Reference no: EM132191597

In 1993 Michael Apple wrote that, "The curriculum is never simply a neutral assemblage of knowledge, somehow appearing in the texts and classrooms of a nation. It is always part of the selective tradition, someone's selection, some group's vision of legitimate knowledge." The quote emphasizes the social, cultural, and political processes that underlie any curriculum. In his quote, Apple states that all curriculum is part political. Curriculum is constantly unfolding as a result of interactions between people. This quote relates to diversity in the classroom because the curriculum that we teach students from our textbooks empowers some groups while disempowering others. We are not given a say in what goes in our textbooks, or what state standards want us to teach. We are told what we are supposed to teach, and we have to follow those standards if we want our students to pass the standardized test given each year. Students are given a limited view of history from around the world, and I think that makes it difficult for teachers to teach and for students to truly understand different cultures. "Many teachers in pre-k-12 classrooms acknowledge the need to adapt the curriculum and their practices to meet the needs of their increasingly diverse student populations" (Nieto & Bode, 2012, pg. 342).