Chapter Overview
Freedom of religion was one of the primary building blocks of the United States. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ensured freedom of religion as a right. Since the founding of the United States, it has been a country with religious diversity. Still, there are U.S. citizens who are misinformed and fear different religious groups. Currently, Muslim Americans experience a great deal of discrimination, largely based on misconceptions and stereotypes about Muslim Americans’ relationships with extremist terrorist groups. In fact, moderate Muslim Americans seek peace and they generally do not agree with terrorist actions of any kind.
Many immigrants, migrants, and refugees come to the United States each year. Nativists are fearful that these groups will negatively affect the social cohesion of the country and that the Nativists’ ways of life will be lost. However, cultural sustainability can occur when multiculturalism is accepted.
A different type of social oppression is ableism. Ableism is when people with physical, intellectual, or developmental disabilities are systematically excluded or discriminated against. Advocates argue that people with disabilities should be fully included and that they are equally capable of happy and productive lives. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1974) ensures that people with disabilities can receive educational opportunities in public school and that their support should be with the least restrictive environment. Approaches like Response to Intervention and Universal Design for Learning can ensure that all students’ needs are met.
Special education, although important, has a history of discriminating against African-American boys and boys from low-income families. Critics see many of its approaches as based on a medical model that inappropriately focus on “fixing” people with disabilities. Disability studies, on the other hand, is a field based on a social model that understands individuals with disabilities as a cultural group.
Learning Objectives
L01. Analyze how religious freedom was one of the first core freedoms in the United States and describe the diversity of religious groups.
L02. Describe how to teach religion in public schools and identify stereotypes about Muslims.
L03. Challenge bias and prejudices about Muslim-American students.
L04. Differentiate among indigenous persons, immigrants, migrants, and refugees and describe how Nativism, global migration, and immigrant students impact the United States.
L05. Evaluate the challenges that immigrant students face in achieving in schools.
L06. Compare disability studies with special education within the context of ableism.
L07. Explain how traditional and special education groups students into various categories based on their exceptionalities.
L08. Describe how labeling of students can be destructive and lead to increased oppression of learners with disabilities in schools.
Readings & Resources
Freedom of religion was one of the primary building blocks of the United States. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ensured freedom of religion as a right. Since the founding of the United States, it has been a country with religious diversity. Still, there are U.S. citizens who are misinformed and fear different religious groups. Currently, Muslim Americans experience a great deal of discrimination, largely based on misconceptions and stereotypes about Muslim Americans’ relationships with extremist terrorist groups. In fact, moderate Muslim Americans seek peace and they generally do not agree with terrorist actions of any kind.
Many immigrants, migrants, and refugees come to the United States each year. Nativists are fearful that these groups will negatively affect the social cohesion of the country and that the Nativists’ ways of life will be lost. However, cultural sustainability can occur when multiculturalism is accepted.
A different type of social oppression is ableism. Ableism is when people with physical, intellectual, or developmental disabilities are systematically excluded or discriminated against. Advocates argue that people with disabilities should be fully included and that they are equally capable of happy and productive lives. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1974) ensures that people with disabilities can receive educational opportunities in public school and that their support should be with the least restrictive environment. Approaches like Response to Intervention and Universal Design for Learning can ensure that all students’ needs are met.
Special education, although important, has a history of discriminating against African-American boys and boys from low-income families. Critics see many of its approaches as based on a medical model that inappropriately focus on “fixing” people with disabilities. Disability studies, on the other hand, is a field based on a social model that understands individuals with disabilities as a cultural group.
Learning Objectives
L01. Analyze how religious freedom was one of the first core freedoms in the United States and describe the diversity of religious groups.
L02. Describe how to teach religion in public schools and identify stereotypes about Muslims.
L03. Challenge bias and prejudices about Muslim-American students.
L04. Differentiate among indigenous persons, immigrants, migrants, and refugees and describe how Nativism, global migration, and immigrant students impact the United States.
L05. Evaluate the challenges that immigrant students face in achieving in schools.
L06. Compare disability studies with special education within the context of ableism.
L07. Explain how traditional and special education groups students into various categories based on their exceptionalities.
L08. Describe how labeling of students can be destructive and lead to increased oppression of learners with disabilities in schools.
Readings & Resources
- Chapter 8
- Recognizing Biases and Promoting Equity (video)
- Discussion Post
- Answer the following questions. Post your response on FORUMS in LAULIMA. Your discussion post will be due on Friday by 11:55pm.
- What is the best example of differentiated instruction you have ever seen? What made it noteworthy?
- How can teachers challenge the stereotypes and prejudice that some students hold about various ethnic groups?
- Answer the following questions. Post your response on FORUMS in LAULIMA. Your discussion post will be due on Friday by 11:55pm.
- Peer Responses
- Respond to one of your classmates' discussion posts. Your response must be respectful, thorough, and well thought-out. Peer Response will be due by Sunday by 11:55pm. Submit your peer response directly to the discussion post in FORUM on LAULIMA.
- Quiz
- This is an open-book, open-resource quiz that you are required to take after completing the assigned readings and videos. This quiz is graded but you are able to take the quiz as many times as you like and only your highest score will be counted. To complete the quiz, go to LAULIMA TESTS & QUIZZES. The quiz will be due on Sunday by 11:55pm.