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.