No one enters a classroom without a personal history; thus no one enters a classroom completely free of bias. How might your personal history/sociocultural characteristics intersect with those of your students? What challenges or advantages might you have as a teacher in this classroom? What misconceptions about various cultural groups have you confronted during this experience?
All of the schools I have attended throughout my childhood were inner city schools. I went to Tolman High where I was a minority in most of my classes, and I loved it. I was able to learn so much about other cultures that I feel that I am a better person because of that. I feel that I am much more accepting of other cultures by going to a school like I did. Most of my best friends in high school were of other races than my own. I spent many days and nights at their houses and begun to realize how different cultures speak to their children and how the children respond to their parents. I was able to adapt to the way that the culture functioned in that household and what their level of respect was. Many of my Caucasian friends did not respect their parents the same way that my Colombian friends respected their parents. Going to a school like this I believe that I will be a much better teacher because of this. I will understand how to connect to parents of other races because of the diversity in my past. Many of the students in my classroom are many of the same races as my friends and I have a valued respect for them because I know what their lifestyle might be like and I know that their parents may not speak English. I know what is funny in other cultures and I know what an insult is as well. In Lisa Delpit’s article The Silenced Dialogue she describes how different cultures give instructions to their children such as teacher or parents. She gives an example of how a Black woman might ask her child to get into the bath and how a White woman might ask her child to get into the bath. They are very different ways of asking, but they all mean the same thing. I believe that all parents want their child to succeed; it’s just how they approach their child that is different. I have been able to reach deeper into the children’s mind and begin to feel how they feel in a classroom. I feel as though this experience is allowing me to become a better person.
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I think you are right that you having experience learning about different cultures when you were growing up will benefit you when you are teaching students of all different cultures. I wish I had the same experience that you had. I grew up in a schooling system that Jonathan Kozol would be apauled at by the lack of diversity. I could probally accurately say that the school system I went through was 90 percent caucasian. I love going to school in Providence because everyone here has a different background. I love learning about other people's cultures and experiences, which is why I love to travel and learn about different places. It is great that you are also very welcome to other cultures and people's experiences which I do agree will help you with your studnets.
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