Culturally Competent
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By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Monday, May 4th, 2009
This week students are turning their focus to Cultural Competence. What better way to learn about and appreciate the values, skills and practices of another culture than to look at the art produced by its people? So, I am reposting this blog to make it easy to find these great resources.
Art has always played an important role in shaping and recording cultural history and lifestyles. Art also plays an important role in making kids happy and comfortable in school. I know that for lots of kids, the opportunity to create art can help engage him or her in school, and open a door to learning across disciplines.
Recent visits to some schools in Portland make it clear that art is happening in the schools, but for some kids (kids like I used to be) there is never enough art in a day.
Here are some ideas for strategies that teachers and mentors (especially in after school programs) can use to stimulate interest in other cultures, while also providing opportunities for students to see and experience many forms of art.
Bring samples of art into your space. Bring objects, slides, photos, posters, fabrics. You get the idea. For example, a unit on African art might include masks, wood carvings, beadwork, jewelry, fabrics and more. Any of these can become a starting point to open a conversation about both the art, and its uses in its culture.
Talk about what you see, ask:
- What are these things used for?
- What materials are they made of? Where do these materials come from?
- Are they part of every day life or are they meant to be displayed in a museum or a temple?
Teachers may want to pose some questions as research. Invite kids to visit the library, explore books and art sites on the internet, and talk to family and community members to find out what they know about African art. Then, encourage them to share what they’ve learned - in words, or by creating a piece of art.
Mentors (and of course, teachers too) may want to take advantage of parents or other community members to take part in the conversation, and share some of their favorite art as well. :
In the course of a conversation about African art, kids may learn that in most African cultures art is used to express religious beliefs, to teach behavior, to communicate history and to proclaim an individual’s status in the community. What about art in other cultures?
RESOURCES
There are so many wonderful resources to help you bring Art and Culture into your classroom or program; you may find your biggest challenge deciding where to begin. Here are two reall good ones:
Global & Multicultural Resource Center
The centerpiece of the World Affairs Council’s statewide K-12 program is the Global & Multicultural Resource Center. Housed at Portland State University, the Center enhances international and multicultural education in both schools and the community. Our resources and programs are available to teachers, students, parents and organizations in both Oregon and SW Washington.
Be sure to check out the Culture Boxes provided by this program http://www.worldoregon.org/more/education/resources.php
“Our Culture Boxes on over 90 countries are brimming with maps, lessons, and hands-on treasures from musical instruments and traditional clothes to toys, games and easily transportable props. A typical box or set of boxes contains:
Books, lesson plans, maps, audio/video tapes, posters, CultureGrams, files, newspaper clippings, AND hands on items in the following categories: food, shelter, daily life, arts & crafts, dress, beliefs, toys & games, music & dance, language, and more…”
For more information on our Culture Boxes, Reference Library and programs, please see our website: www.worldoregon.org/more/education/index.php
Donations to the boxes from your travels are more than welcome!
Multicultural Lesson Plans
Art based lesson plans written by teachers. These are great recipes for success.
TELL US:
What do you do in your classroom or program? Share your ideas for projects and resources on this blog?
Topics: Culturally Competent, Resources for Mentor, Resources for Teacher, Things to do | 1 Comment »
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
Last term one of our Making Connections students was teaching in a school in rural Viet Nam. It was consistently fascinating to see how the material and ideas in this course fit into the work she was doing in a country and culture so far from Oregon. Among the things she shared was that in order to do her online class work, she needed to take a bus into the city to have access to the internet. Sometimes I believe that perspective is not only a great teacher, but a great way to help us appreciate our own circumstances, not matter how challenging.
With this in mind, I share this student story describing a very different school and community. I hope you will be as fascinated and impressed as I was.
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“Hello all, since I am in a special circumstance, I am going write about the school where I currently teach. I am going to tell you guys about the lovely school and about my lovely students.
Background: I am currently a senior at PSU, on a break, so that is why I have an opportunity to go back to my country and participate in a non-profit program for teaching in a rural area. The school I am teaching is named Kim Dong. Due to the population of the area, and the limited resources, the school consists of both elementary and junior high grades. The school is located on Central Highland in Vietnam which is called Kom Tum. The population is diversified, including ethnic Vietnamese, and other minorities groups such as GiaLai, Ede, etc..
I teach both second and third grades, and there are a total of twenty students in my class - nine girls and eleven boys. They come from second generation of minority groups, but speak Vietnamese fluently. They don’t have Vietnamese names, and I have a hard time to pronounce their names right.
