TEACHING CULTURAL AWARENESS TH

When teaching the undergraduate social foundations course in a teacher education program, Gunilla Holm tried various approaches to help her students better understand the inequalities among schools and students and the cultural diversity in American schools. In particular, she wanted her students to become more involved in issues of cultural diversity and to move beyond their narrow, stereotypical views. Most students came from small, rural towns or suburbs, and they are middle class and white. …

…High, the school in the book, and its problems with their own high school experience, and they saw Jessica Siegel as the kind of teacher they would like to become. Many of the students were amazed at how different this school was from the one they had attended. As one student said, "Small Victories presents an overwhelming picture of a place I never knew existed." This technique can be utilized very effectively in other schools.