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Culture and Inclusion


Reflection

Culture and Education


Regardless of whether one lives in a diverse population, there is still a responsibility to teach
tolerance and respect for other cultures. As a teacher, I feel it is my responsibility to educate
each student that comes across my door, about respect, tolerance and importance of other
cultures and populations different from their own (and including their own). Regardless of
whether a student lives in a homogenous neighborhood, our world is multicultural. It is therefore
our responsibility to educate and prepare every student in America, for living in our diverse
world.
I am half Portuguese and I can go back three generations in my heritage genogram; however, I
do not "practice" my culture. In fact, when my grandparents moved here from Portugal they
identified so much with American culture that they rarely spoke Portuguese (unless they wanted
to say something privately, and never in public), and they rarely cooked traditional Portuguese
meals. Instead they chose to assimilate to their new culture and they did everything they could
to forget their native land. In retrospect, though I was too young to understand, I wish
desperately I could go back in time and learn the language. I would give anything to have a
copy of those traditional menus my grandmother just threw together. I can still taste the
sweetness of the masaladas and although you can still buy them in Portuguese bakeries (that
is, if you can find a Portugue bakery), they are just not the same. Growing up in this
environment I learned to be incredibly proud of my American culture, but at the expense of my
Portuguese one.
I think my Grandparents were rare, or at least, from another generation whose mind-set was so
different from todays mindset. They embraced the American culture and never tried to bring
Portugal to America. I respected, and still respect, that way of thinking however, as an educator,
my beliefs have slightly changed to embrace more than one culture at one time. Because my
grandparents respected America and they were thankful for all that this country has to offer, I
think they felt they had to disassociate themselves completely from their native country, in order
to fit in. I was not born in their time so I do not know how true that was for them, but I do know
that that is not todays America. In todays world it is our responsibility to embrace other cultures.
It is indeed, a lack of knowledge about other cultures that places a teacher at a disadvantage. A
classroom is a neutral ground where many backgrounds come together and work as a unit to
achieve goals. Teachers must be mindful that their students come from different backgrounds. A
student can be reprimanded for something based on American culture; whereas in their native
culture, they would be praised. For example, students from some cultures work independently
and see working in groups as a form of cheating. In America, we work quite often in cooperative
groups. In the Asian culture, making eye contact with a teacher is considered inappropriate.
Asian students tend to be quieter in class. This is in contrast to European American students
who look teachers in the eye and who take an active role in the classroom. Hispanic parents
tend to regard teachers as experts whereas European American parents are very active in the
classroom. Without proper education, a teacher can miss these nuances and a student could be
penalized for inaccurate judgments, "Thus, educators need to understand individual histories
and ideologies regarding education and learning as well as the cultural patterns and beliefs of
groups."

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As a substitute teacher in a predominantly affluent, Caucasian school district where there are
only nine ELL students, I have the opportunity to educate students on multiculturalism. Whereas
I do not have cultural diversity in the classroom, I can teach it. I plan to incorporate a myriad of
books in my English classroom. From the required curriculum, I will choose authors from diverse
nationalities or subjects that reflect multiculturalism. If there are not many (and there aren't) I will
choose short stories or current articles reflecting a diverse nation. We will have discussions and
journal entries about tolerance and understanding, acceptance and respect. I will follow Dr.
Matthew Lynchs advice and incorporate his six ways to foster cultural awareness. Unlike my
Grandparents, who disassociated themselves with their Portuguese ancestry, I will incorporate
as much cultural awareness as possible in my classroom.
According to Dr. Matthew Lynch, there are six ways to foster cultural awareness in the
classroom:
1. Express interest in the ethnic background of your students
2. Redirect your role in the classroom from instructor to facilitator
3. Maintain a strict level of sensitivity to language concerns
4. Maintain high expectation for student performance
5. Incorporate methods for self-testing
6. Maintain an inclusive curriculum that remains respectful of differences
One thing I try to accomplish, even as a substitute teacher, is to correctly pronounce the names
of each of my students. Although our student population is not very diverse, student names can
be. I recognize this as being important; I respect someones name as part of their culture
therefore I do my best to learn it. A name is the first thing we know about a person and respect
should start from there.
I will have my students research and educate themselves on their own heritage, or of a culture
of their choosing, and I will incorporate that into the English curriculum. I have a strong belief in
learning about another background. I learned the French language and about French culture
from seventh grade through college. I studied abroad as a junior in college and to this day, feel it
is one of the most important aspects of my life. I wish that experience for every student. It taught
me not to be so egocentric! I learned that there can be better waysto eat. to dress. to
enjoy life! Ha! My world was small before learning another culture.
Per Lynchs second and third ways of fostering cultural awareness in the classroom, I plan to be
a facilitator with my kids, versus a dictator. There will be a lot of group work where students can
practice each role required to make a group function (i.e. recorder, reporter and leader). This
sense of belonging to a group and relying on each other to function is a true reflection of
America. One does not succeed alone. Not very well, anyway. Although I do disagree with
Lynch; I do not believe there should be native language materials available to ELLs. I believe
that there are other ways to help acquire the English language without providing help in the
native language. For example, use of pictures, storytelling, repetition and use of various
teaching methodologies can be more affective and reinforce the English language.
I completely agree with Lynch about his fifth and sixth ways to foster cultural awareness. It is
imperative for a person to learn to manage their own progress. One way I will do this is to test
students on their weekly vocabulary words; first within pairs and then as individuals. There will
be several ways to self-evaluate their progress before the actual test takes place at the end of
the week. Students will learn to practice on their own and judge where they are in learning the
new vocabulary skills.

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Most importantly I will foster a safe environment that enables each student to be confident,
tolerant, respectful, accepting, and multicultural. Although in my district, the likelihood of a
diverse student body falls more on sexual orientation than it does on race, I will follow these
rules to teach cultural awareness. Even if our little community is not diverse, we live in a
multicultural world and I feel it is my responsibility as a teacher, to prepare my students.
M.S. Rosenberg|D.L. Westling|J. McLeskey (2010, July 10). Retrieved February 26, 2016,
from http://www.education.com/reference/article/impact-culture-education/
Lynch Ed. D., Matthew (2015, February 8). 6 Ways Teachers Can Foster Cultural Awareness in the
Classroom. Retrieved February 28, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-lynchedd/6-ways-teachers-can-foste_b_6294328.html

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