How do you define “global awareness”? Do you consider yourself a globally aware person?
Global awareness is a conceptual understanding based upon applicable knowledge of global and cultural perspectives. The understanding of concepts that impact the world include environmental, social, cultural, biological, and economic relations. Being globally aware also means being aware of diversity and recognizing both differences and commonalities among groups of people. Recognition for the globally aware person leads to a better understanding of people from across the world. Differences and commonalities can include ethnicity, language, religion, age, gender, culture, cognitive ability, life experiences, family situations and sexual orientation. Being globally aware in the largest sense is recognizing, despite differences, that the world is a whole and not separated by the people in it they are categorized by the above items. I think I am globally aware, but I've only touched the tip of the iceberg. Conceptually I understand the idea and the agree whole heartedly the worlds' people are simply part of humanity first and all of the other labels fall into place behind that. However, for I that I do know about my own culture and others,' I recognize there is so much more to know. The more I learn the less I know...But, the global awareness that I have serves as a catalyst always to learn more and to become more aware.
Do you think internationalization/global issues should have a central place in a school’s curriculum? Explain your reasoning.
In order for the world to truly be viewed as a whole instead of separated by its individual parts I think international and global issues definitely have a place in the classroom. Global citizens can only be global citizens...good ones...if they know what is going on around the world. The issues that are important some some cultures or groups may or may not be as centrally important to another, but being aware of events can help us understand each other. You learn about a group when you learn about what they value. When I came to Russia I felt like a was on my to be globally aware. I had been to Germany before and I love to learn about other cultures even though I hadn't traveled to a large number of places. But after my trip I realized I can see the world through another lens. Experiencing another language, customs, and people can open your eyes to things and in ways I never new could be. And, it is interesting that many of the people in Russia during my trip new about what was going on in other parts of the world, but especially the U.S.. I knew I was coming to Russia so I tried to catch up on my current events, but that is different that actively staying aware of what is going on in other parts of the world. I was a little embarrassed to admit I didn't know much about Russian history too, which is absolutely jaw dropping and worth getting to know. Knowing the history of a place can help understand too why they handle current issues the way they do and how it might be better to approach a solution. I also think if global issues got a place in the school curriculum it would be a gateway into opening up cross-cultural communication. Students could talk across the world with students from another classroom and wouldn't that be amazing!? That would really be active learning. This type of activity would make it easier for students to travel to places of other cultures because part of the struggle of being immersed in another culture is communicating. Once people communicate with each other about issues important to them it makes the situation more human and more real. I can't think of a better way to promote cultural awareness, acceptance, and tolerance. Yes. The answer is yes.
Describe three categories/characteristics commonly used to compare culture groups.
Biology - Typically people who belong to a culture group will share common physical characteristics. Human beings are made up of hereditary units called genes. Culture is part of human biology which make cultural and genetic influences on human behavior intertwined. Evolving genes and culture play a role in human behavior. We need both bodies and brains to have culture...
Religion - Is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that relate humanity to spirituality and sometimes (often times) moral values. Many groups of people share a religion and often times it is the basis for moral and ethical codes of conduct, explain the origins of life, and give meaning to life. Religions are practiced differently and many of them have a public aspect such as organized worship and hierarchy within a group of religious people.
Language - Typically refers to a medium of communication and usually specific to the human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems from oral to visual. The use of language is deeply entrenched in culture and can even have social and cultural uses. All languages use certain signs to represent meaning and evolve and develop over time. The human use of grammar and semantics makes our language unique when compared to animal communication.
How might you incorporate cultural awareness into your teaching?
I'm still to figure out all the ways I can do this but here are a few ideas:
Cultural Cafe (Lesson 2012) - Students can participate in a cultural cafe where the class is divided up by groups and each group will learn about a different culture on a topic, like dining, or they will learn about different aspect of one culture. Each group will be responsible for investigating their topic and then perform a skit or deliver the information in another way to educate the other groups. This way the whole class can learn about culture without having to do all the investigate. I got this idea from my MSL class and have used it in my classroom once already. It was a such a good idea and it can easily be modified for instructional needs. The groups can be given the material to do research from in lowers grades (prepared packets on envelopes or paper bags for them to choose info from) or they can be given websites in upper level courses and they can be in charge of finding their own information on a given topic.
