Caitlin CP #6

Date/Time: February 11th, 2016, 1-2pm
Location: Hecht House lounge (Cultural Workshop)

1) What did you learn and share with your conversation partner(s)?
  Today we worked in groups to plan the final Cultural Workshop presentation. One of our group members left early but I was able to work with Dhari who is from Saudi Arabia. We discussed how we wanted to set up the poster board and what information we wanted to include. I tried to facilitate conversation about the differences between Saudi Arabian and American culture so that we could talk about why those differences exist in the first place.  I learned a lot about the Saudi Arabian school system!
 
2) How did the CP session inform your awareness of other cultures?
   I learned how different education systems all around the world can affect how people who come to America learn in our school system. In Saudi Arabia, men and women are completely separate from each other at all times which can be very difficult for male Saudi Arabian students when they enter the American classroom and are expected to work with fellow female classmates. Also, students in Saudi Arabia are not expected to give any sort of presentations while in America, we start giving "Show and Tell" presentations from kindergarten! 

3) How did the CP session inform your awareness of your culture?
   I realized how little we respect our teachers in our culture. In places like Vietnam, China, and Saudi Arabia, students show their teachers the utmost respect while in America, teachers are sometimes seen as babysitters by parents and strict dictators by students. This leads to different classroom routines and expectations in the American classroom. This can sometimes be a good thing, as classes can be less formal and therefore less stressful but can also lead to low expectations from instructors and very little participation by students.
 
4) How could you apply what you learned to your teaching practice?
   I learned that I need to be aware of the teaching techniques, school system expectations, and what the interactions between teachers and students are supposed to look like in the culture that I will be teaching in in the future. This will help my students to be successful and not confused or concerned with my expectations if they are similar to their other native teachers. Knowing what kind of activities are done in the classroom of the classroom of the culture that I want to teach in would also help me to know which activities would be new to my students and so would need more explanation than others.