As I read through the reading "Teaching for Social Justice, Diversity, and Citizenship in a Global World" by James A. Banks, the section "The Stages of Cultural Identity" stuck out to me. Right away I agreed with the first sentence in this section. Banks states "Self-acceptance is a prerequisite to the acceptance and valuing of others" (pg. 295). Banks wants all teachers to realize that you will encounter students dealing with stereotypes and negative feelings toward their own ethnicity regardless if they are minorities or in the dominant ethnicity.
The negative stereotypes/feelings are just a part of the first stage in Banks' Cultural Identity Typology. Each stage describes the pattern of becoming who you are and how you are unable to reach the next stage until you have completed the first. Once the student begins to accept who they are and the culture around them they are able to move up the stages to potentially having "a strong desire to function effectively in two cultures" (Banks pg. 295). This is called Biculturalism. By the final stage the person is able to identify with their own culture, surrounding cultures, the culture of their nation, and the global community.
I believe this is a strong goal to have and to push for because the more we accept ourselves and other nations can help to limit the amount of discrimination in the world.
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