"Becoming American"- 4th Blog

            As an American, I sincerely believe that our country’s magnificent and unique beauty, strength, and influence come from its richness in racial and cultural diversity. And like Mr. Steven Colbert, I find it very difficult to acknowledge that this country has committed some horrible mistakes in the past. Furthermore, as I reflect upon the video, Becoming American, this belief was not always valued as a treasure or gift in the past. Immigrants who brought with them their beloved and treasured cultures in their hearts and minds faced tremendous discrimination, hatefulness and intolerance simply because they were different and unfamiliar strangers. I was particularly moved by the story of Ms. Kristi Yamiguchi, whose family immigrated to the United States from Japan. Her family endured years of discrimination on the islands of Hawaii working on sugar cane plantations, where they faced racism and anti-Japanese sentiment. However, her family had a tremendous desire to become completely American by assimilating into the culture as much as possible. Furthermore, the video, made me think about how my own ancestors might have been treated when they immigrated to the United States from England, Ireland, Germany, and Italy.  For the most part, I was able to make connections to the stories of Mr. Steven Colbert and Mrs. Meryl Streep because their ancestors and mine had immigrated to the United States from Europe. It was particularly important to me that the video emphasized that we are all inherently American, but our roots are located somewhere else.

A Class Divided

         This was my first time viewing the controversial video, A Class Divided. Furthermore, I sincerely believe this is an important and essential video for all educators to watch and reflect upon. It can be said that the video addresses issues that educators find difficult to teach to their students, especially when they may or not have the ability to understand. This is a particularly important video because it stresses the importance of character education, which is all too critical in our schools today.

          I believe that Mrs. Elliott was right to carry out this experiment because she determined this to be the most effective manner to teach her third grade students about the effects of racism and discrimination. The effects of the experiment on the children displayed how children can transition from being sweet and gentle to mean and aggressive human beings within minutes of being treated unfairly and unkindly. They developed a sense of hate for one another. However, once Mrs. Elliott asked the students whether it was fair for them to be treated differently and unkindly, they all responded with the answer no. All of the students realized that it was not nice to treat others badly or to discriminate against people who look different from them. Mrs. Elliott emphasized the importance of judging people based upon their character, not their outside appearance. She had achieved her learning objective with her students.

         When Mrs. Elliott met with her former students 14 years later, they all had realized how important her lesson was back then and even how relevant it was in their daily lives. Some mentioned teaching their own children about the critical importance of judging people based on the content of their character and not on their outside appearance. Furthermore, I feel that Mrs. Elliott’s lesson and experiment is even more relevant today with the rise of bullying in schools throughout the country. In my own classroom, I think I would carry out a similar experiment if I determined this to be the most effective strategy for teaching my students about the effects and wrongfulness of bullying, racism, and discrimination. I strongly believe all schools need to incorporate multicultural education and character education into their curriculums. I feel it is imperative so we can put an end to hurtful acts of cultural bias, racism, bullying, and discrimination. It is our duty as educators to ensure all our students are treated as equal, special, and unique individuals in our classrooms and throughout the school community. We must set a tone within our schools which exemplify justice, equality, and the importance of having good character.

Second Blog Posting- Multicultural Videos

           As educators, it is our duty and responsibility to create an environment that embraces and values all different cultures. We must be aware of all the multicultural beliefs in regards to manners, education, body language, and etc that may be present in our diverse classrooms. Furthermore, we must be culturally sensitive and responsive. I feel the videos we watched this week were very helpful. They have assisted me in becoming more culturally aware, conscious, and sensitive.
        They have made me aware of some body language actions that are considered offensive that I use almost daily with my students such as thumbs up to signal that they have done a good job. I did not realize this signal was offensive to people of  Middle Eastern culture. Furthermore, the video informed that body language is more than likely to be misunderstood across cultures. Certain body language signals can be misread as offensive or shameful. This aspect of the video was particularly important in regards to meeting with the parents or guardians of students. Additionally, educators must be aware of multicultural manners when meeting with parents or guardians also. From the video, I learned that the smile is not always recognized as a universal sign of happiness, but can be viewed as a signal for seriousness for the Korean culture. As educators, we need to be very careful and conscious of the manner in which we use gestures and body language in our classrooms. Furthermore, I feel that all schools should incorporate multicultural education into their curriculum.
         In regards to education, some cultures place a higher value on it than others. The video emphasizes the fact that the value of education coincides with a family's economic situation. For example, Latin American cultures consider family obligations before education, especially Mexican families. Financial survival comes before the importance of education. On the other hand, Asian cultures place a extremely high value on education and success. Children are punished if they do not do well. I feel this is very important to know because it makes us aware of some of the pressure our students may be encountering. Additionally, people of Asian cultures are uncomfortable about offering opinions and more than often do not question their teachers. I felt this was also very important to be aware of because we may not know whether the student needs assistance or not. Furthermore, as educators, we must be aware of the body language our students are displaying when we are talking to them. In the video, it pointed out that in some cultures, children will not return eye contact as a sign of respect. Educators must not be so quick to judge these students as disrespectful or rude.
          I feel the videos we watched this week were very informative and helpful. They have made me aware of certain cultural beliefs that I did not know previously. The information presented in the videos will assist me in becoming a more culturally sensitive and responsive educator.