Melting Pot
Melting Pot research paper due and don't know how to start it? How about like this?
The United States has been viewed as a "melting pot" for a wide range of cultures and ethnicities. As more foreigners migrate to this country and more intermarriage occurs, the ethnic makeup of an individual is mixed up with various ethnicities or races. One can say they are "part-Irish and part-Italian," "Mexican, Native American, and English," "African-American, Korean, and Chinese," and so on. When a person immigrates to the United States, they are faced with a challenge: should they assimilate into American culture or hold on to their cultural beliefs? Both assimilation and cultural preservation have their advantages and disadvantages, but most foreigners feel that it is important to preserve their cultural heritage as they make their way in the US.
An immigrant coming to America is faced with new customs, new language, and isolation. Their main comfort while making a new life is to seek others with the same heritage and hold on to their culture while adopting American culture. Those who push for assimilation feel that it is easier for the immigrant to adjust to life in America by adopting the American way of life. They believe that if the immigrants cease to speak their native language to speak English, they will learn English faster, making it easier to succeed in school, get a job, and communicate with others. However, neither the immigrant nor American society benefits from this assimilation. America, as a melting pot, is proud of the diversity of its people. It is what makes this nation what it is - the greatest nation in the world. Consider this view: "Growing up in a community where people are alike in many ways can seem secure, but it also promotes a narrow focus. The more differences that children are exposed to, the more accepting and open they are as they grow up.".
Americans hold onto and cherish their cultural diversity. Immigrants and children of immigrants do not usually refer to themselves as "American," but as "hyphenated Americans,". Examples of hyphenated Americas are:
- African-American
- Korean-Americans
- Italian-Americans
Thus, the labels that are hyphenated serve to value not only their Americanism but native nationality as well.
Consequently, educators must decide whether they should teach from the traditional assimilation-modeled curriculum or from a multiculturalism perspective. In multiculturalism, people develop "appreciation for the perspectives of others, but should sustain a value-tolerant acceptance of diverse cultural understandings, belief systems, customs, and (perhaps) sociopolitical traditions."