I have been teaching them for at least 5 months. Since the school is located faraway from the city center, I have no choice but to sleep at school. The school has 10 classes, and we don’t have chairs like other schools. The only thing that we have is the old blackboard and a low table. We use the local made clay as a marker to write on the board, and we sit Japanese style to study, since we have no chairs anyway.
School always starts at 7 am, but most of my students have to wake up around 5 am or earlier, depending on the weather. Since we live on the high hill, there is always fog every morning, and most of my students walk to school - about 5 km per day. Some students use a cow to get to school, to save energy, and after school ends, they take their cow to the farm to be fed.
I am teaching Vietnamese and Math to them, just simple Math, for example plus and minus. We don’t really have any text books, since everything is written by the Vietnamese Education Board. They give us a package and ask us to teach according to the information in there. I don’t like method to teach, but I have no choice since we have to follow the rules.
One good thing is since minorities are poor, they don’t have to pay tuition for their children to go to school. Most of my students’ parents don’t really hope that their children will be successful in school or go to college, or anything. They just want their child to know how to speak and write Vietnamese, so they can help them in business. I think it is so unfair for my students. They should have an opportunity to pursue their goals, but due to financial and family cultures, they really have no hope. More than half of my students want to move to the city center and attend college, some of them want to be a doctor since they think a doctor is great, they cure diseases and the main important thing is that they cure the sickness of animals in town.
Anyway, back to the school. After school is ended, all the instructors and students gather together and cook together. We don’t have to buy foods since we plant on a school farm, and some foods are donated by parents. It is thanks to them that I know how cook, since I don’t really know how to cook in the U.S. We do the dishes together, and take a nap after that. When we wake up, my students leave to their farm to help their parents, and we instructors have to grade their works and prepare for tomorrow.
Most of my days follow the same routine. I love being together with the students, and it so sad to leave them, but since the program is ending. I have to go back to U.S. for spring term. I hope I can be back with them soon enough in the future.
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Topics: Culturally Competent, Inspiration | No Comments »
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Wednesday, March 11th, 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 | 2 Comments »
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
Thank you to RP, a current student in the credit course, for this great idea.
We often plan events for the college (where I work with International students) to create opportunities for American students, faculty and staff to meet international students and have exposure to new and different cultures.
In addition, we have started a new initiative to not only expose our students to Americans, faculty and staff, but also to expose international students to each other. Often when they arrive from their home countries they try and find a comfy place and seek out others from their host culture. This especially happens with our Asian students because we have so many living here as residents and attending our colleges. This not only keeps them from making friends outside their host culture, but also hinders their learning of English.
An activity that we just started:
We hold an open house day at each of our campuses to focus on two cultures (in the same room). The last one we had focused on bringing together two groups - Asian (Taiwanese, Japanese) and Middle Eastern (Saudi Arabia and Qatar).
All of these students had tables and could bring food, music, videos, clothing, art work, etc. and offer this to others as a learning tool. This event was held in a huge room and the results were fantastic! Our students and college community raved about this and what a wonderful opportunity it was to visit 4 different countries and their cultures within an hour and a half.
This event even spurred some of our students to talk to each other, when they may have never done so before. It was so rewarding to see a quiet Japanese girl talking to an Arabic male. In most situations, without this type of welcoming environment, that interaction would have never happened.
Topics: Culturally Competent, Relationship Strategy, Things to do | 2 Comments »
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Monday, February 16th, 2009
Lesson 5 – about Cultural Competence resulted in lively discussion. The discussion also raised some interesting and challenging questions. We (my students and I) need answers – so I will start by posting the questions and hope for the best.
Questions:
1. “I think it is a wonderful idea to learn more about other’s cultures so we can treat all children in a way that they feel safe and protected but I’d like to throw out a question. How far do we go with this idea that we need to be culturally competent to interact with kids and families? Our reading and resources … talked about comfort with “eye contact” being different in some cultures. There are so many different cultures in the United States are we supposed to expect every teacher to learn all the appropriate gestures for each culture? I am not saying that I agree or disagree but this was brought up when I discussed the topic with some faculty.”
2. “… When considering intercultural communication, there seems to be an expectation that people of a culture represent everyone. I know this is not true, but I am not always clear on what is the appropriate way to behave – especially because I always worry that an individual may not be representative of their culture, but I do not want to do the wrong thing. Taking an example from the article, if I have an African American student in my classroom and I “break in” on a conversation this could potentially be offensive or uncomfortable to that student.
