Cultural Awareness

Cultural Awareness in the U.S. Classroom
In the commentary on the case study of the seventeen year old European American
Vanessa Mattison, the author of our text, Sonia Nieto, states, “Vanessa took the approach that cultural and racial differences are not significant, that ‘it couldn’t matter less to me.’ In this, she is simply reflecting the value of being color-blind, which we all have been led to believe is both right and fair. In this framework, differences are seen as a deficit rather than an asset.” (Affirming Diversity-Nieto, page 83). This has raised my awareness on two levels, both in the classroom and as a mother, bringing up my own children who are now fourteen and sixteen.
Does the idea of being color-blind automatically negate the cultural differences? Does it mean we only see those differences as a deficit? In this, I must take issue with the author. I do not believe that saying, “I don’t care what co...