The culturally competent teacher is aware of the diverse cultural groups represented in his/her classroom, investigates the sociocultural factors that influence student learning, and is able to integrate this knowledge into his/her teaching.
Growing up with a very diverse group of friends, I have spent a significant amount of time around families from different cultures. Anywhere from African-American, Puerto Rican, Brazilian, Polish, Laotian, Italian, Albanian, you name it. We have been close since the elementary school days and have all become family in each other's homes. That being said, throughout my life I have learned about other cultures through friends. Foods, languages, religions, whats respectful/disrespectful, customs, values, and so on. The area that I live in has provided me with the opportunity to meet people from all sorts of backgrounds and I am very fortunate for that. I grew up thinking nothing of it (until I got older). Also, many of my friends lived in poverty with a single parent, but race, ethnicity, and social class never really meant anything. Once I got older, I started to understand the difficulties in some of their houses and with some of their families.
In the classroom, I try to stay open to all the students and I understand that nobody knows what goes on behind the scenes. Every student is different and comes from a different culture and background. It is impossible to fully understand how they feel or what goes on at home. What we can try to understand is that life isn't happy for everyone. Some kids go through more by the age of eight than most people go through in a lifetime. Its almost tough to believe but its true. The teacher in my classroom has filled me in on some of the issues that have faced the students I work with and it is very disheartening. To me it is obvious why a student is shy, or a student doesn't do well around others. When there are serious problems at home, its really hard for a student to do well in school.
What I have found is the best way to connect with any student, but especially a troubled student, is to make them feel comfortable around you. Most young boys are similar no matter what their background is, they like video games, sports, wrestling, cartoons, or monster trucks. Growing up my friends (regardless of social or cultural background) loved all of the above and I haven't met a little kid since who doesn't like at least one of them. Once you can find something that the student is interested in, you can connect by talking about it for a few minutes. At that point, the student is either excited about what he is talking about or excited that you know something about what he is into, or both. Either way, he will feel more comfortable around you which makes it easier for him to work with you.
Yes indeed, you are very lucky to have been immersed in such a rich, colorful environment. it's true that it takes some time to figure out what has shaped us (a lifetime?). As far as the interests you list for most young boys, I bet most children regardless of "gender" would like this list!
ReplyDeleteThats a great concept- everybody likes something! I experienced that in my classroom recently actually. It was like once I mentioned this specific movie, or this specific game or celebrity, I was "in" with a particular student who previously, wanted nothing to do with me. I can say honestly that now that we've connected, he's become one of my favorite students. He taught me the most about the disconnect that can so easily form between student and teacher as it has with so many students in my classroom with my teaching mentor when no whole-hearted attempt to connect has ever been made. When teachers become frustrated, I feel like students become reduced to a number. A body in a seat instead of the unique individual that they are!
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