As a teacher it is valuable to understand students’ background and culture. Primarily in order to make connections to students we must understand where they come from. As a teacher this will guide the literature we select to bring into the classroom and our overall lessons. Bringing in a piece of students’ culture will open up communication with parents. We will be less likely to make offensive statements that may close those communication gates. Knowledge of students’ cultures will allow for that exchange in ideas because as teachers we are still learners.
I recall one experience that taught me about my biases. I had a student that came to school well dressed and clean. He was always on time and I felt his behavior demonstrated a happy home life. We went through the year and I met his mother and father during parent night, nice people. One Monday morning in May the principal calls me to her office to tell me that “John’s” parents were arrested for running a steroid lab from their home. Wow! that taught me a lesson to never assume. As teachers we don't always have an opportunity to gather all the facts, but assuming a happy life because of appearance sometimes can get tricky.
Roblox Champion Tshirt Free
4 years ago
14 comments:
I agree that teachers are learners for a life time. I think the key to being a successful educator is to go the extra mile, even if it means coming out of your comfort zone, and dedicating yourself to becoming familiar with your students and their families.
I had not even thought about how relevant reading should be brought into the classroom based on the child's ethnic background. It makes sense that children should be able to connect what they are doing in school to what their life is like at home. Furthermore, that is quite an experience you had with your student. Possibly, that illegal activity is what was keeping that child so well dressed and put together. It is so important never to assume.
Wow what a story. I think that everyone is judged in ability, class, gender, and race just how society taught us to preceive others. Students should understand the right of free speech, and know that they are allowed to have an opinion and can follow their own tradition. Many students such as i were embaressed to show their cultural believes because its not seen as "normal" here in the states.
Like Chapter 6 explains, it is important to go beyond exploring a student's "heritage" so to speak and understand and incorporate their everyday culture into the taught curriculum. I think to accomplish this you have to do your homework and research a student's life in the area you are teaching. That can mean spending some time there outside of school to get a feel for the neighborhood or take a lesson or two to do projects where you learn from them directly. I have been subbing in a school over the past three years on and off that has a large Asian-Indian population and I can see how it's hard for teachers to adapt to the shift in ethnicity (10-15 years ago it had been mostly white middle class in the district.) I would probably feel the same at first and will when I have my own classroom. But my personality and nature keeps me yearning to learn from people and through experiences, so I hope this will help when I meet students and families from cultures and lifestyles different than mine.
I didn't even realize it was a biased until now, but I'd get so frustrated when I could not pronounce the students' names because they were all Hindi. It took me awhile until I realized I should ask them about their name and its significance in their culture instead of being so quick to be bothered by it and wish for more Marys and Johns in class.
I agree and think that being aware about students culture and backgrounds are just as important as teaching them anything else. This profession, just like many others, it requires further expansion of knowledge. It is vital to expand cultural knowledge that is appropriate to your students and this knowledge can be carried into other classes and lessons even if you encounter new students with different backgrounds. It is important to present yourself to students, parents, and colleagues as a cultured and knowledgeable person.
I agree and think that it is so important to understand all students ethnic background. All students bring something to the classroom. Becoming familiar with your students background allows the teacher to engage students in literacy experience that connects with their background and build upon the knowledge they have.
Also, I feel as a teacher when you show students that you are interested in learning more about their background and culture you develop a rapport with your students which I feel is so important in helping students succeed.
It was an eye opener to hear about what diverse children are dealing with. I did not actively think about how literature in the classroom can either alienate or include a race/ethnicity/culture. I am white, European decent so the “typical” children’s books always looked like what I was use to. However my eyes are open after our discussion in class and reading several of the books provided. I do not think I will ever go into a bookstore the same way. It is scary to see how my bias was a lack of awareness and I appreciate the lesson. I will be sure that my class’ library properly portrays a wide variety of children’s literature to encompass many different types of people and families because it is not only important for children to identify with the characters it is also important for them to see other people and think of it as” normal” to see various types of characters. Hopefully I can prevent a student from being as ignorant as myself and bring the awareness that I only have now.
Wow! What a story!
