Multiculturalism In Canada’s Language Arts Classrooms
Multiculturalism In Canada’s Language Arts Classrooms
Respect, equality, and diversity are three words that represent how multiculturalism describes Canada. When respect, equality and diversity exist together as a balanced trio, all Canadian students will benefit from the positive society that continues to emerge.
Multiculturalism speaks of Canada’s many cultural influences and different ways of living. Canada has always been multicultural, beginning with the cultural diversity of the First Nations, and then accepting peoples of English, French, Irish and Scottish ancestry, etc. This process continues to this day, and Canada is always improving as a nation with the addition of more cultures from around the world.
Canada introduced official multiculturalism with the passage in 1947 of the Canadian Citizenship Act. For the first time, people born in Canada were given the status of Canadian citizens rather than British subjects. Since then, multiculturalism has developed from an initial description of the population to being central to the way we define ourselves (Department of Canadian Heritage, 1998, p.8).
In 1971, the federal government recognized multiculturalism as a central characteristic of Canadian society through the adoption of a formal Multiculturalism Policy. The policy encourages a vision of Canada based on the values of equality and mutual respect with consideration of race, national or ethnic organ, colour and religion. In 1998, the multiculturalism policy became law when Parliament passed Canadian Multiculturalism Act (Department of Canadian Heritage, 2nd ed, 1998, forward). Multiculturalism upholds such values as freedom and democracy. Canada is known around the world as a country that respects democratic rights and cultural diversity. Since the adoption of the Multiculturalism Policy, Canada has done a better job of integrating newcomers into its society than most other countries. This is an accomplishment that we should all be proud of (Department of Canadian Heritage, 1998, p. 8).
[i:519e63f422]Facts About our Diversity[/i:519e63f422]
One of Canada’s strongest assets is our cultural diversity. According to the 1991 Census, 27% of Canada’s population reported origins other than British, French, or Aboriginal. As well, 12% of Canada’s population reported they had at least one other origin. The population of Canada is likely to become even more diverse in coming years. By the year 3006 43% of all Canadian will have at least one origin other than French, British, or Aboriginal (Department of Canadian Heritage, 1998, p. 9).
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Multicultural Education in The Classroom[/i:519e63f422]
Every school and every classroom in this country can be a...