L08 : Deep Culture in the Elementary Classroom

What can we possibly gain by learning about other cultures, or even teaching about them in a classroom? Well, the answer is as simple as it is important to the health of societies everywhere: Progress. 

It's been established that, by even learning a second language, physical and cognitive changes in our brains allow us to process information in a more effective way.

Similar results can be found in history, by studying the reasons why some cultures strived and evolve, and others were simply conquered by the first ones. 

It was the inclusion or assimilation of ideas and culture, what proved to be detrimental in the fields of innovation and change on the superpowers of the day. They simply took the best from other cultures, and turn them into opportunities for, among other things, territorial and political advancements. 

Back when I was in school, deep culture meant to point the Tower of Pizza in Italy on a map, or describe the seemingly primitive people in Africa in a picture, but we would never discuss anything beyond a colorful aspect of a distant society. We never talked about why a Muslim woman on her traditional attire was considered odd while seeing a Catholic nun, dressed almost identically, was normal.

Tolerance and understanding are illiteracy's first victims.

I understand the need to go beyond this. It is always overwhelming to see people cry, or to laugh hysterically, regardless of what country they are from. There is a human connection made between us by witnessing these situations, that reminds us that we share not only gestures, and physical features, but also the pursuit of values such as family, peace, love etc. 

At the same time, two people can have a different perception of the same event. Why? Different conditions may have played a role in each individual's life. These paradigms can create a wedge in both subjects, or provide the opportunity for growth and betterment, but only education can guide the two to a proper outcome. 

The school has a privileged seat in the child's development. It would be unfair to elude this opportunity, to provide the students with the first encounters with other culture but at an age-appropriate level. 

This last concept needs to be addressed, since the material intended to be thought-provoking in middle school, would not be helpful in kindergarten. 

The ultimate goal of going deeper in describing other culture should be tolerance. The more we talk about other people's values can only show us that we should respect those ideas and ways of living, and the simple act of making sense out of them is literally making us better prepared to deal with ourselves and others.  

L07: Cultural and Psychology

Prof. Ivers talked about how cultures create the "Ought self" and how this influence the "Real self." The relationship between this two concepts will play a significant role in the most important aspect of our student's opportunity to succeed: Self-esteem.

I think that the what is not what makes you sick sometimes, but rather the how. How can I be or have...? So our mental health depends on the things that we are after.
One of the most stressful times of my life happened right after my mission.
Being LDS, my well-intentioned leaders, reminded me every Sunday that what was next for me now was to find a good LDS girl and get married. The how was killing me.
So, while my understanding LDS culture, in the end, brought me joy, the pressure of family, and friends, to be or to have certain things or to fit specific criteria that come from living where you live or by being part of a specific group,  can be overwhelming.

This is a pressure felt by many in the same situation, and for some is just one more thing on our to-do-list, but there are those who feel in the middle of a cultural dilemma.

In the LDS culture starting a family is paramount to progress, while outside people perceive this notion as mistaken, to them a good education and temporal accomplishments should be reached by individuals long before tiding the knot. These two ideas can exert a great weight on the minds of young people sometimes.

The Church can not feel or should be held responsible for every ill interpreted commandment, or instruction received by any members, and yet I feel that all of us in each ward worldwide understand that at a certain age there are things expected from us.

The only way I've found to cope with this anxieties is to try to develop a healthy dose of patience.

Albert Einstein said: “Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it's stupid.” We might not all be borne to be Einsteins but that is a great thing. Can you imagine if Einstein would have tried to pursue a career in Futbol or rock climbing? Chances are, you are the Einstein of your own life.

A classroom might present many challenging personalities, but student share the most important thing, they want to do better.
What each of them considers progress might differ from one another, and their expectancies may vary, so I think a teacher should be ready to help students to set their goals and to work towards them with a healthy dose of patience.

Patience is what calms the nerves when things don't happen according to what is expected from us, and tells us that, sometimes, we need to change the speed but not the destination to achieve the best version of ourselves.

