Growing up in a small rural northwest Georgia town cultural awareness was not truly taught. We were told to read pages in a textbook and the teacher put a checkmark in her grade book. Did I have cultural awareness? No. I did not have cultural awareness. I had pictures out of date, no one to ask questions, and basic information about a few select countries. I did have respect for others who were different from me. But I did not know what cultural diversity was? Cultural diversity according to the National Education Association (NEA) is the sum of the ways people are alike and different. The dimensions of diversity include race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, culture, religion, mental and physical ability, class, and immigration status.
My experience is vastly different than the way our students learn about diversity and cultural awareness today. Today students and educators have cultural standards to follow, there are school counselors who teach about diversity and cultural awareness, and technology is readily available for use. We have different ethnicities in our classrooms. We have the Internet, Twitter, Skype, blogs, Wiki’s, Weebly’s, E-pals, E-mail, Facebook, various cultural projects, and many other options. With all of this technology students can interactively and actively learn about various cultures by seeing real time pictures, collaborating via the internet and asking people their questions rather than wondering.
Students and teachers can use Skype to connect with others by seeing and talking to them. Many educators have found projects that help students be more culturally aware through the use of this technology. They visually see the physical differences and hear language differences. The students have the opportunity to ask questions or to be questioned.
Another way that students and teachers can broaden their awareness is through the use of blogs. Blogs are a great way for students, educators, and families to communicate locally or globally. Students and teachers can use blogs to publish stories to share with others, collaborate on projects with students in their school or other schools, access homework, access classroom newsletters, and the benefits go on.
Students today are exposed to diversity and cultural awareness beginning in the classroom and extending beyond the four walls of their class. Today they are taught that color, gender, age, or nationality doesn’t make them any better or any less.
My experience is vastly different than the way our students learn about diversity and cultural awareness today. Today students and educators have cultural standards to follow, there are school counselors who teach about diversity and cultural awareness, and technology is readily available for use. We have different ethnicities in our classrooms. We have the Internet, Twitter, Skype, blogs, Wiki’s, Weebly’s, E-pals, E-mail, Facebook, various cultural projects, and many other options. With all of this technology students can interactively and actively learn about various cultures by seeing real time pictures, collaborating via the internet and asking people their questions rather than wondering.
Students and teachers can use Skype to connect with others by seeing and talking to them. Many educators have found projects that help students be more culturally aware through the use of this technology. They visually see the physical differences and hear language differences. The students have the opportunity to ask questions or to be questioned.
Another way that students and teachers can broaden their awareness is through the use of blogs. Blogs are a great way for students, educators, and families to communicate locally or globally. Students and teachers can use blogs to publish stories to share with others, collaborate on projects with students in their school or other schools, access homework, access classroom newsletters, and the benefits go on.
Students today are exposed to diversity and cultural awareness beginning in the classroom and extending beyond the four walls of their class. Today they are taught that color, gender, age, or nationality doesn’t make them any better or any less.