June King Mcfee: Embracing Diversity In School Curriculum

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In 1965, The Pennsylvania State University gathered the top art educators, artists, critics, educational researchers, psychologists, sociologists and philosophers in the nation. This seminar focused on topics in art education that have never been discussed before in this kind of forum. Historically, 1965 was a year of turbulent events in America, with the Vietnam War protests, marches and men burning draft cards to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing the Voting Rights Act. The Civil Rights Acts was signed the year before and President Johnson continued proclaiming his legislation in the “Great Society” speech during his State of the Union address to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. Furthermore, Martin Luther King Jr’s civil right marches and Watt Riots in Los Angeles were at the forefront for many people in America. These societal, economic, cultural and lawful changes meant education, including art had to examine how to embrace diversity. As a result, June King McFee’ essay from the seminar stimulates the conversion of art, education and society to further investigation, and develop a feasible curriculum that would include the needs of the student. …show more content…
The questions McFee mentions in her essay about how to accept, preserve and incorporate minorities group in the school curriculum remain the same in the 21st century. The six major social changes in the sixties reflect similar situations today. The increase population of minorities will always exist and they will bring their own cultural identity to America. Further study in the relationship between art, society and education is still necessary if art education is to answer today’s social demands. The questions addressed in this paper will be ongoing as long as diversity is considered a problem in curriculum

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