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NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY "A Multicultural Curriculum" A Thesis Submitted to the University Honors Program In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Baccalaureate Degree With University Honors Department Of Mathematics By Jennifer Irene Camp DeKalb, Illinois May 10,2003 University Honors Program Capstone Approval Page Capstone Title: A Multicultural Curriculum Student Name: Jennifer Camp Faculty Supervisor: Lee Shumow Faculty Approval Signature: Department of: Educational Psychology and Foundations Date of Approval: May 1, 2003 University Honors Program Capstone Approval Page Capstone Title: A Multicultural Curriculum Student Name: Jennifer Camp Faculty Supervisor: LeeShumow Faculty Approval Signature: Department of: Educational Psychology and Foundations Date of Approval: May 1,2003 HONORS lHESIS ABSTRACf lHESIS SUBMISSION FORM AUTHOR: J ~nni+e..r 1.::('1lYI~CClvY\p lHESIS TITLE: It yntJ+; Cl.,d-fu.V'aQ Lu(Y-I'culuW) ADVISOR: 0r- L e,e, Sht-tVYlt1W ADVISOR"S DEPT: lSJ.uco:hhnoO PS'ItItJo • +· 0'. \l\d~nd.A-H OY1S '- DISCIPLINE: ('(\O-.4he.VV\Cl-tk~ tClUCCL kJ() YEARpo.QQ soo a -5pn'''8~''03 PAGE LENGTH: ID (pa~F~BIBLIOGRAPHY: ~5 ILLUSTRATED: ~es ((ll~'oJly) PUBLISHED (YES O~ LIST PUBLICATION: COPIES AVA1LABLE (HARD COPY, MICROFILM, DISKETTE): W O-ot("d Cory ABSTRACT (100-200 WORDS): f\.kx + PC>~f- ABSTRACT "AMulticultural Curriculum" is a high school culture and dance curriculum based on the followingfour cultures: Mexican, Spanish, African, and African American. It was created so that high school students may have the opportunity to learn about other cultures in an exciting and interesting way. The lesson plans are designed so that the students are dynamically participating in every activity. The culture lessons cover a broad range of topics, including art, mathematics, poetry, politics, music, history, and literature. The dance lessons cover various dance styles that are prevalent in the culture, both mainstream and subculture. These lessons were designed for personal use; much of the information included is not directly stated. My hope is that I may be able to implement the curriculum in the future, and that students will find joy in learning about other cultures. It is only through knowledge that we can shed light on ignorance and racism. REQUEST FOR UNIVERSITY HONORS INDEPENDENT STUDY LEADING TO THE COMPLETION OF THE HONORS CAPSTONE PROJECT COVER SHEET E-Mail Add ss EPS 4<17 Department and Co se Number 0~kL I <5TQ01J Date of equest ) ~003 Graduati n Date 3 PROPOSED RESOURCES SPANISH CULTURE Cumming, David. Spain. New York: Bookwright Press, 1992. Graff, Marie Louise. Culture Shock!: Spain. Portland, Oregon: Graphic Arts Center Publishing, 2001. Josephs, Allen. White Wall of Spain: The Mysteries of Andalusian Culture. Pensacola: University of West Florida Press, 1990. Kern, Robert. The Regions of Spain: A Reference Guide to History and Culture. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1995. Stanton, Edward F. Handbook of Spanish Popular Culture. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1999. MEXICAN CULTURE Beezley, William H., ed., Cheryl English Martin, ed., and William E. French, ed. Wilmington, Delaware: SR Books, 1994. Cramer, Mark. Culture shock!: Mexico. Portland, Oregon: Graphic Arts Center, 1998. De Mente, Boye. There's a Word For it in Mexico: The Complete Guide to Mexican Thought and Culture. Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC Pub., 1998. Rummel, Jack. Mexico. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999. Werner, Michael S., ed. Encyclopedia of Mexico: Hist9ry, Society & Culture. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997. Methodology My study will consist oftwo separate parts. The dance research will consist of watching videos of each of the four dance styles, viewing dance performances, participating in classes when they are taught, learning from experts in those dance forms, and performing and doing choreography in related dance groups. I have received a USOAR grant to study flamenco with Ensemble Espafiol this summer, and this will play an integral role in my study of Spanish Dance. I willleam specific regional cultural dances wherever possible to make the dance portion of the class authentic. I will also be doing library research to find books and articles that explain the historical development ofthe dances. My preparation of the non-dance part of the curriculum will consist of interviews with people who have traveled to those regions or are natives of those regions, research on the art, business, economics, cooking, government, and history ofthe regions, and reading the literature produced in those regions. The final project will include a 10-15 page paper describing my purpose, my research, my process, and what I have learned. Timeline December 1st-Rough draft completion date for the African quarter of the curriculum. This includes rough drafts of all unit plans, lesson plans, worksheets, handouts, overheads, and activities. It will also include notes on the dance instruction portion of the quarter. Each of the following completion dates will require the same work as listed above for each particular culture. January 1st_Rough draft completion date for the African-American quarter ofthe curriculum. February 1st_Rough draft completion date for the Spanish quarter of the curriculum. March 1st_Rough draft completion date for the Mexican-American quarter of the curriculum. AprillSth-Completion date for the rough draft ofthe 10-15 page paper. Signature Page S \ \ Request Approved: Printed Name of Faculty Capstone Advisor Xl lAdL-Mn MI{<.l9ll1pfI Printed Name of Department Chairperson ~.