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Case: Uneasiness and Fear Mrs. Clare was well prepared for her culturally diverse first grade students this school year. She was looking forward to learning more about the five different countries and cultures represented in her classroom. She had completed all of the required courses to successfully earn her ESL (English as a Second Language) teaching endorsement. She was very aware of how to enrich her lessons to accommodate second language learners. What Mrs. Clare was not prepared for was the uneasiness and fear that overwhelmed the parents of the students who were not ESL pupils. One parent in particular complained to Mrs. Clare that her child was being harassed by another student in the classroom. When Mrs. Clare inquired about the identity of the "bully," the parent did not know the name of the student who was bothering her child. However, the parent mentioned to Mrs. Clare that the student causing trouble was one of the "foreign" boys with the dark hair and real dark skin. Mrs. Clare did not expect adults to react in this manner about a classroom of typical six year old students. Questions: 1. How can Mrs. Clare prepare herself for the challenges involved in teaching culturally diverse students? 2. Is it possible to convey to parents the importance of being open minded in their outlook of the culturally diverse world? 3. How can Mrs. Clare ease the tensions of the concerned parents? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) 1. Mrs. Clare needs to be ready to explain some of her students' culture to other people, whether the other people are her students, their parents, other teachers, etc. If she sees each student for who they are, she'll be much more equipped to teach them and to explain their behaviors. 2. I think it's definitely possible and absolutely necessary to explain the importance of being open minded to parents. It is definitely crucial to keep in mind to be tactful when doing so. If she could apologize to parents for the other students' behavior without degrading their cultures, I think she can be successful in helping her students' parents understand the importance of having a culturally diverse mindset. 3. Mrs. Clare needs to discuss the different customs of her students with all of the parents. I think many times children from all types of backgrounds have different ideas of social norms, and a lot of times these ideas come into play in the classroom. One student may stand closer or talk louder than another student is comfortable with, and it is often perceived as rudeness. If Mrs. Clare explains to the parents that it isn't intentional harassment, I think the parents would be much more at ease. |
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