Friday, May 20, 2011

Cultural Influences (713)

Cultural Influences
Over the past years, my school’s climate has drastically changed.  The culture, race, and ethnicity have all become more diverse.  As I have watched the population change, I have come to realize that not one culture is the same and members of the same cultures are not the same.  We all come from different backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, values and beliefs that play a large role in our lives.   Therefore, it is obvious that we as teachers must be aware of different cultures norms, ideas, beliefs, etc.  It often is frustrating trying to keep up with the ever changing world but we as teachers are not serving our students if we do not keep up with current views and values to incorporate into our classrooms. 
Society has placed many stereotypes of certain cultures.  For instance, Malcolm X commented on a previous educational experience “I realized that whatever I wasn’t, I was smarter than nearly all of those white kids.  But apparently I was not intelligent enough in their eyes to become whatever I wanted to be” (44).  During his time, African Americans were given the stereotype that they were not as smart as white students.  Prejudice beliefs gave African Americans a negative stereotype that still often follows them today.  As teachers, we must realize that this is not true and all children come from different backgrounds regardless of their race.  Being culturally aware, means realizing that society is constantly changing. 
Students come from different backgrounds that place different emphasizes on school.  If a child comes from an unsupportive family, then most likely his/her educational values will be different from a student whose family ranks education as a top priority.  A student’s behavior is often a result of what is seen at home.  Therefore teachers’ frustrations concerning specific behaviors are often unanswered due to the circumstances of a child’s background and culture.   

Thursday, May 12, 2011

How do we deal with someone who ALWAYS dominates meetings?

Most likely we have all experienced a dominating colleague.  Yes, I am talking about the one who always controls the meetings, does not like to hear others opinions, thinks their ideas are always the BEST, etc….  Is collaboration really taking place in a setting like this?  How can we call this collaboration? 
Dictionary.com defines collaboration as the act of working with one another on a joint activity and something created by working jointly.  Friend and Cook define seven principles of collaboration:  as voluntary, having parity, having mutual goals, sharing responsibility, resources and accountability.  For effective collaboration to take place we must consider the seven principles listed above.  Best results occur when ALL the seven principles come together.  Effective collaboration does not occur when ONE person controls everything. 
One may ask how can we ensure participation among all group members limiting the power from one person. Once a group has been formed, it will be extremely helpful if the group creates expectations and norms for all group members to follow. This will encourage the even distribution of jobs and power among all group members.  Group members should revisit their norms and expectations periodically to ensure successful collaboration.  One helpful suggestion is to have an agenda for every meeting.  This will ensure responsibilities among all group members and allow for group participation of what items to discuss.  Hopefully, this will create equal representation among all group members.