Caroline Ginder

4/26/17

Culture Questions

1. You are a 4th grade teacher with a new boy in your class from an Arab nation. He
speaks very little English. He is having a problem getting along with the other
students. He has fights on the playground every day, which he seems to provoke by
constantly touching the other boys.
When dealing with a boy from an Arab nation, as a teacher I must realize that this age in
America boys do not come in contact with one another unless they are playing sports or fighting.
So when a boy from an Arab nation begins constantly touching the American boys, this will
provoke a fight. If you explain to the Arab boy that this behavior is different in America and you
do the same for the American boys that he is provoking, then these students can be more aware
and notice when they are provoking this.
2. You have a new Korean girl in your 4th grade class. The other students in your
class don’t want to sit next to her because they say she smells funny. You have a
bad allergy and can’t tell. She appears to be a clean, well-dressed child and you
don’t understand your students’ objections.
Due to the different types of food this Korean student might eat that create this scent, the other
students might not be familiar with the scent. This all stems from cultural awareness and cultural
responsive teaching. If I want to fix this, as a teacher, I should spend some time baking or
cooking in class to make students understand that different cultures value different foods. By
making your students aware, this could help them not be rude to the little girl.
3. You are a 3rd grade teacher who is having a parent conference with parents of an
Asian student in your class. You explain to the parents that the child needs to
spend more time working on his homework. The parents keep nodding and saying
“yes” as you explain your reasons. You are disappointed when there doesn’t seem
to be any follow-up on the parents’ part.
As a teacher it is important to communicate with the parents, so a parent teacher conference is
the right first step. Although you already talked to them, it is important that you get in touch with
them again and verify that they knew what you were expecting from their child. In all parts of
Asia, education is valued and teachers are treated with the utmost respect. The next step would
be to communicate with the student and make sure they are understanding what you are asking.
Students in many of the Asian cultures are told how important education is and although some
have many resources to succeed, some of them are left to do it on their own. The student might
be more independent and responsible for their own work so it is important to communicate what
is needed from the student directly to the student.
4. You are a 5th grade teacher who is using a lot of cooperative learning strategies in
your classroom. In the middle of the year you get a new Arab boy in your class.
The student doesn’t follow any of the rules you have explained through a bilingual
classmate. He is very disruptive in your class.
According to the book, GCC and Arab students have a hard time changing environments. This
makes me think that this student just might need some time adjusting. Learning about this
student’s culture will help the teacher be culturally competent and understand where this student
might be coming from. At their old school this student might have had a much more intense
classroom with lots of homework. This student could be acting out because they might not be
taking school seriously as much as they were before. The language is not similar at all so this
student could also need some more one on one help from an adult to translate and explain
directions. Be very clear with what you expect from this student and they will be more likely to
understand the new environment.
5. You are a 6th grade teacher with your first student from China. She came with an
excellent report card from her school in China. She is outstanding in math but
can’t seem to learn to read.
This student might have never learned the basics of reading in English so in order to be sure that
the student understand, you must go back to the beginning and teach them to decode the
beginning phonics. This is one major difference that Chinese students have and will struggle
with when coming to American schools.
6. You are Ms. Smith, a 3rd grade teacher. You don’t think your new student from
Egypt is placed in the correct grade. You set up a meeting with the parents to
discuss placing the child correctly. The student’s father comes in to see you but
doesn’t seem to take your concerns seriously.
First, it is important to understand that many ELL students will take a while before you are able
to assess them because they might take a while to open up to a new environment. Egypt has a
92% literacy rate but many of the classrooms are so overcrowded that some students don’t have
desks. This would be difficult as a student to learn in a classroom that is that crowded. In high
poverty communities, there is a big lack of English teachers, so students might be behind in
English learning. It is important to be clear when talking to the parents about your concerns and
why they need to be fixed. It is also important to give the student some time in your classroom
before immediately sending him to a different classroom. Whether the student is more advanced
or less advanced, it is important to understand the background of why the student was placed in
your class and the benefits that the student could get from being placed in your classroom.
7. You are a first-grade teacher. A Korean student comes into your class in April.
During a discussion of age and birthdays, this student says that she is 8 years old.
The other students in your class are turning seven. The office tells you that she has
been correctly placed.
Due to the fact that many Koreans celebrate the Lunar New Year, they also gain a year when
February and January come around. So if the child was born before this, then the student could
have gained an extra year. Some students will then lose a year when they move to America so as
the teacher or as the administration, this could be an important topic of discussion with the
students’ parents.
