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Modeling Cultural Competence
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | March 11, 2009
The Search Institute in Minnesota has been conducting research to better understand what kids need to succeed. They have identified 40 concrete, positive experiences and qualities that they call “developmental assets” that appear to have a tremendous influence on young people’s lives. One of the asset categories they have identified is social competencies. In this category, the Search Institute has identified cultural competence as a developmental asset. They define a culturally competent young person as one “who has knowledge of and comfort with people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.”
There is a great list of ways that families can build cultural competencence in an article by Laura Stanton, Extension Agent, Family and Consumer Sciences, Community Development, Butler County, I have adapted these ideas to provide suggestions that teachers and mentors can use too. Stanton says, “Parents who wish to develop a culturally competent home environment first need to examine their own attitudes and behaviors” This is certainly true for teachers, mentors and counselors too, because “it is unreasonable to expect our children to behave in ways that we do not.”
The article reminds us that it is essential to “actively seek out opportunities to develop cultural competence.”
20 Ways to Build Cultural Competence
• Acknowledge that we live in a society with pervasive biases.
• Honor and celebrate the holidays of different ethnic and religious groups.
• Bring books, dolls, music, images, and toys that reflect diversity into your home, classroom and program space.
• When possible, travel to areas in the United States and around the world where you can immerse yourself in another culture. Keep in mind that ‘armchair travel,” by book, film, food and imagination can open new vistas almost as well as actually being there.
• Explore the cultural and ethnic heritage in your own family and community.
• Visit culturally rich art galleries and museums. Attend culturally diverse dance performances, musicals, concerts, festivals, and other events. Or, find ways to bring them into your school or program.
• Show that you value diversity in the friends you choose, the books you share, the images you surround yourself with, and in the businesses you utilize.
• Talk about stereotypes and discrimination. Encourage children to tell you if they witness prejudice or are a victim of it.
• Get involved with an organization that works in the area of social justice. This can offer many opportunities for kids to become involved in their own community.
• Learn a second or third language. Encourage all kids to share words in their native language.
• Discuss issues that you hear on the radio and see on TV or in movies.
• Be respectful. Create a family/classroom/program rule that makes it unacceptable to tease others because of their culture or ethnicity.
• Visit different religious and spiritual places of worship.
• Initiate activities and discussions that build positive self-identity and self-esteem. If we feel good about ourselves, we are less likely to make fun of others.
• Develop goals to help eliminate cultural bias and prejudice.
• Judge people by their qualities and not their looks.
• Dine at ethnic restaurants, or invite parents and community members to share their foods.
• Talk positively about people’s physical characteristics and cultural heritage.
• Provide opportunities to interact with people with different cultures, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and abilities.
• Be patient. Change takes time. Realize that transforming attitudes and behaviors can be challenging.
How do you encourage cultural competence in your classroom, in your family? Please add your ideas to this list.
Topics: Culturally Competent |
May 9th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I love the suggestion to encourage kids to share words in their native language. What a great way to express respect for diverse cultures, validate that child as a person, as well as help other kids become familiar with the culture, all while growing our vocabularies. What about keeping an ongoing multi-lingual wall-list of great words and their meanings?
May 11th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
I love the immersion! I Think that must be the best way to learn about another culture and if you have the ability to take your child to visit other countries I think you will be amazed with what they learn by just experiencing! I hope that is something I can do someday.