L07: Differences in Manners

I heard time and again: "Is not what you say, but the way you say it what matters the most"

Like we just read and saw on this lesson so far, there are countless cultural expressions in every society, each one of them carries a message or convey a distinctive meaning that we should respect and value. Yes, some might seem very different than our set of cultural rules, but understanding this codes is fundamental to set the basis for understanding and communication.

Our lives might not be in danger anytime that we misread a gesture or a manner, but it would be healthy to approach each student, or individual, with politeness and empathy, even though we differ in the ways we express our ideas or feelings.

No matter what is considered acceptable in your crowd, chances are that they would look or sound alien to other people or culture. We saw the example of this in brother Iver's lesson, when he mentions about how staring in Bolivia is a common practice in public places and a very acceptable one. 

Even in Church people differ in their manner of expression from one ward to another.

I've been in situations when cultural manners made me feel awkward or even confused during my mission, in my own country but I learned that this contrasts in the way one perceives life was designed to help us progress and accept each other, not to create unpassable boundaries.

 But how do we help students from vastly different cultures understand that they are, in reality, an asset to each other in the classroom and not a problem?

In a classroom, my challenge would be to help the students understand this idea of acceptance. Like I mention before, some cultural gestures might be offensive without intending to do so, and in a room generating ideas the possibility of conflict can be real.

I just know that diversity should be foster and not censored and that, in the end, we all pursue that same notion of progress and happiness regardless whether we greet people with a kiss or a handshake.

L07: Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom

One of the many questions I have about my future classrooms is, how much cultural tolerance I can accept before that tolerance interferes with the overall student's progress.

It is clear that we were all created equal in the eyes of God, and in the occidental way of education. All the students should be afforded the same opportunities regardless their backgrounds, and most importantly, regardless their culture. 

But, what if some of this cultural differences feel threatening or disrupting to others? Greeting people as enter a classroom might be a simple act of respect in some cultures, while in others it would feel meaningless. This is the kind of situation that might feel divisive in a classroom and the kind that we'll have to navigate for sure. 

Should I look for a consensus and try to steer all the students to my cultural paradigms, or allow them to express themselves uninterrupted?

I went to school to a very diverse high school but, regardless who you were or where you came from, teachers would tell you that there was one way and it was their way. Some people struggled to adapt to new cultural and educational values and their capacity to do so was the difference between success and failure. Many fell behind.  I know better than to try this eclectic approach and to sacrifice my students chance for self-expression for the sake of unifying school polities.  

I'm all for inclusion in all the aspect of society, but I'm worried that by fostering inclusion improperly, I will create a confusing ambient in the classroom. 

It is difficult for me, to imagine a future classroom when I'm not even a teacher yet, but I sure hope that all the information from this lesson will be close to mind when the time comes, to help me create the right conditions for learning and progress. 

L06: Atributional Tendencies

There's an old saying that goes "As sure as death and taxes" meaning two things seemingly unavoidable, but I like to add a third almost impossible to dodge event in our lives: Attributional tendencies. 

First, let's go over into what attributions are and their effect on how we interpret the world around us. Attributions, simply put, are inferences that people draw about the cause of events, others’ behavior, and their own behavior. 
This "guessing" of the way things happened in the way they do, or why people react in a specific manner, are categorized as internal or external attributions.
Internal Attributions ascribe the causes of behavior to personal dispositions, traits, abilities, and feelings. ( Ex. "I won because I'm great" or "I lost because I always do")
External Attributions ascribe the causes of behavior to situational demands and environmental constraint. ( Ex."I won because the wind was in my favor" or "I lost because the universe hates me")

There is also the need for some of us to focus on the stability of underlying behavior and attribute it to either success or failure in life. For some of us Stable condition will lead to unchanged outcomes of people or events, and for other the Unstable conditions, will lead them to blame everything, success or failure to uncontrollable factors. 
As a mormon I sometimes feel judging people under a light that suits my views, but is that Christlike? Of course is not. We all have our biases and sometimes we are too soft or harsh to ourselves, independently to our way to judge. 
This knowledge is paramount to judge people, events, and even ourselves, under the appropriate light. It is an important tool in class that can help us understand our students and their views. 
No, no everything is always our fault, and yes sometimes it is, the important thing to remember is that an impartial look at the facts is almost impossible to do, but if we cultivate      a more comprehensive view of the world, we'll come to the conclusion that we all have shortcomings, that failure and success are part of our temporary existence and that we can contribute to our success as well as to other's success too.

