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.