January 26, 2015 - 22:51
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I grew up and went to public school in Hanover, NH. I was often the only brown kid in the class and was aware of it from a very young age. New Hampshire is not a racially diverse state and Hanover is certainly no exception.
I believe my school district and my teachers did a fine job of opening up to ideas of multiculturalism, however their application of these ideas were sometimes uncomfortable for me as a minority student. Throughout my primary and secondary education, I was always asked to chime in on all issues multicultural, whether I intended to participate or not. Every February, I remember being the fist person asked what my thoughts on “black history month”.
I felt forced into issues of multiculturalism, like I was expected to be a spokesperson for Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Walter Younger, and Nigger Jim and explain their ways and methods of thinking.
I think the successful application of a multicultural education requires equal input from all students focused on education rather than advocacy. Nobody can represent their entire demographic, and should not be singled out because of it.