L06: Personal Space Differences

                                                                             
There is a great article from The Independent, that talks about the cultural differences in personal space.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/personal-space-boundaries-different-countries-argentina-uk-romania-a7713051.html

"According to a new study, Brits like to keep a meter from a stranger, 80cm from an acquaintance and just over 50cm from an intimate or close friend. This is in contrast to Argentinians who keep a 76cm distance for a stranger, 59cm for an acquaintance and 40cm for a friend."

The results of the study suggest that cultural differences could result in misconceived rudeness.

We learned on the article Personal Space Ownership, that no because people want you close they are being disrespectful, nor because they don't come as close as you are used to they mean to be rude.

There are many factors, previously discussed, that makes people feel that need for space. The place where they grew up, the way in which they were raised, and even religious reasons make each person grant the rest of the world a physical distance they judge appropriate.

One of the things I learned in this lesson, in particular, is that it is important not to overlook this aspect of the student's lives. They all come with there clearly defined concept of personal space, and that is a real frontier, one that we should never invade for the sake of students progress. Proximity does not mean always a good thing, but knowing the rules that our students have about their personal space me serve us well to show them respect, the respect they had in mind when they set up those boundaries.

L06: Individualism vs. Collectivism

To compare individualism and collectivism seeking to find the best of the two is a bit like comparing apples to oranges.

They are both fruits and they both have a purpose.

While it is true that we engage each individual independently in education, we should also recognize his or her place not only in our classroom but in the community.

Communities that have a  more collectivistic approach to their members, might influence students in a very different way that a more individualistic group might, but this in itself should not be a liability to the individuals on either group. The way in which we interpreted each student is key to use this differences as in advantage rather than a challenge.

We should not embark on this quest by ourselves. Teachers, parents, government and other corners of the community should lend a helping hand in the shaping of not only our young ones but the society in which these young ones will grow as well.

That being said, this manifestations in our student's backgrounds are part of the communities in which we will work, and so we can not separate these circumstances from the educational equation. There is not One-fits-all approach in teaching.

Our expectations, the ones from parents, and other groups must interpret what is the best way to make the community succeed, and how to do so by valuing each member. 

I don't have the "Silver Bullet" that will help solve the desition about how to shape education on this particular matter, but I strongly believe that we should focus on individuals and their progress and that this progress can only mean the betterment of their communities instead of just their own.

L06: Differences in Emotional Expressivity

One of the most price possessions in today's society is the feeling that we, as individuals, belong to a specific group.
Since we are very young, we are told what to do to fit in. Whether it's in school, at a birthday party or in front of a person we like, there are some social paradigms that we need to navigate to enjoy approval. Hence the fabric of what is acceptable and what not in each community.

I have a friend that requires that we all take off our shoes before entering his house, and he is not Asian. If you ever visit Argentina you'll see that a handshake is never enough while greeting somebody at a social gathering. They would very likely kiss you, man or woman, in the cheek. This, as confusing as may look to you, is nothing but a sign of good manners is South-America.

Each culture has its differences and if we are to make any progress as the human race, we should try to respect and seek to understand this differences.

The more we know about somebody's culture and set of values the more chances we have to connect and understand each other. We might even benefit from this encounters.

Think about Mexican food. I assume that many people are aware of how delicious it is, but for people that never try that the sole idea of partaking of something foreign might make them squeamish to say the list. Only those open-minded will seek the opportunity to expand their culinary horizons in the search for understanding.

People, much like food, comes in many cultural flavors, sometimes even individuals from the same family carry with them distinctive ideas of what is acceptable and what isn't, but this is not random it is all part of our Heavenly Father's plan to help us love each other just how we are and learn that after all, there is more than just one flavor.

Cultural Paradigms.

