Expert: James J. Kovalcin - 11/22/2005

Question
I am currently seeking my teaching degree and have a few questions for some research. "In planning for diversity,what different cultures and lifestyles need to be considered?" Thank You,Carla

Answer
I suspect that what I have to say about this will not be very popular but here goes.
I believe that every student should be treated fairly without any regard to the student's race, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, etc. In fact, the only things that matters to me is the student's character, intellectual capacity and willingness to do his/her best in my class. That said, I believe that most of the nonsense about cultural diversity is a load of crap! Celebrating diversity is a no win proposition that divides Americans into subgroups. The push for cultural diversity categorizes people by artificial characteristics that has no place in America. This categorization is clearly undesirable!  
In my view it is our job as teachers to help all students to reach their respective intellectual potentials in the American culture. It is NOT good for America to encourage the continuance of cultural diversity. What is good for America is for all of us to realize that we are the same! Not that we are different. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King: "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Let me give you a personal example. My family background is Slovak. My ancestors migrated to this country 100+ years ago. I do NOT care about Slovakia. I do not follow Slovak culture. I do not speak Slovak. I do NOT believe that Slovakians are better than everyone or anyone else.
I am, quite frankly, an American. I am NOT Slovak-American or any other hyphenated subgroup. This is what I want all Americans to be. As long as we continue to hyphenate our cultural subgroups we will continue to be separate and that is NOT the American future I wish to be a part of!
Final statement! We should NOT be encouraging people to see themselves as members of any group other than "American".