What Have Your Students Taught You?
What Went Wrong?
It’s Miss Larson’s first day teaching English at an
elementary school. She has a culturally diverse group of students and most of
them have only been in the United States for a short time. She makes direct eye contact
with the students and sits next to a few others in order to get to know
them better. Her students look confused and seem nervous. The lesson does not
go well. Miss Larson is puzzled and wonders if her students dislike her. What
went wrong?
Our behaviors are a result of our cultural upbringing. In some
cultures, it’s considered rude to make eye contact, especially with a teacher or an elder. In other cultures, sitting or standing too close to someone can make
them feel threatened or uncomfortable. As teachers, it’s crucial to understand
the cultural differences of our students in order to avoid offense and
to help them feel safe.
“Teacher, I’m not crazy!”
At the beginning of the school year, I started using a behavior
chart with my students. If they show good behavior, they receive a stamp each day.
When their stamp sheet is filled, they receive a ticket to shop at the school store.
The chart works beautifully for most of my students, but sometimes three fifth
grade boys from Chile, Venezuela and Ecuador don’t behave properly and then look
confused when they’re not awarded a stamp. A few days ago, I told one boy he
would not get a stamp that day because he had been a little crazy. He seemed
hurt and bewildered and then replied sincerely, “Teacher, I’m not crazy!” I then remembered learning about emotional expressivity from BYU-I teacher John Ivers. These boys weren’t behaving badly. They just came from
highly expressive cultures! I’ve since had to adjust my understanding of what “good” behavior looks like to them and relax a little about their stamp sheet.
Cultural Responsive Teaching
Here’s a quick video on how teachers can learn strategies for helping culturally diverse students in the classroom. A quote from a high school teacher sums it up: “As teachers, we
get wrapped up into what we have to teach them…,but [you need] to look at what
your students have to teach you.”
My fifth-grade students taught me what
good behavior looks like to them in their culture. What have your students taught you about their cultures?
Sources
Hi Jan, once more you did a great job with your post. Thank you for sharing this experience with your students and a picture of your classroom. Answering your question, my students usually teach me about technology. They surely know more than me concerning tech stuff.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteThanks for including such great examples. I think it really sheds some light on what a teacher or a student from a different culture could feel. I was not always sensitive to culture, but from my experiences I have learned that there are many similarities between the human race. Culture is an expression in my mind and while I know it is important, I am not interested in culture, but in people.
Thank you for your posts, they are really helpful to me.