For a long time I worked in construction, and one o the most stressing jobs in it is remodeling. People want part of their houses to be new, without changing much, they would say things like "I want my house to feels the same but not be the same". How do change something without making some concessions to introduce the new ideas?

We have heard time and again that we are all different, and much of what we are comes from the way we were raised and the place we were raised, so whenever we try to assimilate a new idea we must face the possibility of making some concessions in our views in order to accomplish change.

I never cared much for ketchup, in fact in my culture is a topping seldom use in everyday meals, but on my first trip to the United States, one of my friends took me straight from the airport to Arby's.

He bought what I thought was the biggest serving of potato fries I've ever seen, and before I could do anything, he literally bathed them on ketchup and told me "Enjoy!"

He didn't know I didn't like that flavor but he was assuming that because in his culture most people do, I would like it too. In a split of a second, I tried to think about what to say not partake of the feast laid out in front of me without offending him, but I couldn't so I ate a few chips with my eyes as open as I could, and to my surprise they were good. 

You see, I was unfamiliar with the idea and because of it I just dismissed ketchup as a food-related item.

In education, much like with new food, if the source is reliable you should at least be open to receive it and test its potential to add value to your life. 

When we talk about paradigms we usually say it like it is something restrictive in education, but it might be an asset in some cases. 

I'm LDS and so is my family. A  few years ago my daughter was in school and her teacher shared with all her students the "good news" that same-sex marriages were now legal in Argentina. My daughter raised her hand and said "yeap, but is not legal to god" and they all laughed at her.  

Her paradigms were such that this new idea was rapidly blocked in her young brain because one of her paradigms was her faith. To the teacher she was wrong, to me she was brave. 

So, every time we try to learn something new we must decide what to do with what we know already. whether is ketchup or a radical idea, what we know already will determine the values we grant to the new things we are exposed to, and if we want to add these novel concepts to our lives.

Teachers: The good, the bad, and the hope for something new.

On his work from "Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice", Prof. Jhon Ivers posed the following question: Is the Great American Teacher Dead?

I'm sure that many high school students like to think so while struggling in math classes all over the USA, but Prof. Ivers makes the case for hope in the quest for excellence in teaching, and how to achieve it.

Using a historical event involving a very discouraged Demosthenes, trying to find the cure for his lack of skills as a public speaker, he explained that is not only about what you say but rather how to present your ideas what really matters.

He later compares American teachers (But could be teachers anywhere really) to Demosthenes's pursuit of excellence and contemplates the thought that many might not even be aware of their shortcomings. Teachers, because of their role in education, are a the battlefront of education and the need to be on our best game was never more evident.

Before we embark on a dissection of what a teacher should be or do, lets pause for a moment to mention important facts about learning.

Most of us, as he described, are conditioned by our cultural and preconceived notions at the time to make sense of our reality, and that needs to change. If we are to understand with more clarity, reality must be understood from the outsider's point of view. 

Prof. Ivers mention, to make this point, the visit of an anthropologist from Italy to an American university. She surprised the faculty there with her findings. Her conclusion was that American students were not very deep intellectually.

Who's to blame? The teachers, the students lack of interest, the ill-conceived educational polities?

While some might like to dwell on these questions and find the culprits, the approach in how to fix this academic dilemma was given in the article.

In a quote from William W. Purkey, a former professor, you can read: "the most important aspect of a teacher is to be romantic"

The idea behind this notion is that teachers should embrace the goal of making a difference. Topics of relevance must be included in the curricula, such as hunger, war, poverty, so students could make sense of the world they live in while acquiring the skills needed to improve it.

Classes with this content are set to be interesting or at least create constructive discussions.

Another great point in this article is the notion that environmental factors can influence human achievement.

By creating such conditions in the classroom, we might set the stage for learning acquisition. Encouragement, positive feedback, and engaging material must be introduced form the very beginning.

Is even stated that every 10 minutes the student's attention must be reboot by inserting the like of material we previously mentioned.

 While I simply mentioned a few of the points made by Prof. Ivers, my opinion on this matter is that we should always keep that drive that got us into to teaching fresh, and open our minds to the idea that students are not abstract objects in a classroom, but rather agents for change in a world in despair need for improvement.