Completing current events on a weekly basis is something I like to do, especially trying to relate it to the topics on hand. Students are more interested when they get to choose things they like and I think this can be done by giving them a theme to search for events for. For example, if we are talking about the civil war in social studies so maybe they bring in articles about the middle east which is where U.S. is participating in war where many of our students have parents doing time for the U.S.. Having some connection can be more a motivation to research the areas in question, which can help in the long run by aiding the student in understanding why the "enemy's" culture and perspectives encourage the behavior that occurs there...and even why the U.S. acts the way they do because of their history and culture. I think these deep issues are important to global progress in the future. These types of events can even be posted to Edmodo or Twitter and shared with the other class members. Students could start following their friends current events and then have an even larger accumulation of events! Another way to really get active with these is to develop a partnership with schools from across the world and talk with them about the issues one-on-one with skype or some other virtual video chat engine.
The biggest way to promote cultural awareness to introduce the human key. We are all human and all have the same type of reactions to our environments and people around us. Just talking about other cultures and their similarities or differences can be a big help in sparking interests. Getting the "WHAT?!" reaction is often a good starting point. In middle school especially just say something out of the ordinary...shock them! Sometimes it only takes a conversation or leaving a souvenir around that students get interested in and then BAM a doorway is open to talk about interesting stuff they've never head of before. I think a teacher should be able to travel during their summers or off time and come back to the school year with new experiences, objects to share, pictures to show...make the education personal as possible even if the students aren't able to physically travel to a foreign place themselves. In order to teachers to really know I think experiencing other cultures is a must. While I was in Russia I tried to keep very regular entries on this wikispace to share with my classroom at home (Russia is in the curriculum).
Introducing more languages into our school systems would be another aspect of this (the above mentioned)! In the linguistic gymnasium in Pskov, Russia...a very small school...students can learn Swedish, English, German, French, Finnish, and continue their native language studies (Russian). That is amazing! It seems to me that in learning another language one should probably also be learning about the culture...it makes fore better connections that stick! When I took Spanish in high school, the only offered language, our teacher did a pot luck dinner with us where we all prepared a presentation and cooked food then presented it to the class and visitors in our cafeteria. It was the most memorable event of my Spanish studies and I still know how to make churros! Today I think it should be no problem to be able to find and afford a language instructor....with as much technology as we have and virtual classrooms (not to mention distance education possibilities at the university level that our lower levels could borrow from or partner with) teachers could be in a country thousands of miles away and still be giving class in the U.S. or wherever. If language is happening in the school more communication can take place within the school between students for practice and then it would be easier to encourage study abroad options like student exchanges. The school system would be preparing the students! I went to Germany in high school and I was prepared enough to make it, but it would have been phenomenal to have spoken the language! And, if you learn about something in language class this is a way to connect curriculum because events and topics in this class can be connection to the cultural activities in the language arts classroom and the social studies classroom. Disciplines are not actually separate people!
Using up to 10 terms or phrases, describe your cultural identity.
Diverse Mixture
Southern American base
Collection of experienced and borrowed items
Language: Spanish and Russian (some German and some Czech)
Culture: Russian and Azerbaijan and Jewish
Styles of dress and costumes
Perspectives (time, values, etc.)
Entertainment and activities
Spirital Nature
Musical Nature: Recently added - Russian Folk
In what ways might a teacher’s cultural identity influence the way they teach?
People tend to be products of their environments and while I can say that there are always broken cycles it is a hard thing to do. We suspect that education can help encourage a cycle break, but not necessarily. If a person grew up in a family who was racist (maybe not even openly but at least at dinner table conversation and in personal practices of not communicating or interacting with other races) in the south and their family members participated in the current war in the middle east and for generations back all the men were republican armed forces members [hang in there, it is specific for a reason] and they were never allowed to be friends, communicate, date, etc. with a person from another race or culture...how easy will it be for that teacher to truly present a lesson on cultural acceptance? What if that same person had farmers in their family during the immigration issues going on in the U.S. some time back when "Mexicans were taking all the jobs!" What if they believed this? How can that teacher even dare to make educational materials that encompass all types of people in their classroom so it doesn't seem like the teacher only cares about the white kids or for that matter even shine a good light on the non-white kids? I apologize if some of this seems a little tactless, but this is reality. I'm from the south and I've experienced people like this. What about if this teacher was also a strict southern baptist. We all know religion teaches acceptance...or does it? Not all people can separate their religious practice from their human nature. Don't get me wrong...I'm not staying religion is bad, but what have Christians in general had the tendency to do in our nation? What about the Native Americans? Enough said. It is a delicate balance we speak of. Not everyone can do the dance. How can the teacher with all of these things working against them view their white students and their African, African-American, Arabic, Muslim, Spanish, Jewish, Catholic...I can tell you. It can happen. It takes