I felt the same way about the eye contact rule from the article. I seriously distrust my ability to know if someone is a “working-class Hispanic”, so should I not have eye contact with any Hispanic or African-American students even though this could be potentially offensive behavior. Do folks have ways to solve these sticking points?”
3. “I wonder what to do in situations where I might disagree with or feel uncomfortable with the behavioral norms of other cultures on simple matters. For example, sometimes a woman comes in to get a library card and her husband does all the talking. I don’t know if I should speak only to the husband or, per my culture, talk to the woman. What is the right thing to do?”
4. ” I know that …avoiding racial identification except when it is essential to communication is an important strategy for removing stereotypical language. I have always tried to be aware of and not use stereotypical language in both my personal and professional life, but I know this can be most challenging for me because mentioning a person’s racial identification often decreases the time it takes for me to describe who I’m talking about. I want to be more patient and challenge myself to describe the person by coming up with all the other details about them (other than race). But I wonder, When (if ever) is it appropriate to use racial or other information to describe individuals?”
Side note: I also think our society does this with occupation. We often identify people by what they do to earn a living, rather than other personal characteristics that may be much more meaningful and descriptive.
Topics: Culturally Competent, Questions, Uncategorized | No Comments »
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Thursday, February 12th, 2009
At the heart of Making Connections is a strong message about the importance of understanding the culture of the kids we work with. In Lesson five students have the opportunity to describe their own culture of origin. What they share is so rich that I feel compelled to share some of my own culture - both as a way to express my vision of what ’culture’ truly means, and as a way to clarify my thoughts.
I grew up surrounded by women who believed in the power and necessity of feeding people. Cooking was not only a daily task, a way to celebrate holidays and mark the Sabbath, but a competition. The women in my world really cared who made the best chicken soup, whose apple pie was the most delicious, and whose food was made only with the ‘finest and best’ ingredients. Refusing food in any home caused deep offense.
I grew up among people whose basic forms of communication included yelling, broad gestures, and at least two languages in the house. And almost every adult I knew spoke with an accent.
I grew up among three generations, where caring for our grandparents was a part of every day. I grew up seeing disabilities – my father was deaf, my grandmother partially paralyzed; my upstairs neighbor was in a wheelchair. I grew up understanding that war did terrible things to people, and that life was not easy. I also grew up believing that kids were mean, and you better know how to defend yourself.
I grew up in an apartment building surrounded by people from different countries, religions and backgrounds. I grew up among survivors, (of war, loss, depression and family.) I grew up understanding that the people I knew all came from somewhere else – whether a different country, neighborhood, religion, economic status or set of values, I grew up aware that not everyone believed or behaved the way my family did. I also grew up knowing that neighbors looked out for each other and cared for one another.
I grew up in the city, on paved streets that scraped your knees if you fell while running or playing ball. I grew up thinking that plants were something that grew on window sills (fire escapes when the weather was warm). Trees grew in the park; bushes were what lined the entries to buildings. Flowers were a gift on your parent’s anniversary, and that food came from stores.
I grew up believing that education was not a choice, that college was an expectation, that my behavior, in school, in the neighborhood and at home was a reflection of my family, and that pride and shame are two sides of the same coin. I grew up wearing my best clothes for holidays, especially the beautiful hand made coats and hand knit sweaters that showed the talent and the caring that went into their making.
I grew up with a sister to fight with, play with, and find solace with. I grew up knowing that fathers work, and take care of us, and mothers stay home and take care of us. But, I grew up with the message that I could grow up to be and do anything I wanted – as long as I behaved myself, and went to school.
I grew up surrounded by art, books, theatre and culture, and the taste and smells of foods from around the world – the upside of a city childhood.
All of this – the richness, the sharp edges, the people, the food, the languages, the terrifying moments and the wonderful ones, shaped who I am, the work I do, the life I lead and the family I have raised.
The more I learn about culture, and the more I write and teach about it, the more I understand its impact. When we work with kids, when we seek to be culturally competent, in classrooms and programs, we are working not only with the present, but with a past, and with beliefs and behaviors that may span generations. Culture you see - is not a simple thing.
Topics: Culturally Competent | 1 Comment »
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
NP, a student in the online course is seeking help and resources for a Somali child. She has asked me to post this request for help.“I would like to be better able to communicate with student who I am currently observing in Kindergarten class right now. He is from Somalia. He doesn’t speak or understand much English, and his parents speak very little too. As a newcomer, he doesn’t understand the rules or culture of his new community. I notice that it is hard for the teacher and students to communicate to him, and I can imagine how frustrated he must be inside. I also notice that he is slowly picking up little things here and there, and he does respond to the signals from the teacher.I would like to find ways to help this boy communicate and become more comfortable in his classroom and new culture. I have generated a list of ideas in this course, but I need help finding resources, suggestions and people who can help me help him. Histeacher is working hard to get a translator in the class so this student and parents can begin to understand what is going on. I know this will help, but so far no translator has arrived.
