Bridging the Gap of Cultural Diversity in the Classroom
by Ada Sara Ramos
“The task of the teacher becomes that of preparing a series of motives of cultural activity, spread over a specially prepared environment, and then refraining from obtrusive interference. ...teachers can only help the great work that is being done, as servants help the master.’” — Dr. Maria Montessori, Education for a New World, p. 3
It almost seemed like a long time ago when I began student teaching during my training with MINT. A wonderful directress I understudied with took me on my first going-out trip with a class of 3- to 6-year-old children at a contemporary art museum in Dallas. She encouraged me to step up and lead a classroom with her words of wisdom: “You just have to get your feet wet,” she said. It wasn’t long after receiving my diploma that I packed my bags and moved from Dallas to Austin, Texas to co-teach a class of 28 children in the fall of that year.
I never thought I would be an educator in America after being a student in the Singapore school system for the majority of my life. Montessori schools are few and far between in Singapore, whose public education system has over the years been ranked as one of the highest in the world. While I beg to differ about its traditional schooling method and rigorous “teaching to the test” approach, I had many fond memories of the cultural experiences in school. We learned about one another’s ethnicities and beliefs through special occasions like Racial Harmony Day, an annual event bringing together students of various ethnic communities in the school to celebrate diversity. I remember getting excited about wearing a different national costume each year. Friends would exchange costumes and help one another get dressed for the event. Over the years, I wore the Chinese qipao, the Indian sari, the Korean hanbok, the Malay kebaya, and many other beautiful pieces of cultural clothing. We ate a variety of ethnic foods, played traditional games, and even had inter-class art competitions like designing ‘kolams’, a beautiful Tamil Nadu art form that involves stenciling rice flour patterns on the ground.
Being in the classroom with a group of diverse children from all walks of life who are free to choose their work and live harmoniously together in a community reminds me of why I moved my entire life to America to pursue this passion. The unique composition of individuals in our class has offered wonderful cultural learning opportunities.
Diversity triumphs in our classroom with students and staff of various descent and religious practices from many parts of the world, such as the United States, Mexico, Singapore, China, India, Turkey, South Korea, Ireland, and more. As Asian immigrants to the United States, my assistant and I decided it was imperative to be ‘windows of the world’ to our children at school. With the support of our students’ families, we have had many cultural explorations as a class – be it through food, stories, or pictures in our geography folders.
Dr. Montessori describes it aptly in ‘The Absorbent Mind’, pg. 7: “The teacher’s task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child.” A random sharing of a Japanese rice cracker snack with some students one day led us down the rabbit trail of discovery. We began reading a book about Asia together. We took out the Asia Map and went on a hunt for Singapore, the little island where I was born and raised. We identified other countries on the map and used our geography folder of Asia as a reference. It was a walk down memory lane as I shared my personal experiences of riding on an elephant in Thailand, walking down the snow-covered streets of Tokyo, and eating ‘beondegi’, a Korean street food made with silkworm pupae! The children’s faces lit up as more questions ensued. Soon after, a three-year-old child spent the next 30 minutes searching for picture cards in our geography folders to match the animals he had seen in the book—the Bengal tiger, Taj Mahal, giant pandas… More recently, a four-year-old child who had been very engrossed in the art of continent tracing, recreated the entire Asia Map on paper when she suddenly exclaimed: “Look! That’s Singapore where Ms. Ada is from!”
My schooling experience and growing up in a multiracial and multi-religious society have influenced my approach to preparing that special environment made for children to inspire cultural activity. It was normal for people of other ethnicities to celebrate another ethnic or religious holiday together. During Ramadan, we would set aside a day of fasting with our Muslim friends. During the Chinese New Year, non-Chinese friends shared meals with Chinese families. Thus, it is no surprise that cultural appreciation has become a way of life in our classroom.
At school, we sing Japanese and Native American folk songs; create Eric Carle inspired self-portraits with multicultural crayons; make desserts like ‘tang yuan’, Chinese glutinous rice balls served in a warm ginger broth, during the Winter Solstice; bake vegan green bean casseroles for Thanksgiving; study the animals of the zodiac during Chinese New Year; go Easter egg hunting around our outdoor environment, and learn about fasting and the phases of the moon during Ramadan. Even during the pandemic lockdown, we continued to explore different continents on virtual trips around the world!
Cultural diversity and responsiveness can have a place in the prepared environment. Nurturing cultural diversity is also highly relevant in today’s age. Research has shown that young children who engage in culturally responsive educational experiences build self-confidence skills and increase awareness, appreciation, as well as inclusion of diverse beliefs and cultures. Through the beauty of a Montessori curriculum, we can practice the art of respecting all cultures and impart an appreciation for diversity.
© 2021 Ada Sara Ramos
Ada Sara Ramos, AMI 3-6 Guide
Ada worked in global marketing before she fell in love with Montessori through a chance encounter with Dr. Maria Montessori's book, 'The Discovery of the Child'. She subsequently earned her AMI Primary Diploma from MINT. Ada is a polyglot from Singapore with a passion for languages and enjoys learning about the Montessori approach for multilingualism. She is fluent in English, Mandarin Chinese and has intermediate Korean and Cantonese knowledge. She is currently a Children’s House Lead Guide at Guidepost Montessori in Cedar Park, TX.