work. It takes education. It takes cultural awareness and global experience. Without the heart for it it is possible it still may not happen...culture runs deeps. I think the consequences are clear when a teacher's identity clashes with all the values of today's education system. Students get harsh treatment or ignored...we are all equal in word, but not in action. Students stop being viewed as people and start being viewed as someone teachers can yell at, talk down to, give harsh grades that aren't relative the growth they did make at all...This is how students are lost. However, if you have a teacher who accepts their own cultural identity and wants to share it while learning about others at the same time this can be a mutually befitting combination. How about if that teacher has multiple cultural identities? Then that teacher is a plethora of information without ever going to google! Cultural identity can really play part in how a teacher teaches their students...with global networks forming all the time though it is a hope and goal that the type of teachers entering the work force will be less like the example above and more like the kind of teacher's mentioned at the end. I see myself as a mutt of culture. My parents ancestry is English and Irish. I've been told I laugh like a gypsy...I look Turkish...and even been mistaken for Russian on multiple occasions. I love the culture of the Spanish though I look nothing like them...but their music and dance are part of my every day life. The language too is something I use to communicate with my work mates. A dear friend of mine told me since we came to Russia he sees his home town through a different pair of eyes and it makes him love it even more, but he still wants to go out and experience more too. I think this is great. I feel the same way. Experiencing a new culture gives something to you that is almost indescribable, but it is like your cultural identity expands...you become more whole of a person with each new addition. We need teachers who have experienced this and want to help students achieve this too. Then our teaching would really could change the world.
Consider a time when you talked with someone from another culture. How did this conversation differ from one with someone from your own culture?
The content of conversations across cultures is usually the same given my experience. People are people no matter where you go. They want to know about you as a guess...What are your opinions on politics, life in their city, FOOD, religion, the weather, etc. What a person's experiences are make them who they are and people want to know about other people's experiences. After introductions are through and "small talk" so-to-speak is out of the way the real connections start to be made. We all try to find something with someone else we can connect with. Relationships are all about connections! Some examples: I have young son (or family), I like to cook, I'm a musician or barman, and my impressions are...In some cases their are language barriers and probably more often than not so typically this is a challenge with international cross culture communication. Despite language barriers though there are plenty of people usually willing to help with the task...friends get pulled from left and right to try to translate what is going on. Places our conversations take place are the same too: streets, social gatherings, during work, over food and drinks, etc... Acquaintances usually get the reserved responses or approaches, but friend to friend in every culture seems the same...open and more relaxed...revealing if you will. We all tell jokes, make fun with and at each other, express concerns and relations. Since our words aren't the only thing we communicate with we have to mention body language. This can be different for different cultures. For example, there may be close talkers and far away talkers. Of course, with any group of people their may be social situations that change the way we communicate and the content of our communication.
What are some strategies you will implement to effectively teach students from different cultural background?
The first and most important strategy is to accept that you don't know everything and be okay with letting students teach you sometimes. That is how a real community works after all. I had two students in my classroom in America from Jordan, one of which had only been in the states 6-7 months. All it took was asking about them to find out their first language and the difficulties they had with their classes. I immediately put them in a buddy system together and placed next to two students who could provide support for them when I was engaged but they still needed help. I developed extra lessons for them to supplement our classroom studies to try and help more connection making and signed agendas between them and their parents almost everyday to ensure communication was kept between all the parties involved. I tried to learn Arabic and even started writing "Good Job" on their papers this way. I tried to show them I had just as much to learn as they did and it became a mutually benefiting relationship. I developed special vocabulary tasks for them to aid them with difficult words I knew they would encounter in upcoming texts to help them get a head start and tried to promote a community feel in the classroom itself as much as possible.
The biggest way to promote teaching students from different cultural backgrounds as well as teaching them is to promote a safe and accepting classroom environment. Students need to know their culture is important (where they come, their language, their customs, their experiences, their world!) When students feel like they can bring their world's to class with them, bring themselves as they are...they are so much more willing to listen to whatever is being taught. I try to show my students I value their backgrounds and experience and languages...I ask questions, I share my own experiences, let them teach me, share with me, and take the information I get to develop plans and approaches. All the strategies in the world don't mean a thing if you use them on the wrong audience. This means differentiation to the max sometimes but it is totally worth the work. A subliminal way to show people that their culture matters is to develop lesson plans that incorporate parts of their culture! This could be the images used, the customs talked about, or parts of language used...any way to add culture, especially culture from the diverse students of the class. Bridges into lessons are a great way to find out what students do at home, find important, don't find important, have experienced or not, etc.
How do you define “global awareness”? Do you consider yourself a globally aware person?