8. Guadelupe is a smiling 3rd grader from Argentina. She seems well-mannered and
eager to please. However, when you speak to her she refuses to look at you.
The reason that Guadelupe might be doing this is due to the culture she is from and the fact that
it could be considered to be rude to look at anyone that is of higher status in the eye. Explaining
this to the student could be difficult but it just might take time for her to adjust to the new
environment.
9. You are a 4th grade teacher who wants to write a quick note home to an ESL
student’s family. You pick up the red pen that you use to mark papers and write
the note. When you hand the note to the student, she looks upset.
Using the same pen that you grade papers with could be potentially insulting to a student or the
family at first glance. Next time use a normal pen or type because in some cultures the color red
is a symbol of death or bad fortune.
10. The Japanese mother of one of your 1st graders picks up her child every day at
your door. You are upset because this mother seems unfriendly. She never smiles
at you and you wonder if you have done something to offend her.
Many Japanese adults only smile as a sign of knowing someone well or smiling at their friends
or family. If this parent does not know you well then they might not find it necessary or
appropriate to smile at you. Try to introduce yourself or get to know her better in order for her to
warm up and possibly get to know you on a more personal level.
11. Haitian brothers Jean-Baptiste and Jean-Pierre are often late for school. They are
also each absent about once a week but on different days.
There are many reasons that these brothers might be late and not show up to school. There is a
chance that these students have a big family and one of them might need to babysit for a younger
sibling. There is also a chance that the students don’t have clean clothes for both students on the
same day. Talk to the parents and see what you could do to help or send work home with one of
the brothers so they do not fall too far behind.
12. Your new Kurdish student seems to be sick all the time. He is lethargic and doesn’t
seem to even try to learn what you are teaching him.
Coming into a new culture or place can make students or anyone suffer from major culture
shock. Being sick and lethargic could come from this culture shock. Make sure to ask the student
if he is starting to settle in or find out how you can help him feel more at home and comfortable.
Culture shock takes a while to go away and once the student starts to feel more comfortable and
get used to the new environment they will begin to feel better.
13. A Russian student, who has learned English and is able to do much of the work in
your 4th grade classroom, copies work from other students during tests. When you
talk to him about this, he doesn’t seem at all contrite. His parents act like you’re
making a big deal about nothing.
In Russia coping or cheating off of someone else’s paper is not looked at the same as it is in
America. In Russia there are many things like this that are looked over because students are
allowed to do basically whatever they need in order to succeed and cheating is not considered
that bad. In order for this student to understand you must make it clear that in America, it is
much different in terms of cheating. Tell the student and the parents that it is not accepted in any
America schools.
14. You have a Puerto Rican student in the 3rd grade who speaks English fluently. She
participates orally in your classroom and socializes well with her peers. She even
translates for other students. However, she is doing very poorly in her content area
schoolwork.
Students that come to America as ELLs might only know Basic Interpersonal Communication
Skills (BICS) rather than knowing Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency skills (CALP).
This is the difference between “playground” language and academic language. Before the
student can learn content area schoolwork then they must know CALP. You must be aware of
this and not doubt that the child is trying. It is important to do vocabulary lessons in order for this
student to succeed.
15. Your 4th grade Malaysian student seems to be very good at Math. He gets “100”
on his spelling tests. No one in your class knows the names of the state capitals
better than he does. However, he seems to have a hard time comprehending a
simple reading passage.
This student might be suffering from bad comprehension. He might be just using his
memorization skills and decoding skills in order to look like he is understanding and
remembering the state capitals. Be sure that this student learns or actually knows how to read and
is not tricking you into thinking he is able to read.
16. Some of your most advanced ESL students do not understand many of the
geometric concepts which are taught in American classrooms starting in
kindergarten.
In many other countries, some geometry won’t be taught until much later in their academics.
This might not happen until 5th or 6th grade. In America we are taught these concepts starting at a
young age, yearly. Make sure to go back to the basics or help the students catch up in order to be
successful.
17. Thi Lien is a new student from Viet Nam. She seems bright and alert but gets no
help from home. The papers you send home are still in her backpack the next day.
Important correspondence is never acknowledged. She doesn’t do homework and
forgets to bring back library books. Her home life appears to be very disorganized.
