2/18/21; Week 07: Response to “Culture and Psychology”

In my home culture there are a few things that may cause one to have low self-esteem. One of which is that people expect more success from men than women. Being female has often led me to think I am not as qualified or able to do or achieve some of the things that a male can do or achieve. In a video about Culture Psychology, Brother Ivers touched on this briefly with African Americans vs. white Americans. He explained that when they had to indicate their ethnicity on an exam, African Americans did quite a bit more poorly than when they didn’t have to indicate their ethnicity. It didn’t have the same impact on the white Americans. These were students who were all in about the same place academically and typically perform about the same. I believe one would find a similar outcome if you applied the same scenario to indicating gender. I think that my home culture could be improved by providing the opportunities for people based on their qualifications and not gender. I believe my culture is trying to do this but is still struggling. I very much wish we didn’t have to check those boxes that asked our gender. At the same time, I see the need for it in some things. I honestly don’t know how you overcome this struggle throughout my culture. However, in the classroom, all assumptions can be put aside and opportunities to succeed for each student can be provided. I think that in my classroom, I can recognize that students may have similar struggles. I can work to help them see that they are capable of so much. Knowing what I am capable of doing will help me to help my students recognize what they are capable of doing. I find it very interesting how much culture plays a role in a person. Learning about mental diseases that are more prevalent in some places than others, leads me to believe that my own culture can learn and grow. I think the stigma around mental diseases plays a big role in what people believe is possible or what they are capable of. Knowing about other cultures and how they behave can help me to make changes in my own life so that I can reach my own potential. Same for my students.

2/16/21; Week 07: Response to “Differences in Manners”

My sister recently went to Brazil and while there learned that to give what we in the U.S. use as the ok signal with our hand (thumb and pointer finger touching, forming an ‘O’ and with the last three fingers extended) is an extremely rude gesture. I can see that in a classroom, as a teacher I could easily use this gesture indicating that a student did great on an assignment, only to discover I have thoroughly offended/hurt a student. Even something as simple as, “ladies first” might be considered rude in the classroom. As a teacher, I will take the time to work with my students and teach them to not jump to conclusions. I would teach them that generally, we all have good intentions and aren’t trying to hurt or offend others. I would teach them that if another student has done or said something that is offensive that instead of reacting, they should come to me privately and we can discuss the matter. I will also teach my students that they likely don’t need to change their behavior but rather they need to recognize that manners that are custom in their culture are not the same manners as everyone around them. If my students can recognize that some of their manners might be considered offensive to others but we will give them the benefit of the doubt, they should do likewise. I think that some of these manners will be challenging in a classroom. I could see that they could be disruptive and I will need to do my best to keep class moving. I think my own culture can be improved by people not assuming the worst of others. Learning to bite our tongue and continue trying to be the best person we can be will benefit all involved.

2/16/21; Week 07: Response to "Cross-Culture Students in the Classroom"

I grew up in a small town in northern New Mexico. Students, in general, were polite and respectful to teachers and elders. In the classroom, we did what our teachers asked and if we got out of line, we were sent to the principal’s office or just kicked out of class. However, we didn’t have a specific way in which we addressed the teacher. I have heard some students say, “yes, Mrs. Stewart” or “no, Mrs. Stewart.” However, that was not how we replied to our teachers. Now, I live in Texas. When I first moved here, I heard a lot of, “yes, Ma’am,” or “no, Sir.” It drove me nuts. One day my 7-year-old daughter responded “yes, Ma’am” to a direction I gave her and I just about lost it. I informed her she is my daughter, she is welcome to say “yes, mom” but please don’t ever call me “ma’am.” Several years later I was driving my children and their friends to school and one of their friends said, “yes, ma’am” to me. My daughter let her friend know I don’t like to be called that. I just bit my tongue. I also taught the girl’s brother in my Sunday School class and he had the same polite manners. I had to adapt to being referred to as Ma’am because this was how these children were taught to be respectful of their teachers and elders. That was a good learning experience for me and how I can have a different viewpoint without having to change someone else’s. I don’t think that I even have a glimpse of some of the possibilities I will see in my classes with students from different cultures. I will have to work very hard to hold my tongue and do some investigating to educate myself as to whether certain behaviors are showing respect or vice versa. I think a good teacher will be able to keep their cool and continue to operate in class regardless of comments made that may be questionable.

2/13/21; Week 6: Response to: “Attributional Tendencies”

Attributional tendencies across cultures is a topic that deserves more time and thought to better understand. This topic is rather complex and will likely play a big role in the ESL classroom. In my own little world, the things I attribute successes and failures to vary greatly. Sometimes, I even attribute the same success or failure to more than one thing. For example, my son left the church a little over a year and a half ago. I will go through this cycle of blaming myself, blaming him, and even blaming his youth leaders and friends. I probably blame myself the most but, in all honesty, it is my son’s choice and he is responsible for his choice. Internal and external attributes for successes and failures are around us all the time. Different cultures attribute successes and failures quite differently from one to the next. I can see that in a classroom situation there might be several situations in which attributional tendencies may cause frustration. As a teacher, I may need to take a step back and ask why a student is doing poorly in class. Why do they seem to be overly upset with themselves on an assignment they did poorly on? It may be that they take the blame the wrong way, such as thinking they are too stupid to do the work. Or maybe, a student might put the blame on someone else, not taking accountability for their actions. As a teacher, it will be my responsibility to help students take responsibility for their own work and yet recognize that they can improve. I will need to help them to not beat themselves up on an assignment they did poorly on but help them learn how to improve. I will also need to be careful that I don’t attribute successes and failures inaccurately in the classroom. I will need to make sure to encourage students and help them recognize their successes. Looking at other cultures helps me to see how often successes and failures are attributed unfairly in my own culture. Ever since my son left home, I have recognized that I frequently have put blame on other parents for their children’s actions when that is not a fair assumption. I have been working on adjusting my thoughts to be more thoughtful of others and less judgmental in general. I don’t think we can always know who to attribute successes and failures of others to and maybe that’s not necessary in our personal lives, anyways.

