W07 Feb, 15, 2022 Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom

 W07 Feb, 15, 2022 Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom

  Rigoberta Menchú Tum, indigenous from Guatemala and 1992 Nobel Price winner, once stated that culture is like a garden, where each one of us contributes with a flower. Following the analogy, we can compare the garden also to our classroom where the flowers are our students. A good gardener will learn and understand how to keep each flower growing together, to blossom in the proper season, 

  It was an empowering experience to learn about  Cross-cultural students in the classroom. With the global movement, we are living it will not be a surprise to have students from different cultures in my place. So culture can model from self-esteem, passing through the way the student will look and talk to the teacher, to the way the student will recognize the success or failure in his, her life, and others.

The experience I a going to narrate now is from teacher Mirtha Hamlet Tejeira Pintos, MDE, former Principal with 44 years of experience in the rural area of Uruguay, where she received many immigrants from Brazil. The Uruguayan students were in the rate of mid tolerance expressivity, Brazilians studetns are high tolerants. Manners, since urugayans at that time found fine take some bones with the hand, Brazilians used utensils.Uruguayans were very formal calling the teacher by the appropriate Maestra, while brazilians were informal caling aunty, aunty Maestra and finally , to show respect: Ma'am aunty Maestra. What united them all was the union of love, and the love of someone to teach them.

 Since I am living in São Paulo, stage for several cultures.Africans are very united, Haitians also. I used to say hello and some compliments in french  to some people from these places till we became acquaintances. Always smiling. They come from countries where the culture is comunitivism, meaning, they search the good for all .Japanese are more quiet, they walk as they are not seen you. Unless they are members of the church,, This is another scenario. Politness, education, serenity and service.

From America the concept of having a bubble of private space. Sounds weird for a Latin American, but always must be respected. and thinking carefully, is appropriate. This is a concept that must be taken, debated, princially here in Brazil. I don't know if everybody will accept, but I conclude everybody must know and respect. Europeans, Scandinavians also adhere this concept These areas are more like individualism, their focus is to individual, instead of group.

"Education, as the light of the Sun, can and might, get to all" -Jos'e Pedro Varela

My question is, How would you investigate about your student culture , without being so invasive?

Regards, Claudia