Skip to main content

Cultures Here, Cultures There, Cultures Everywhere



From our Internet Cultures project I learned a lot about many cultures that I did not know.  Focusing on the educational aspects, I had no idea that Russia places such high, competitive emphasis on education.  I did not know that achieving an education in Laos is very difficult due to accessibility and poor economic conditions.  I did not know (though am not completely surprised) that Pakistan culture places far more importance on males achieving an education than females.  Heck, until this project I had the misguided notion that the Filipino language is based on Spanish rather than Tagalog.     
My take-away from this project is that we must always be mindful that our culture is not the only culture.  Our own little world is just a piece of a vast network of widely varied and complex ways of living.  Educators must especially be vigilant at recognizing and embracing others of different cultures.  Students and their families must feel valued in order to actively collaborate with teachers.  Every good teacher knows that parent participation plays a huge role in a student’s success.  I guess what I learned most from this project is that when I am a teacher, I must truly strive to “know” my students.  I will seek to educate myself when I have students who hail from cultures that are unfamiliar to me.  I will work to understand and respect their customs.  I’m excited at the prospect of learning different ways of life from my students and their families! 

Internet Cultures Project

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SIOP

The Second Grade Classroom Science video shows how two teachers carefully implement the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model of teaching.   This strategy is a specific method used to instruct English learners.   I talked about it a bit in an earlier post (Having a Plan:   SDAIE), but I very much enjoyed watching two veteran teachers actually putting it into action.   What stood out most for me was just how much careful planning must be used when using this teaching protocol.   Eight specific areas must be addressed:   lesson preparation, building background, comprehensible input, strategies, interaction, practice and application, lesson delivery and review and assessment. It is a time-consuming process and teachers are, if anything, always short on time. Still, I am someone who likes to have a plan, and I will definitely be mindful of all of these steps that should be used when instructing English learners.   Lesson plannin...
1 comment
Read more

Language Structure

There are currently over 7,000 languages spoken in our world today, and each of these languages can sound vastly different, but they all share some universal facts.   They all tend to be fluid or dynamic, meaning they change over time.   Word meaning changes; word spelling changes; phonology changes; morphology changes.   Language is vastly complex.   Languages all have structure.  Educators must be aware of the components of spoken language.   Phonemes are the sounds that make up a language.   Pitch is the actual vibration of the vocal chords that helps to impart meaning to a statement.   Stress is a component that gives a variety of meaning to words.   All of these parts of oral language make differences that teachers must be aware of. Written language is similarly complex.   Spelling alone is very difficult.   Morphology (the study of the units of meaning in a language) requires careful study and flexibility of though...
1 comment
Read more

Button Duty

Way back in the late 1990s, I worked in the Beverly Hills area of Los Angeles, California for a business that provided in-flight entertainment to Pakistan International Airlines.   The business was small, and I was responsible for, well, running everything.   My boss, Mr. H, was from Pakistan but had many years of residency in the United States.   He had worked for several movie studios and was very comfortable with Western business culture. A high-level representative for Pakistan International Airlines (who I shall call Mr. D) came to visit our office.   My boss introduced me to Mr. D, and I offered my hand for a handshake.   Mr. D hesitated very briefly and then shook my hand.   As he did so, he noticed that a button was loose on the cuff of his shirt.   Mr. D asked me to sew it on his shirt for him. My boss very quickly intervened and seemed worried that I would take offense.   I did not, though I do admit to feeling very bemused by t...
1 comment
Read more