Explain Why Cultural Diversity Is Important In A College Education :: essays research papers

Explain Why Cultural Diversity Is Important In A College Education   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I come from a small town. Hannibal, MO, the boyhood home of Mark Twain, is described its claim to fame as â€Å"a sleepy town drowsing.† Most surely he has never been more accurate, for this small enchanted river town has never awakened total equality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is a town full of ignorance, where nobody has ever thought twice of sharing and spreading their sly comments and idiotic judgements to anyone and everyone who will listen, and most people do. It is a town where fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and grandparents teach their kids to â€Å"ignore those no-good niggers,† stay away from those â€Å"half-breeds† and give hell to anyone â€Å" nigger-lover† who refuses to believe the truth. It sickens me.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Last year, we had an issue to address at our school. It later became known as The Cowboys vs. The Blacks, and never has our school been more involved. The newspapers screamed of the hate, violence, and threat of gangs that were corrupting our schools; the halls rang with the lastest gossip on the next big showdown. This problem slapped a school full of apathetic kids into a lively bunch ready to get involved. Involved in what? A controversy that all had opinions on, but how could you not have an opinion? It was the talk at all of the dinner tables, bars, and stores in town. Kids went home scared of the racial tension. Parents whined and cried of violence in the school.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The parents whined and cried, and at the same time forgot to remember that it was they, not the kids, who had taught the very prejudices that were â€Å" disrupting the education process.† My opinion is simple and elementary: Children are not born to hate others, they must be taught to judge colors. If we are taught prejudices, then obviously, the racial tensions at my school didn't disrupt education, rather enforced lessons often reviewed over fried chicken and potatoes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I cried once in my sophomore history class. The girl in front of me sang and preached that life was just that way, no one could ever change anything, so why should we even try? Prejudice is taught in the home, and the home is where we learn everything we really need to know. I listened, fumed, and stood up to interrupt her. (I rarely frown, let alone yell, but I had had enough of her pessimism. All eyes and ears were on me, and as my dramatic nature began to influence me, I started to preach.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have a theory.