our regular classroom learning. In class, our teacher asked us to describe the impact of September 11th, which has been instrumental in American society, on our different cultures. I smiled at my friend since we had a similar discussion the previous weekend where we got deeper insights from our different cultures. As a result, my essay was rich in cross-cultural experiences, making my teacher ask me to present it to the class to offer their opinions. I began my presentation with an attention-grabber where I considered the 9/11 attack a significant corrosion on Americans and their dominant cultures. Since I had known my friend’s view on the same topic, I thought it was a tribute to him for the whole class to understand how special my friend had become. Minorities were less involved in 9/11 since it had a limited impact on their cultures as it did on us and our spiritual underpinning. I did so through a culturally sensitive and appreciative presentation.
It became a source of inspiration and was fun to interact with. We challenged each other to find and read a multiculturally-influenced book and share notes after a week. I was amazed to get a call from this fantastic friend four days later to check my email. To my amazement, I found an excerpt and personal statement from one of the books he had completed reading. I forwarded mine three days after receiving the email report for his perusal and comment. As I read through his statement, I understood how our interaction impacted both of us. It became clear that we had passed the threshold of comprehending diversity in different multicultural issues, as documented in the texts where we defeated monocultural views. I got to consider the superiority of my friend’s reasoning as he provided significant ideas and proved his understanding of the topic and the books he read.
My interaction with other cultures has allowed me to appreciate cultural diversity. Considerably, it confirms that literacy is a tool for considerable liberation and change in personal ideas. During my interaction with different cultures, I learned and achieved wonders in my life. I became more diverse than I was before and overcame many monocultural perspectives. Such a discovery is an accurate confirmation that literacy is liberation. I came to appreciate the fact that learning begins with ourselves and the pre-conceptions we hold. I learned to consider other cultures as distinct entities instead of judging them based on my cultural positions. I was liberated from my prison, which I had built, and I sentenced myself for a long time. I was intolerant and unreasoned with other cultures, which has changed now.
Literacy and the search for education have become liberation movements. Liberating the mind transforms humanity’s entire scope and direction as thoughts and ideas guide direction, which is the call of nature and the force behind change. It also answers the rationale behind culturally relevant literature instruction that began with communicating and transforming its contact with people (Parker, 2022). Through the personalization of learning contents, learners can obtain knowledge faster and more informedly, making text-oriented writing a powerful and less-explored tool (Liben et al., 2021). Literacy is a powerful tool for awareness creation and change sensitization (Esteva et al., 2005). Literacy is a commonly traveled road, which explains its significance and the need for more investment as a liberation tool.
In conclusion, multicultural classrooms guide cultural learning and diversity. My teacher and fellow students were influential in achieving the learning success I had bagged and continue to shape my literacy journey. It has become clear that literacy is liberating and cognitively renewing. I have become tolerant, sensitive, and intelligent when interacting with different cultures. Learning has become the means and reasoning behind the transformation I am currently investing in, as it presents new approaches to knowledge.
Reflective Writer’s Statement
Learning to read and write brings several ideas and experiences on board. My experience with diverse cultures as I pursued my learning journey remained instrumental and change-oriented. Having studied with multicultured students, I learned what other cultures considered unique and worth safeguarding. I believe learning and literacy are essential and instrumental tools of liberation. Learning liberates the mind, guiding and guarding reasoning and the will. Interaction between spirit and soul works better in learned people and breeds superior socioeconomic benefits than others.
References
Esteva, G., Prakash, M. S., & Stuchul, D. L. (2005). From a pedagogy for liberation to liberation from pedagogy. Re-Thinking freire: globalization and the environmental crisis, 13-30. https://la.utexas.edu/users/hcleaver/330T/350kPEEEstevaVsFreiretable.pdf
Liben, M., Pimentel, S., Liben, D., Marshall, T., Breta, S., & Ready, D. (2021, February). Reading as liberation-an examination of the research base. Achieve The Core. https://achievethecore.org/page/3338/reading-as-liberation-an-examination-of-the-research-base
Parker, K. N. (2022). Literacy is liberation: Working toward justice through culturally relevant teaching. ASCD. https://files.ascd.org/pdfs/publications/books/Literacy-Is-Liberation_sample-chapters.pdf
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