~SIgnature University Honors Program Director Signature Date of Ac~eptance by Director 4 The Making of a Capstone ... By Jennifer Camp Advisor: Dr. Lee Shumow Fall 2002-Spring 2003 Introduction The curriculum I have created is designed to give students of those nationalities pride in their own culture, and to give students of other nationalities motivation to learn about the cultures of people around them. I want students to see how interesting, fun, and exciting other cultures are, and I want them to see that by understanding someone else's roots, you can better understand that person as a human being. I am really looking forward to being able to implement this curriculum as an after school program or as a full-fledged class. The learning that would be accomplished would be a tremendous asset to any high school student's education. The lessons cover various exciting and interesting topics in each of the four cultural areas, and the information is presented in a way that promotes active learning. The Necessity of the Project Over the years, it has come to my attention that racism and stereotyping is far more prevalent than it may appear. Such things, no longer being politically correct, are now done in a much more covert way. In many instances, such problems can be prevented if the students are given the opportunity to just learn about one another's cultures, values, and traditions. That is the idea behind this project. By pulling out some of the most important and interesting dance and cultural information about a particular culture, and by presenting it in an exciting and engaging manner, the students will in turn be excited about the cultures they are learning about. This idea is especially important in today's ever demographically changing society. I have personally seen several teachers graduate from NIU's program having no knowledge of how to relate to students of races other than their own. They say that they will just get jobs at primarily white schools, but that is virtually impossible in today's world. It is upsetting to think that there are racist or stereotyping teachers working for schools right now, but I know there are. I just pray that minority students manage to stay out of their of classes. My Background and Qualifications Personal Background I have always been fascinated with other cultures, and I am friends with people of all different races. My mother was born in Columbia, South America, and my father is German and Irish from way back. My mother's side of the family speaks Hungarian and Spanish; my father's side speaks only English. My best friends are Korean, and I have friends of nationalities ranging from African American to Laotian to Iraqi to Icelandic. I have dated men of many different backgrounds, though my fiance is white. My Education at Northern and Abroad I feel that I am prepared and qualified to undertake a project of this magnitude because of my extensive background in education, culture, and dance. Not only have I traveled to almost every Western European country, but I spent a good amount of time in Spain, and I was able to experience aspects of its culture and festivals first hand. It is definitely one thing to see a picture of people celebrating a flamenco festival, and a very different thing to be dancing in booths called casetas in Sevilla, Spain, with the people celebrating. It was very important to me wherever I went to immerse myself as much as possible in the culture, and I took great pains to look as though I was not a tourist. My firsthand cultural experience will make me an authentic teacher. I have had firsthand experience with the dance styles presented in the curriculum, and I have studied under great teachers of the cultural portions of the curriculum. 'I have also been prepared academically for an undertaking such as this. I have taken classes on assessment and alternative assessment, on unit and lesson planning, on adolescent development, and on creative lesson preparation and flow of a class. Most of this learning occurred in my last two years at Northern Illinois University. Through those classes, I had the opportunity to create many different kinds of classroom materials, and they were all seriously critiqued so I could improve them to the best of my ability. I feel that the lesson plans have changed somewhat from the beginning of Fall 2002 when I began my capstone project.