How do we teach composition through a multi-cultural lens?

As I am sure most of you know by now, my current research is focused on multicultural children's literature. In my research, I utilize Homi K. Bhabha's ideas of postcolonial thought. I am a big believer that the types of cultural thoughts that his work encourages, those that strike against the constructs of dominant society, should be directed toward the educating of our children. I don't know what statistics would say about the number of people exposed to cultural criticism like that of Bhabha, but I personally believe that the initiation into this form of thought comes too late. Many people believe that teaching college students about cultural concepts is crucial because it will lead to a trickle-down effect in which the ideas which break away from white-dominant thought will, through a long drawn-out process, eventually reach larger and larger groups of society. However, very few individuals are impacted enough by issues of social justice to make it an integral part of their teachings or writings or lifestyles. Most will vehemently agree that the concepts are important and should be spread throughout our communities, but most pass the buck, believing the progression of our society is someone else's responsibility.

I believe that the trickle-down concept isn't working. Teachers of young children, children's book authors, and parents need to be addressing issues of cultural plurality within their curriculums and conversations. The question is how. How do we initiate difficult conversations? How do we show multiple perspectives? How do we avoid offending people? How do we make those who remain engulfed in dominant cultural ideas take us seriously? Yesterday we discussed five types of grammar. The type that my group discussed applies to the grammar which we consider innate and naturally familiar. Problematically, the idea of "innate" grammar is relative. From a socio-linguistic perspective, language is determined by differences in location. Thus, assuming that each student has the same sort of grammar familiarity is an ineffective way of looking at grammar within the writing classroom. The differences in grammars should be addressed within an ideal composition classroom environment. This pluralism is a necessary component of multi-cultural learning.

In the last few weeks I have found a new love for composition. I enjoy the theoretical information we have been reading and the discussions regarding the best ways to teach composition. I believe that a multi-cultural lens should be applied to composition as much as, if not more than, we apply such a perspective in many composition courses. I hope to explore ways in which this can be done throughout the remainder of this semester. I am hopeful that this new mission will also help me to formulate ways to encourage multi-cultural curriculum formation for children as well.