Multiculturalism is vital in the English classroom. By exposing the students to different cultures, ideas, and beliefs we are able to give them a broader perspective of the world and perhaps of themselves. Since starting the education program, I have discussed multiple times how I would make my classroom as culturally available as possible. However, when it comes to literature, I find that most texts offer a positive view of one culture, but ultimately alienate a vast majority of students who can't relate to the situations or conflicts. The difficulty comes from finding works of literature which are relevant to students that are also appropriate for the classroom setting. Trying to induct newer works seems to be more difficult than simply teaching the traditional works. While I love the curriculum for my students, I realize that, in a lot of ways, it just doesn't seem relevant or important enough for them to care.
