Culture in the Classroom

Anita Woolfolk's podcast on culture diversity in the classroom was particularly interesting. It didn't include a lot of tips for teachers, but it was full of quick facts about other cultures.

Students tend to respect a teacher more if they are aware of their cultural beliefs. 18% of the United States population speaks a language other than English, and half of these people speak Spanish. In fact, some teachers have said they have more than ten languages represented in their classroom at one time. By 2020, it is estimated that over 66% of school-aged children will be African American, Asian, Hispanic, or Native American; many of these will be the children of new immigrants.

Some of the cultural quick facts Woolfolk discusses are:

• The Chinese language has no sign/symbol correspondence, thus they have trouble with decoding and phonics in English.
• In Columbia, they believe it is rude to use a teacher's name. Instead they simply use "Teacher" as a title.
• It is common for Middle Eastern boys to touch during play. However, in America, boys only touch during sports or fights. This can cause arguments in class.
•  In Argentina it is considered rude for children to look directly at adults. Even if a teacher says, "Look in my eyes," these children may be uncomfortable.
• Somalian children may have trouble sitting still, as they may have never been in school or sat in chairs for long periods of time.
• Saudi Arabian boys can find working with girls to be insulting, as their culture believes boys and girls should not be together.
• Buddhists may feel insulted if you pat them on the head because they believe your soul is housed in your head.
• Other Asian cultures may nod yes, even if they do not agree, because nodding shows that you are listening carefully.
• In Korea, it is rude to open a gift in front of the giver. If you are unsure, you can politely ask if it's okay to open the gift now.
• Many cultures may find notes written in red pen offensive, as they believe red is the color of death.

Some of these cultural beliefs I had heard before, but many I was unaware of. A good way to identify different cultures in a classroom would be to take a class survey at the beginning of the year. You can ask students where their families are from. Then any countries you are unsure of you can look up information on. Woolfolk suggests using this website for more information about being sensitive to different cultures in the classroom.