Our Business is Changing Lives
How does our own cultural backgounds effect how we view our students?
Shaun,
How do we shake ourselves out of this mindset?
Jeffrey Schillinger
Our pre-detemined mind set could hinder our ability to promote further success because we are stuck in a bias mindset.
I also do this. As we teach nursing school it is important to share the good and the scary with the students. By telling my experiences they feel like they are closer to their goal and they see someone who has achieved it.
Some students are dealing with a lot of issues in their lives outside of school that deters them in ways from succeeding. I encourage my students with this saying: "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, then change the way you think about it". We can help them to have a different perspective or a different outlook on things. Simple words of encouragement can change lives greatly.
So excited to see how these students are bettering their future. They too are excited to become more productive.
I have had this happen to me many times through the years and would have to say that this is one of the benefit to doind what we do
Linda,
Sharing that we were once where they are is a good way to model what they can become.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I do as well. I try to make my students see that I was once sitting in their very seats...trying to balance school, studies, work and life in general. I share my personal experiences in hopes that my students will connect and relate to them and will feel motivated and inspired to continue to do their best to acheive success.
We apply our learned skills, objectives and work ethic to our students expecting theirs to match ours.This is not always the same for all and we must adjust to different students and their backgrounds.
Lisa,
Those are the best rewards a teacher can get.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I love it when a graduate returns to school and thanks me for making a difference in their lives.
I use personal life experiences on my class to help the students in their future
In my class, I have an assortment of cards with different cultural backgrounds . Students pick a card and have to research the specifics of that culture. We then role play with some of the students being someone from that culture who becomes a patient in health care while others are health care professionals from the culture they chose. It sparks lots of discussions.
Barbara,
We always view things based on our position and experiences. The trick is to try to find out how others see things. There are many good diversity training sessions available. You may want to consider talking to yur campus leadership about including this type of training for both staff and students.
How do you deal with diversity and cultural issues in your classes?