Thi Lien’s parents will most likely have very high respect for me, the teacher, so the first thing to
do would be to not assume that the teachers do not care. Vietnamese people culturally have a
great value for education. As an educator, the most important aspect is communication. The
language and dialect is so different that it could be a miscommunication that Thi Lien did not
think she needed to give certain papers to her parents. In Vietnam, the teacher is the “ruler” type
figure. Rather than thinking that the parents are disorganized, it could be that the parents and Thi
Lien think that all academics are done in the classroom and there is not much more to do on the
outside. Having a discussion with Thi and her parents might be beneficial to check if you are all
on the same page. You might have to remind her to write these things down and make sure she
remembers that these things are important to learn in school.
18. Pablo is a well-mannered boy from Colombia. He insists on calling you “Teacher”
instead of your name which you are sure he knows.
Pablo probably does know your name but he is expected to call you “maestras/os” as a sign of
respect. Teachers are meant to be called this because it comes from a Latin word that refers to
someone with a high level or expertise. This typically would prepare the students for secondary
education where the students must call their educators “professor”. Rather than asking Pablo to
call you by your name, accept that he calls you Teacher because this is a part of his culture that is
showing you respect. He may or may not catch on or evolve the more he hears other students
calling you by your name. You might also want to talk with him and tell him that it is also
respectful to call you what other students call you in our culture.
19. Hung is a bright ESL student in your 3rd grade class. He listens to you attentively
and follows directions well. However, he is very rude when a classmate is speaking.
He either talks to his neighbor or daydreams. He never joins in any class
discussions.
In many cultures the teachers are the only one the students are told to listen to. This would
explain why Hung does not listen to his peers because he does not think he needs to listen to
them. One thing would be to explain to Hung that this is rude and that he must listen to his
classmates because it will be helpful to him. You can also ask Hung to repeat what is classmates
said so he has to listen.
20. You are a 3rd grade teacher. Your new student speaks Arabic. He seems to hold
his pencil in a very clumsy way and has a great deal of difficulty even copying work
in English.
When this student writes in Arabic he writes from right to left and writing the opposite way
might be difficult for him to get used to. You should show him the correct way to write from left
to write and how to hold his pencil. It just might take time for him to get used to this new
concept.
21. Maria is a Mexican student whose attendance in your 6th grade class is very poor.
It is affecting her academic performance. After an absence of several days, you ask
her why she was out and she explains that her aunt was sick and her family went to
help her. Although you explain the importance of good attendance in school, the
same thing happens a few weeks later. You wonder if Maria’s family considers
education important.
In Marias family, it is very important to take care of other family members. They are very rich in
their Mexican culture and traditions. There is also a possible disconnect between me (the
teacher) and Maria’s family. The parents of Maria probably leave it up to you to do the education
so the parents might not be as involved as other parents in the education process. They still care,
they just probably aren’t involved. If I were trying to get Maria more involved and coming to
class, I would try to integrate her culture, as well as all students’ cultures in order to relate and
understand Marias home life. I cannot just assume that I know everything about Marias family
and culture, I must ask her and have her explain.
22. Mei, a new student from China, is scheduled to begin your 4th grade class in the
middle of the school year. On the day she registers, she is introduced to your class
and shown where she will sit. She is to begin school the next morning. You arrive in
your classroom at 7:45 a.m. for a day that begins at 8:30. Mei is waiting at her desk
in the dark. The custodian tells you that she arrived at 7:00 a.m.
Due to the difference in time that schools start in China, Mei might think that she needs to be at
school much earlier. You must clearly communicate to Mei that this is not the correct time and
tell her what the correct time is. You might need a bilingual student to communicate this to her if
it seems like it’s confusing her.
23. Korean parents bring you a gift because you have helped their child. You open it
and thank them profusely for their generosity. The parents look uncomfortable.
In Korea, opening a gift in front of the gift giver is completely inappropriate. It is considered to
be a very serious thing to give someone a gift. When you receive a gift from Korean parents or
students make sure to open it after they have left.
24. You notice that a Muslim child in your classroom refuses to take a sheet of paper
from a classmate. This isn’t the first time this has occurred.
If the student is holding the paper in their left hand, then the Muslim student will not take it. This
is considered to be the unclean hand that you use when you use the restroom. It is also
disrespectful to try to shake with that hand as well. Tell the student to switch hands next time and
give it to the student from their right hand.
25. You have applied for a cultural trip for teachers to China. You know that you will
be meeting other teachers along the way. You buy small gifts for them and wrap
them in white tissue paper. At your first stop during the trip the recipients of your
gifts upset.
In China, wrapping the gifts in Red would be a much happier symbol and idea. Wrapping them
in white could be a sign of death or a funeral and it is not a good way to give gifts.
26. Thu is a 6th grade girl from Thailand. She becomes hysterical when the other girls
tease her by playfully mussing up her hair. Her parents have to come to school and
take her home. While you understand her need to look tidy, you think she has
over-reacted.
