What background information would have
been helpful prior to your student teaching experience?
More information
on the culture and educational expectations the students brought with them. Also
the difference between Croatian and Bosnian - I ran into some conflicts within
the classroom that could have been avoided had I known the strong emotions. (MJ)
I believe that having acquired a basis of their language
before entering the teaching environment would have been extremely helpful! It
would have also been helpful to first meet with the parents to hear their
expectations of the classroom environment and instruction. (AMR)
I had researched the war and knew what had happened there,
but I knew very little about their culture including how women were treated and
the Islamic religion. Being ethnocentric I assumed they were Christians and was
really confused when they said Christmas was not in December. (TAS)
I feel I could have benefited from a little more cultural
awareness training. One thing that was helpful was Human relations class,
however this was halfway into student teaching! I could have been helped also by
more exposure to various ESL programs and classroom experience. I felt only
partially prepared to teach in a classroom. (AM)
Were there any behaviors, specific to the culture, that are different from
your own (i.e. eye contact, gestures, etc.)?
With the Bosnians
I really can’t recall anything. (MJ)
They seemed to be more community based. There were a lot
of little kids around and all of the adults disciplined them like they were
their own children. The students depend more on each other for help than the
teacher. (TAS)
In Bosnian culture I have found few things that are
different from our own. The largest difference I have found is that they are
a more physical and affectionate culture, in public and private. All people are
affectionate, males and females hold hands, kiss cheeks, etc. They are a much
more caring culture and more willing to show affection publicly. (AM)
Did you find things that could be considered culturally inappropriate?
Some of my
students hate being "rewarded" physically for good work with a pat on
the back or a hug. (AMR)
[When visiting families in their homes] they always
offered me a lot of things to eat and drink, and they always seemed really
insulted when I only wanted water. (TAS)
I found few things that are inappropriate for the Bosnian
culture. [They] were minor. For example, women are not viewed as equal or even
close to males. I qualify as an exception because I am a teacher. The other
thing is that I am a single parent and this is viewed as a culturally
inappropriate behavior/action. I have not been told in so many words, or
actions. However, this is a big no-no in Bosnian culture and could be offensive
or an issue to the families of my students. (AM)
Do you think that student teaching at a site serving Bosnian students helped
prepare you for future teaching assignments? If so, how?
Yes, I did. It
prepared me for a class of monolanguage (native) speakers. I do think it would
have been better to have more language backgrounds in one class - it would help
me to prepare for difficult situations. (MJ)
I think that this teaching experience has definitely
helped me prepare. It has taught me that ESL [English as a Second Language]
teaching is a cooperative learning experience in which the students, parents,
and teachers all participate in the teaching and learning process. Teaching is
more than just language, it is a partnership where both sides share themselves.
(AMR)
It helps because it is actual hands-on stuff in an ESL
classroom, but a couple of the teachers have not been trained as ESL teachers
and the regular classroom teachers and a principal seem very intolerant like
they wish these kids would have never shown up and disrupted their lives. (TAS)
I feel
working with a culture different from your own is good preparation to work with
other cultures. Student teaching helped prepare me, in that I incorporated each
individual culture and language into my lessons as often as possible. I often
showed example between languages and cultures and we pointed out differences
too. Student teaching in a culturally diverse school was very helpful in getting
my current position teaching ESL. It also helped me by allowing me to view
different teaching styles and a variety of teaching materials! (AM)
What is missing? Please include any other information that might assist a
person preparing to teach at a site serving Bosnian students.
I decided not to
have my classroom very grammar oriented and have a more relaxed atmosphere. We
talked about history, drivers license (study for it), citizenship, and culture.
The students didn’t really care for this at first they were frustrated because
they felt they weren’t learning anything. [Later on] they found out it really
was fun and they did learn something. (MJ)
Go in with an
open mind, leave stereotypes at the door because the students will disprove them
anyway!
Ask members of the students’ community to help out in
your class as interpreters or aids. They bring prior knowledge of the group and
act as a bridge between you and your class. They are also great role models!
A great way to help the American students to
"adapt" is to have the ESL students or other community members share
their culture with them. The children will get along better if they understand
where each is coming from. (AMR)
I feel that in order to be successful in teaching a
culturally diverse population you must be open-minded, be willing to learn about
other cultures and beliefs and be accepting of differences in people and
cultures. I think these are important qualities and if you lack one then you
should not teach ESL. All cultures are different and that is the excitement of
teaching ESL. Teaching is exciting and it is an adventure. My advice is to be
open to change and willing to learn because the teacher learns as much as the
students, and that’s the fun of it. That and the students! (AM)
