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The United States ( Us )

Decent Essays

The United States (US) is a diverse nation; a product of mass immigration from a variety of nations, race, and cultures. In fact, the US would not exist as it does today without the influx of immigrants coming to its shores for a better life. Many people have described the US as a melting pot, which elicits thoughts of everyone coming together to resemble one another. Rather than having an eclectic mix of different cultures and beliefs, the nation has sought to assimilate most people into a mold that reflects the dominant culture and belief system. However, diverse cultures and people need to feel as if they are accepted and their beliefs and cultures need recognition and inclusion (Petrovich & Lowe, 2005). The focus of public education in the US has been one of assimilation, where people let go of their former culture and adopt an entirely new identity (Hickey, 2015; Kaestle & Foner, 1983). While education has rested in the hands of individual states, the federal government has pushed a curriculum of assimilation throughout the history of the US (Carroll, 2009). However, many educational experts have determined that assimilationist practices were very alien to a variety of students and were not often beneficial to students who were forced or prodded to assimilate (Kaestle & Foner, 1983). Therefore, education for immigrants can be better understood through an investigation of the differing perspectives of assimilation and acculturation. Assimilation has been the

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