In Thailand it is considered very disrespectful and inappropriate for anyone to touch each other’s
heads. The head is where our souls exist in Thai and this is very important to keep sacred and not
touch.
27. During a parent conference, you tell the parents of your Colombian ESL student
that their child is having difficulty in learning English. You suggest that they only
speak English in their home. The parents look confused. When you relay this
conversation to the ESL teacher in your school, she is very upset.
It is important to realize that this is rude to assume that the parents should be able to just start
speaking only English. Many of the same concepts will just take time to transfer from the
student’s native language to English. Never ask a student or their parents to forget about their
native language and only speak English.
28. You are a 4th grade teacher. You have a friendly boy in your class from the
Dominican Republic. He speaks very little English in the classroom and doesn’t
seem to be making much progress. When you give him directions, he seems to be
confused. You are sure he is putting one over on you by pretending not to
understand because you have heard him speak with the other children on the
playground.
This student has clearly only been able to understand and learn the basic interpersonal
communication skills and has not learned CALP. You have to understand that it takes time being
in a new classroom to understand and fully comprehend academic language.
29. You are a fourth-grade math teacher. Ayumi is one of the brightest students in
your class. She has been in the country for 2 years and it is obvious her
background in math is superb. She cannot seem to understand the units on
fractions. You don’t know what to think.
In most other cultures and parts of the world, most fractions would be written as decimals. She
might not have ever learned how to convert or even read fractions. You must go back to the
basics of fractions and teach her how to understand the units on fractions.
30. As a reward for good work in your class you give students a packet of 4 pencils
with decorative erasers. Your Japanese students take two and leave two behind.
For Japanese students, two could be considered lucky. Whereas things that come in four is very
unlucky. In order to please these students give them only two pencils next time.
31. Jean Pierre is a 5th grade student from Haiti. Your class is studying long division.
Jean-Pierre hands in his completed paper in a short time. You are upset because he
has not completed the work. There is no work showing. You think the problem is
written backwards. Maybe the student has a perceptual problem.
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Students from Haiti do not need to show their work on a piece of paper or written anywhere. The
student works only mentally and have been taught this way since they were young. Explain to
the student that is important to show work and explain why. It might take them time to adapt.
32. An Egyptian student in your 3rd grade class is a good math student but becomes
disruptive when you teach a math lesson using math manipulatives.
This is something that for an Egyptian student might not be looked at as important. This is
something that is not taught in Egypt and when something is not familiar, they might think it is
not necessary to listen. Tell the student that this is important for them to listen to so they do not
fall behind.
33. You have a new 3rd grade student from Bosnia. During recess time, the child hides
under and bench and cannot be persuaded to come out.
First realize that the school system is much different where this student is from. The most
important thing to do is be sure that the communication is clear with the student. Talk to the
student before or after recess and discuss the problem with the student not listening and hiding
from the teachers or peers. If the student continues not to listen then the parents should be
contacted. The student might not feel welcome or might not understand why what they are doing
is odd or inappropriate. The concept of recess is something that also might be new to them so
take time to explain the reasoning for recess to the student and/or the parents.
34. You have new sixth grade student from Asia. The student appears to have an
attitude from the first day. Now he is out of his seat fooling around and you’ve just
motioned to him to come over to talk to you. He glares at you and seems even
angrier. What happened?
It might depend on the way that you motioned for the student to come over. You must be aware
of those differences in other cultures and not use those motions because they can mean very bad
things. The reasoning for him acting out could be due to culture shock and looking for attention.
Give the student time to adjust.
35. As your second-grade class lines up for a field trip, you count your students as you
walk down the line touching each of them on the head. You notice that several
students pull back from you.
This is something that could depend on the culture. In some cultures, like Asian cultures, it is bad
to touch students on the head. Refrain from touching any of the students on the head just in case.
36. You take photographs of your students working in small groups for a Back to
School Night. The grandmother of one of your Chinese students is very upset when
she sees your photo of her granddaughter.
This is something that could be considered bad luck in Chinese culture, especially for very
conservative Chinese people. Refrain from taking pictures of the Chinese students and especially
in threes because that is considered very bad luck.
37. You signal “O.K.” by making a “O” with your thumb and forefinger to a student
who has done a good job. Your 8th grade newcomer from Brazil looks very
shocked.
This is another symbol that can be seen as disrespectful or inappropriate in many cultures. It is
important to realize this and especially a student from Brazil, could consider this very rude.