2/13/21; Week 6, Response to “Personal Space Differences”

I grew up in a small town full of scientists who were geniuses. In general, everyone had a fairly large bubble around them. Looking back at church and school, there wasn’t a lot of hugging or closeness. In fact, I remember this one girl who stood out because she hugged everyone. It was really uncomfortable. Now, I live in Texas, in the city, and people’s bubble seems to be a bit smaller. I often find myself leaning back, taking a step back, or just feeling incredibly uncomfortable just waiting for the moment I can escape. I hadn’t given this much thought and honestly, I thought I was just a little strange. Now, I think about my family, friends from my childhood, and acquaintances from my home town and I think that a large part of my response to people getting too close has a lot more to do with the culture I grew up in. I see similar behaviors in those people. I will need to work on adjusting my response to students (and their families) as they may “invade” my personal space. I think that one thing I can do to help myself prepare is to find out where my students are from and learn a little about their culture. Knowing if they come from somewhere where personal space is shared a lot more will help me to be prepared for when they are closer to me. It will also help me to know who I need to give a little extra space to. Another challenge might be among students if the class is a mixed class of many cultures. One thing that can be done is to space student's desks out to give them all space. However, when working in groups this may be a problem. At some point, I think a short discussion on personal space might be helpful for the students. I would love to know how other teachers, both prospective and current, plan to help their students from mixed cultures understand the need for personal space. Or, how do you help the students who feel others are cold and distant because they need their personal space?

2/11/2021; Week 06: Response to “Individualism vs. Collectivism”

Brother Ivers's lesson on Individualism and Collectivism was enlightening. These two practices are practices that I have seen but never contemplated before, let alone thought about in regards to teaching ESL. Understanding where my students come from and if their culture differs from what I know in the U.S., can help me to be prepared for behaviors that will have to be worked with, around, or overcome. Or, maybe as a teacher, I will need to adjust my own thinking and make changes to my behavior. As a teacher, I will need to know where my students are coming from and what they are wanting to get out of the class. Some students may be there because their parents are making them. Their parents might be very involved and have high expectations from them. This may make learning more challenging but could also make some things easier. If students come from collectivistic cultures, they may have a hard time working independently. Whereas, students who come from individualistic cultures may have a challenging time working with others. Therefore, working together might be a big struggle. Students who come from collectivistic cultures may have a harder time expressing their individuality in class because this might not have been an acceptable practice. They may even have a challenging time asking for help when necessary. In fact, students may feel like they cannot ask for clarification or any help. As a teacher, I will have to be patient and flexible. What works for one student won’t necessarily work for another. Students may need time to adjust to a new culture and as their teacher, it will be my responsibility to help them as they do so. Hopefully, with time and effort, watching and learning, students will be able to make adjustments that will help them to be comfortable in my classroom. One of the points that I am contemplating is how can I help my students who feel like they shouldn’t stand out become comfortable with sticking out. Though I wouldn’t want to take my student’s culture away, as a teacher I feel it would be my responsibility to encourage them to do their best, which might make them stand out. So, does anyone have suggestions on how to work with this? Either to help me see it differently or how I can help my students?

2/8/2021; Week 6: Response to “Differences in Emotional Expressivity”

Several years ago, my husband and I traveled to Europe. While there, we visited a friend my husband had met through a web forum for a common hobby they share. When we first met Leon and his wife, Susan, in The Netherlands, we were greeted with kisses on the cheek. We were well aware that this was the normal greeting but it was still a bit uncomfortable/awkward. Fast forward about five years. I started helping out in an ESL class with students predominantly from Venezuela and Mexico. At the beginning and end of every class everyone kissed everyone else on the cheeks at least once. I grew to love the tradition. It felt like a warm welcome. That class had become like a little family. One day we had a student from Pakistan join us. I could tell he was very uncomfortable. I was not the teacher but still tried to reach out and welcome him to the class and help him know what was going on throughout the class. He was a very nice man and I was happy to see he came back. However, after the second visit he didn’t return. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be a student who has come from a country/culture where emotions are suppressed/reserved and have classmates who want to greet you with cheek kisses. I also feel for those who are used to warm greetings who then greet a classmate who is reserved. If you take this and apply it to other emotional expressions, I can imagine it can become a very real challenge to help students feel comfortable in class. I see this as being something that would need to be addressed early on, to help students understand the differences and be respectful of each other. I feel that as a teacher it would be my responsibility to be aware of the cultural differences in expressing emotion and help students to adjust and respect one another.