Being Culturally Sensitive..
With a melting pot of students, how do you blend the different cultural backgrounds and m,old them in to future workers?
Terri,
I agree with you & this also helps each student to feel important & no one to feel singled out.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
We can acknowledge each persons individual cultural, intellectual or social differences, but the bottom line is that it is our responsibility to attend to each of their learning needs and give them the best chance at success. In my mind that makes them all of equal concern to me as an instructor. Does that make sense to anyone else?
Lisa,
this is a great lesson for all of them to learn as it will help them more with career success.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
If it is their first day in my class I give them examples of the diversity I've experienced in the real world. Its not only about ESL differnces but also age, socio-economic background, and gender just to name a few. I talk about how knowing how to empathize and to identify with the different groups helps one to grow into becoming successful both personally and professionally as peers will begin to see you as a leader.
Nikkole,
and along with seeing the similarities, understanding & embracing the differences is a great way to move forward in our appreciating & understanding diversity.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree with that it boils down to respect. I too come from a diverse family. I have learned that when we are more similar than we know and believe. Demonstrating respect and patience is definitely an embrace and a way of engaging others.
Thank you, Ryan... The feedback is greatly appreciated!
Cheers!
Jiba
Jiba,
this is a great example of how e can embrace the diversity that surrounds us & also how we can help our students understand it & appreciate it even more.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I have the benefit of having a parent who was born and raised in another country and one who was born in the States. In addition, my personal life is filled with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds. Because of this, I appreciate the diversity of culture and have my students focus on the similarities of the human experience rather than "surface" differences.
It comes down to one word: respect. Show the student that you respect the entirety of the individual by focusing on basic human commonality, embrace and be genuinely interested in the aspects that make them unique. In fact, I incorporate the students' cultural diversity in some of my projects.
Rose Anne,
and by appreciating these differences we also learn to appreciate the different opinions & perspectives of those who come from our own cultural group.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I do agree that all groups should understand the different population around them. To have a career in any field you must appreciate the different ways people live. Althugh I try to treat all people equally.
laura,
and this is great preparation for their future careers as they will be working with an increasingly diverse work population.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Create small diversified learning groups so they get to know one another and learn from one another. Each can bring different experiences to the group and apply it to a particular learning lesson. Role play real life scenarios that they will be exposed to in the real world.
Aaron,
I think part of it is putting them into groups where they have to learn to understand and appreciate the differences around them. This will help prepare them for their future roles.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
