Assimilation versus Multiculturalism

As visiting teachers in the the Marshall Islands, we are representatives of the United States and thus, we wish to make a good impression by assimilating into our host country, while at the same time trying to share our own culture and identity. These are two processes which, when attempting both in conjunction, can be very contradictory because assimilation requires any differences to be glossed over to a degree, while multiculturalism asks us to identify differences and celebrate them.

Assimilation is the process of change that a minority group experiences when it comes into contact with another culture. As the visiting minority, we can adopt patterns of the Marshallese in order to show our respect for their culture. On February, my 7th month of being here, my host sister told me that people in Jeirok, our neighborhood, think I am very Ri-Majel (like a Marshallese person).

“Why?” I asked her.


”Because you look like a Marshallese person in the way you dress and you respect Manit (culture).”

“You are so Rii-Majel that you should take a Marshallese man!” she told me enthusiastically.
My host sister/land lady/school secretary, Amanda Ishoda.

I couldn’t really get her to elaborate on the exact ways in which I respect Manit and act Marshallese, but contributing factors may be that I often go outside to play volleyball with the neighborhood girls, I wear guams, I have expressed my liking for various Marshallese foods, I have become accustomed to sitting outside just to bwebenato, and I spend hours on the bus. I do all of these things with a humility, patience, and respect for the culture that has helped me, in turn, to earn the respect of my neighborhood. I am discreet- when my host sister has told me private matters about her life, I try to keep them to myself.

The opposite of an assimilationist model is multiculturalism- the melting pot in contrast to the salad bowl. As Dartmouth Volunteer teachers, the expectation is that we shouldn’t make too big a splash- we must show respect and therefore begin the process of assimilation by obeying the conservative rules of dress, restrain ourselves from talking to those of opposite genders, stop smoking and drinking if we are women (or at least do all of these things with the appropriate and culturally acceptable attempts towards secrecy). Cross-cultural communication demands a respect for difference, as opposed to the reverence for conformity that the melting pot maintains. How can I assimilate while at the same time sharing my own culture, especially if my culture clashes with the Marshallese culture? The biggest example I can think of is how different my culture of gender relations is to the Marshallese one.


My student,Hilton, breaking gender norms in my classroom before the variety show. Yep, he's wearing my guam dress.


I do want to respect the conservative nature of gender relations in the Marshall Islands, but it's hard sometimes. Let's look at some examples of this. First, one rarely sees boys and girls walking together in public. I once observed boys and girls on their way to a play as they walked through the street at night. Under the veil of secrecy supplied by the moonless night, they walked beside each other, sometimes even hand in hand. As soon as they approached a large pool of light from a street lamp, the rules changed. If boys and girls were walking together, either the boy or the girl would walk around the light, so as to avoid being seen together. Two girls walked through the light unabashed, the same applied to three boys together. In our first few months, students would constantly question Eric about his relation to Sarah and I- is she your girlfriend? To them, boys and girls cannot be friends, and to the boys, girls are sex objects. Also, regarding the problems inherent in the abuse of alcohol by any gender, the discrimination against women who choose to drink or smoke is unbalanced.

The differences between Marshallese and American people do not depend on an absence of social interaction, but often the dichotomized view is the foundation on which the social system is built. We constantly organize the world by making categorical divisions in our minds. Just as normalcy is defined by the very deviance it eschews, ethnic boundaries are defined by the very interactions and differences among those divided. What I mean is that cultural differences can exist despite inter-dependence and inter-ethnic contact, so the push for volunteer assimilation is not necessarily the right one.

When it comes to the values inherent in the education system, obviously we choose multi-culturalism as opposed to acculturation. The culture of our school dictates that most teachers do not show up on time, and some don't even show up at all. As visiting teachers, our job is to teach, and assimilating in this respect would override the duty we have to our job. "Creative maladjustment means consists of breaking social patterns that are morally reprehensible, taking conscious control of one's place in the environment, and readjusting the world one lives in based on personal integrity and honesty- that is, it consists of learning to survive with minimal moral and personal compromise in a thoroughly compromised world and of not being afraid of planned and willed conflict, if necessary..." (Kohl, Herbert. "I Won't Learn From You" And Other Thoughts on Creative Maladjustment. New York: The New York Press, 1994, p. 130-132.) If pursuing a change, even in the name of well-intentioned assimilation, takes away from your main mission, then it is probably worth rethinking that change.

Listen and observe the things that go on around you without making judgments or jumping to conclusions. Keep your opinions to yourself for a while. Make an effort to understand other perspectives. If you are respectful and humble in every interaction, you will make it clear that your goals are the same and that you wish to learn from those around you. You will be “well received in your community as someone who has come from the outside, but was interested in achieving the same ultimate goal as my students’ families, other teachers, and community members- student achievement.”

Great tips from the Teach for America handbook to apply in the Marshall Islands, or any foreign culture:

"Do not make the mistaken and arrogant assumption that you , as a newly arrived teacher, can immediately effect large scale change in your school. The tension- between your great potential to effect change and your status as a newcomer with little initial influence in your community. You must choose which challenges to take on and which ones to let pass.

No matter what your background and experience, you have much to learn about how things work in your new community. Where you may simply see a problem that needs to be solved, others around you may see a whole history and context that you do not. Where you may see an opportunity to change some policy or practice for the benfit of students’ learning, others around you may see a web of political dynamics that can only be navigated in a particular way. And, where you may see what you believe to be an obvious solution, others around you may, with the benefit of their experience, know that solution to be fatally flawed.

This is not a call for passivity; rather, the point is that to be effective in your leadership for change, you must 1. Build your credibility with success in the classroom and 2. Approach every interaction with the respect and humility appropriate for a newcomer."