As a special education teacher I often have to participate in eligibility review meetings for my students. Such was the case a few weeks ago when I had to participate in an eligibility meeting for one of my students, "Juan". Also present at the meeting were the school psychologist, "Juan's" mother, and an interpreter since "Juan's" mother did not speak English.
The school psychologist explained all the various assessments and the results. One assessment entailed "Juan" drawing a picture himself in the rain. The psychologist noted that since "Juan" drew himself in the rain without an umbrella or any sought of protection from the rain that this meant that he had no coping and problem solving skills. While the interpreter was translating the results, "Juan's" mother started laughing. She replied that in her culture it is believed that allowing the rain to fall on your body would bring you good luck. Children actually enjoyed playing in the rain. She also said that if you let the rain fall on you on a certain month and day of the year that you would have good luck for the rest of the year.
There it was that the school psychologist had branded him as having no skills to solve problems or the cope with daily problems when the student's action was quite normal in his culture and native country. In his native country his family would have concluded that he had good problem solving skills for not seeking shelter because they believe that rain brings good luck.
The point of this story is that school system must ensure that tall members of their professional staff are culturally competent so that they can successfully meet the needs of all students.
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3 comments:
Being aware and sensitive to cultural differences is key to making a difference with students of varied background. One can not assume that every child or adult ethnic, cultural and social backgrounds are the same. Training is necessary for educators, other professions, and students to learn and respect the diversity we all bring to the table.
Frank
How well I can relate to this. Having worked with students of cultural, ethnic, and social backgrounds. I had an experience that proved quite disturbing initially, whenever I would talk to this particular student, he would avert his eyes. For me eye contact is very important and conveys to me that one is listening attentively; as per my cultural background this student portrayed the utmost disrespect. Thankfully I did not press the issue and sought other assistance, during which I found that his behavior according to his culture was one of respect for those in positions of authority. Therefore, it is extremely important for educators to become culturally competent when working with as large a diverse populous as can be found in the educational setting.
I agree that this is so important. In our school we are seeing a growing number of Mexican Immigrants and have had to educate our staff on many of the cultural differences. Support can always be attained if you know how to approach it.
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