 |
Home
| How It Works
| Stats
Login | Register |
|
Case: Don't Hold Hands Ade and Elsa are two 7th grade girls from Indonesia who joined our school couple months ago. I teach them Physical Science. They have well-developed English skills. Although they have an accent, they can communicate with teachers and fellow students. I am very sensitive to the needs of newly-arrived immigrant students, so I paid close attention when I heard rumors from other students about them. Students started spreading that Ade and Elsa were in a lesbian relationship. Apparently Ade and Elsa heard about the rumors; they came to me in tears. I asked them to tell me what was going on. What I found out was very interesting. Ade and Elsa have known each other since they were small children and they have always been best friends. Their families decided to move to the US together. Their fathers applied for jobs in the same company. They both received offers and moved together. Ade and Elsa were excited about going to the same school in US and continuing their friendship. In Indonesia, same-gender friends holding hands is very common and indicates friendship. When children at our school saw Ade and Elsa holding hands they thought that Ade and Elsa were in a lesbian relationship. I have to do something about this. I see two options before me: I will explain to the children in my classes that friends holding hands in some cultures is completely normal, or I will tell Ade and Elsa to not hold hands to avoid these rumors. The second option seems culturally insensitive, but if Ade and Elsa continue holding hands, rumors will continue even if I explain to my students the cultural side of their friendship. What should I do? If you have an original solution to this issue, please advice. Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) It's important to realize that this is not a problem situation - it's a great time for a lesson on cultural diversity. I would comfort the two girls and explain to them why the other students thought they were a couple, and also explain to them that the other students were being culturally insensitive and that they should BE WHO THEY ARE. After that, I would take the first 5 minutes of all my classes and explain to all students why making assumptions and spreading rumors was the wrong thing to do. I would use this as a time to teach the U.S. students a lesson about the importance of not being ignorant and making decisions without all the information. It is hard for young children to realize that there is an entire world out there that is completely different than ours, but what better time than this to show them that. |
||
Rating
|
||||||||||||||||||