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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!) Mrs. Clare did an excellent job in preparing herself for the challenges involved in teaching culturally diverse students. There is not much that one can really do to prepare for these types of things. I feel that the best preparation comes with practice and experience. However, Mrs. Clare could have done more research. This research could involved the customs and beliefs of the different cultures. It is possible to covey to parents the importance of being open minded in their outlook of the culturally diverse world, but it is defiantly not easy! A lot of people are stuck in their ways and believe that their opinions are the only right ones. As a teacher, you also do not want to offend anyone. So, you are walking on a very fine line! I think that the best way to go about this, is just to tell the parents that our classroom is a place where no judgement or racism exists. Mrs. Clare can ease the tensions of concerned parents by just telling them that the classroom is a safe and fun place where their children come to learn. |
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