A teacher's job is never "black and white" and for that reason I believe it is a teachers responsibility to deal with the different occurrences in her classroom like a language barrier situation. For example, if a teacher works in a predominantly Hispanic area it is his/her responsibility to make parents feel comfortable. This may be reaching out to parents in their native language and even going out of your way to ask a bilingual teacher to write a note home in Spanish. For back to school night, parents should know that there will be a translator to help teachers and parents express themselves. I strongly believe that if a teacher has a classroom of 90% Hispanic students, it is her responsibility to learn about the children’s culture. The children must feel like they can relate to the material the teacher uses and without some research about culture this goal can never be reached. It can be as easy as spending some time with parents and asking questions about their culture.
I feel that is something that applies to everyday life and not just teaching. It is hard to look at someone and not start immediately analyzing the person based on what you are looking at. I know that I have been told a million times "don't judge a book by its cover" but it is something that you have to teach yourself not to do.
I think that story is interesting because you normally don't think twice about making assumptions if they are positive, like the student having a good family life instead of a hard one. It really makes you think about what assumptions you have made that were completely wrong.
In order to expand your knowledge base about other racial/ethnic groups, one must disregard all stereotypes that have been implanted within us from the media, society, parents, and or teachers. In order to understand other racial groups we need to embrace them with openness without any preconceived judgments. All too often, people forget that every individual is different from the next, regardless of their background. We need to learn to accept people and learn from others by observing and participating in their cultures.
In my lifetime, I had been discriminated against because of my nationality. A bias that once had is that Caucasians have life easier because they do not get scrutinized based on the color of their skin. As I grew older I have learned that it is not a true belief. All people face challenges. Friends of mine who are Caucasians have been called names because they are white; especially when they were in an environment where Caucasians were a minority. I have learned that no matter who you are and what color you are, there unfortunately will always be someone else who will make a racial remark. In my ideal world, such ignorance would no longer exist and judgments would not be based on race, culture, or gender.
Introducing literature with stories of different cultures and ideas is a great way to teach students about other cultures. I'm not too familiar with what kind of literature is out there for children, but I know that if there was a wide variety of literature for me as an elementary student, I would probably have been taught more about how people of different race live. I also feel though that the literature shouldn't focus on the more "popular" or "well-known" ethnicities, but also on those that aren't talked about a lot. For example, I have noticed that there are a lot of books on Chinese or Japanese culture. As someone who is Korean, I get discouraged when there isn't too much literature on my own culture and have felt this way as I was growing up. With this in mind, I hope that as a teacher I would be more aware of all the different backgrounds of my students, recognizing them and introducing them to the other students who do not know much about those cultures.
Much like "John's" story, I remember some of my peers, particularly during my high school years, facing similar challenges. Some hardworking, respectful students are hardworking and respectful BECAUSE they come from such unstable backgrounds. Oftentimes, these students are fighting to break free from the constraints of their home lives and are actively seeking out a better future for themselves. While their issues were very rarely publicly addressed in the classroom environment, I secretly rooted for my peers whom I knew were entrenched in difficult home environments as they succeeded in the classroom on a daily basis. Whenever possible, I made myself available to these students as work partners or friends in an attempt to outwardly support their efforts, as well.
Wow what a story! It is important to connect what children are doing at home and in the classroom. Students may feel embarrassed by sharing their cultural background, but by educating the whole class may make students more comfortable and proud of their ethnicity. It is also important never to assume. It is easy to fall into the trap of judging a book by its cover, but it is important to remember never assume anything about anyone.
I think it is so important for both teachers and students to learn about races and cultures that are different than their own. An understanding of differences starts young. In one classroom I observed they spoke about it being Latin American Day. In my children’s school they celebrated the Chinese New Year and learned about Chinese traditions. I like the idea of a class holiday show and tell. This gives an opportunity to spotlight a student, their culture, and include their family.
It is so easy to develop prejudices towards a whole group based on a single emotional experience with one person. Growing up we had a strange and cruel family on our block. The children kicked puddle water on us, ruined our backyard toys and tormented us on our walks home. The father spit at us when he drove past and his mother yelled profanities at us if we walked by. They were Chinese. A few summers later I had a counselor who was Chinese. All of my friends liked her, but it took me almost a whole summer to see how nice she was. I finally learned what the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” meant.
Post a Comment