He enjoys playing basketball at recess, and is learning the rules of by watching the kids and participating in the game. So, I think it would be great to see him get involved in a basketball league. I know he is just in Kindergarten but I think this can really help socializing him with the other kids.
Another great resource he could benefit by (hypothetically, because I don’t know if there is such a thing) would be to send him to an after school program where they speak Somali.
In the perfect world, there would be a place where he could go after school to learn the basics, a center where he could go and relate to other students and mentors in his community. It would be wonderful to have a place where the language and culture are familiar, and where he could meet other kids who are struggling in the same situations. Is there such a place?
Another idea would be to a have a buddy system (again in the perfect world) where someone older than him, someone also from
Somalia could help him in his studies and socialization. It would be wonderful if hehad someone he could relate to and ask questions.
Please, Please, Please any suggestions or comments are welcome…this is something I have been struggling with because I want so badly to have endless ways to help him (and other kids too of course) …but I don’t know where to go for help and resources. Please post ANY ideas and suggestions below. Thanks in advance.
Topics: Culturally Competent, Help Wanted, Questions | 1 Comment »
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Friday, December 12th, 2008
This idea is from Making Connections student Emma B. She says that the results of this activity were remarkable.
In Linda Christensen’s book , Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching About Social Justice and the Power of the Written Word , she describes a process for helping students create their own poems modeled after George Ella Lyon’s poem, “Where I Am From.” The students read the poem and discuss it. Then, they brainstorm their favorite foods, family sayings, celebrations, items found around their homes, people important to them, and places they like to visit. The brainstorming sessions can lead to rich classroom conversations and sharing.Many teachers used this poem at the beginning of each school year as a getting-to-know-you activity—with amazing results. However, this works at any time to help kids feel more connected. (Note: Try this as a way to discover how kids celebrate their holidays.)More ideas:• A sixth-grade teacher has students write “I Am From” poems in October and shares the results with family members at the fall parent-teacher conference. He says, “It took some time for parents to really feel comfortable with a new teacher with their kids. The “I Am From” poems made conversation with the parents really relaxed, because we were going over these funny things that the kids were interested in that surprised them. Sharing the poems made all the difference.”
• A high-school teacher uses the “Where I’m From” poems to get to know her students and their families.” It is such a safe way to experience poetry. Plus, it requires so much thought about what really matters in one’s life and what the things are that have truly shaped the students into the individuals they have become.”
For instructions and examples of this activity, see: Where I Am From Poem.
Topics: Creating a Positive, Culturally Competent, Recommended reading | No Comments »
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
The Cross-Cultural Classroom, is an interesting and thought provoking article by Christina Shunnarah in the New York Times, Lesson Plans section.
The author writes that, “it is important for me as an educator to have a cultural awareness of the students’ lives and backgrounds. Without this awareness, my sensitivity and compassion for each child would not be able to develop. My studies in anthropology have helped me view life through a cultural lens.” She offers many interesting insights, as well as a good story in this piece, subtitled, Learning to Teach in a Complicated World. One of the most interesting aspects of the piece is her description of the Iceberg Concept of Culture, the idea that like an iceberg, the majority of culture is below the surface, making it a real challenge for educators to create a classroom or community that is truly culturally accepting.
Read too, some of the comments from others that follow the main article. I am sure that they will open the door to further thought and discussion.
Post your comments and responses to this article here – to share your thoughts.
Topics: Culturally Competent, Recommended reading | 1 Comment »
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Thursday, September 4th, 2008
Well, I was at the zoo yesterday to see the new baby elephant. You must have gone over the long weekend because, the crowds were smaller yesterday, and I heard it was packed Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The new baby is a wonder, and standing on line was an opportunity to hear kids of all ages, and their adults talking about all things elephant, where they live, how they live, and how mothers and babies interact. It was quite educational, and a great reminder of informal learning.
Another thing I learned yesterday is of a great event coming up soon:
World Animal Festival:
September 27 - October 5 (details on the site)
This is an “exciting showcase of how various cultures around the world revere and celebrate animals. Local cultural groups will present animal folklore to zoo guests in a variety of ways, including performance art, hands-on crafts, educational activities and art exhibits.”
Topics: Culturally Competent, Quality Time, Things to do | 1 Comment »
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