Reaching Our Students and Their Parents

Reaching our Students and their Parents



In today’s society we are blessed with the opportunity of working with a diverse group of students. Parents and students from all types of cultures and religions are attending New York City public schools. Although, this is a wonderful thing it can also be quite challenging for us as educators. As we read in the Gollnick and Chin book, knowing our geography, as educators, is vital in order to better serve our students. If we know our geography we can research and understand what we may be dealing with within a certain culture or religion. In addition it will give us a brief understanding which will allow us to adapt what ever may be necessary in order for our parents and students to be more comfortable.
Educating students can be quite a challenge especially if that student is from a different culture. Having parents and students adapt or appreciate cultures other than their own can also be a challenge in its self. Depending on where a person is from, their educational background and the teaching style they were taught may be different to American teaching styles according to the King and Wang book. Throughout the world students are taught in different styles whether it be through lecture and memorization or through play. It is our job as educators to find the best style for each student.
It may be somewhat easier for us as educators to help students ‘understand and appreciate cultures and races other than their own’ (Hot Topics by Dr. King) than their parents. As people get older they are more established and set in their ways than younger children. Children are more adaptable. In order to help the parents of my students I would probably hold a cultural evening. This would be an evening where I would invite parents to visit the classroom and make a dish form their home country. I would decorate the room using flags and a little description. The descriptions would be placed next to the flags as well as a few pictures of that country. I would also make sure that all descriptions were written in all the languages that the parents speak. I think this would be a great initial way for the parents to be introduced to different cultures and races within the classroom.
Another way to get parents to be more accepting would be to hold different cultural holiday parties. This can only be done if all of the students’ holidays are known. The teacher would do some background research on each holiday and try and incorporate all aspects of the holiday in to this event. For example the teacher may have a Hanukah party. At the party they would discuss why Jewish people celebrate this holiday and some of the activities that take place.
When dealing with our students I feel that it is somewhat easier for us to get them to accept different culture and races. Teachers can start off by making sure the set up of their classrooms are culturally diverse (Sheets, 2005, p67+). This can be done by placing materials in the classroom that are culturally diverse such as books, multicultural crayons, maps, multicultural dolls and many, many more. The initial set up can be vital as the student will be reading, seeing and doing things with these materials everyday. If the student enjoys everything that is done in the class then there is a high chance that they will be accepting of other cultures and races.
In addition to the setup of the classroom teachers should also be aware of what the students can bring into the classroom. Whatever culture or race the students are from they will always have something to offer. A good way to incorporate what they may know about a certain subject could be by using a KWL chart (Know, want to know and learned chart). This is a great way for students to work collaboratively on a certain subject while also incorporating what they know on this particular subject (Peregoy and Boyle, 2005, P74+). When teachers allow their students to work collaboratively on school work they are also allowing the students to build mini communities. By building mini communities the students are making friends with their peers. Making friends is a basic human need. When students make friends they are also mixing with other students’ cultures and races. While doing this they also help each other construct peer acceptance and self esteem (Sheets, 2005, p69).
In today’s society accepting other races and cultures is vital. If we do not accept other people the world will always be at war and lives will be lost. If we teach our students and their parents from early on to be more accepting we will start the cycle to a safer world where everyone can live in harmony. All of the above are just some of the ways in which we as educators can start this process, but there are many more ways in which we can help our students and their parents be more accepting of others.


References

Gollnick, D.M., & Chinn, P.C. (2008). Multicultural
education in a pluralistic society (8th ed.). Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Merril/Pearson.

King, K.P. & Wang, V. (Eds.). (2007). Comparative adult
education around the globe. Hangzhou. PR China: Zheijiang University Press. Worldwide distribution: Transformation Education LLC.

Peregoy, S.F. & Boyle, O.F. (2005). Reading, Writing And
Learning In ESL (4TH ed.) Pearson Education, Inc.
Boston, MA.

Sheets, R.H. (2005). Diversity Pedagogy Examining the Role
of Culture in the Teaching-Learning Process. Pearson
Education, Inc. Boston, MA.