The U.S. Department of Education identifies citizens according to the following categories: (a. American Indian or Alaskan Native, (b) Asian or Pacific Islander, (c) Hispanic, (d) Black, and (e) White. Discuss the pros and cons for having only five categories and how the use of these categories affects the educational culture in the schools.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Ans: American Indian or Alaskan Native. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America and who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition.
Asian. A person having origins from any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. This area includes, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Black. A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Hispanic. A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
White. A person having descended from any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.
Effects on the educational culture:
Terminology camouflages immense cultural and racial variability
Obscures the richness of individual cultures
Diversity and variation within each group are tremendous
Various cultural groups are anything but homogeneous
Differences are likely to be found in language, ethnicity, social class, home country, and a host of other dimensions.