Multicultural education is a topic pertinent to us all, and everyone regardless of race or professional plays a role in solving this problem. Having ones cultural identity and traditions validated and acknowledged is a fundamental component of feeling my confident in one’s identity. Personal confidence and understanding is the most basic level of pursuing an education or greater understanding of any topic, we all deserve to know and love ourselves first.

For me, researching the overwhelming lacking and insufficient methodologies which currently exist to promote multiculturalism really high lighted how privileged I’ve been in my education as a non- person of color. My teachers have always wished me a merry Christmas, and I’ve learned about American history every year since second grade. I didn’t have the option to take a global history class until my sophomore year of high school, my teachers spent maybe one lesson teaching about Martin Luther king or the holocaust, and many people in my class didn’t talk about segregation until we read To Kill a Mockingbird in English class. We can and must all do better to educate our children about the diverse, beautiful, and sometimes uncomfortable complexities and backgrounds that exist in the world.

I care because I truly believe everyone deserves an equal chance to succeed, and that seemingly little things like seeing people who look like you in your school or having a teacher know the holidays you celebrate matter and have lasting impacts. Teachers serve as extremely important role models and sometimes second parents, therapists, and social workers for their students. I know we all share the common goal of wanting the best for our kids. But multicultural education needs to be a higher priority, and the concept of tracing young children about seemingly uncomfortable or adult topics doesn’t have to be intimidating. At the end of the day, no one is too young to learn to be kind. We could all serve to benefit from knowing a little more not only about ourselves, but about our peers and the community around us. Empathy and communication are skills we need in any circle of life or potential career. I truly cannot put into words how beautiful and impactful it is to understand who you are and where you come from, and to be able to feel pride talking about your culture and family. Multicultural education is for us all.