One of the memories I have, when Venezuela was a paradise for foreigners, is that we used to have cross-cultural classrooms. We usually had many students from Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Arabs, and Chinese. I loved when I had Chinese students because they are very respectful and very quiet in the classroom. We Hispanics are more alike.
One thing I used to do was to summon the student's representative when he or she had two assignments in a row that had not been turned in, in order to help the student with his or her commitments. On one occasion, I noticed that the student from China had failed to turn in two continuous activities and so I issued her a citation to talk to her parents. The girl was very frightened, I realized that something was wrong and asked her to stay a few minutes after class. I talked to her and then I understood her reaction. Parents of Chinese students are usually very strict and punish their children severely if they do something embarrassing. I learned that in addition to studying, these children work in the family business. The girl promised to fulfill her assignments punctually, and indeed after that, she NEVER failed to do any activity again. I told a colleague about the situation and she confirmed the information. She unknowingly went further and on one occasion summoned her little brother's parents. The next day the boy arrived beaten and with his homework done. I was impressed by her account and was relieved that I followed my impressions and spoke directly to the child rather than to her parents.
From that experience, I understood the importance of communication with
your students and the inherent commitment to learning more about their roots. Over
the years, I have found that they generally tell you the truth about what is
going on with them. Yes, there are some who lie about something, but they are
usually fewer. In fact, I often found cases where they admitted their faults
with much more maturity than an adult. It is very delicate to draw conclusions
based on our assumptions. A teacher must be first and foremost an educational
researcher, and as a good researcher, he or she must observe, investigate... and
for this, good communication with his / her students is very important.
References:
Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom https://video.byui.edu/media/06+Cross-Cultural+Students+in+the+Classroom/0_r2lcaswt
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Hello Zaida, I agree with you, we must know the culture and traditions our students come from. It is a good way to create a place in the classroom where the culture of the other is respected.
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