Should culture be celebrated in schools?

Some may argue that is has an isolating effect on pupils from minority backgrounds. However, one of the biggest advantages of having a culture day is that these minority groups are able to share the different communities they are apart of. School is an environment for growth, learning and expanding your knowledge beyond academia. Academia is certainly a priority, but educating our youth on the differences around the world  and exposing them to lifestyles that differ from their own allows them to have an open mindset which will help them understand and persevere to overall society as they grow into the next generation. The minority backgrounds who can represent their identity and culture through culture days can cause such a large impact, tackling against issues such as racism and prejudice which is usually due to unfamiliarity and inexposure to these different communities.

Culture days are not aimed to emphasise division - in fact, they encourage unification. The celebration of identities allows the youth to feel involved and comfortable with sharing their differences. It provides a sense of pride for their backgrounds and they are able to see and admire one another's practices that may be different, but they admire and learn together. This celebration encourages people to acknowledge that they have their own communities, but there are many others that they can explore - It brings together dissimilar communities and creates one whole community altogether. It is a valuable and neccessary investment of money, as differences of identity and culture will no longer be seen as divided communities and teaching and learning about the ways of society that are not the same as your own is equally as important to learning academic content. Culture days can help you thrive and find comfort in social settings that are new to you. If culture is such a significant part of our identities, is it really beneficial to not share a crucial part of or lives?