Challenges of teaching in a multi-cultural environment Case study of Wing Tek Lau

Introduction Wing represents the increasing number of foreign students in American classrooms today. The increased interaction with foreign culture is expected to be an enriching experience. However. As can be seen from the case study, there are often difficult situations which stem from cultural conflict which teachers have to deal with. Whereas on the one hand, teachers are expected to encourage adaptation of the new cultures to ensure a harmonious classroom; they are also expected to respect the traditional culture of the children.

Challenge: administration biasness A common problem in American school, is that the administration knowingly or unknowingly is often biased towards the American culture. This often means that other cultures are either ignored or are not given priority should they clash with the American culture. Foreign students are encouraged to adopt the American culture in favor of their own culture which is portrayed as inferior and in some cases backward. The result is that students are often unwilling to identify with their own culture, even though their own parents maybe encouraging such identification.

Challenge: faculty representation Wing’s school is a direct representation of many schools across the countries. Unlike other international organizations which have strived for equal representation across the cultural board, schools continue to be under-represented in many cultures. Faculties are therefore lacking in proper etiquette and knowledge of specific cultures. This situation often comes to logger heads when cultural conflicts between the home and school arise. In many cases when the decisions are med, faculty members find that they have offended parents and students alike without intending to do so.

Challenge: lack of knowledge It is often assumed that teachers are trained and are therefore aware of what is expected of them in specific situations. However, where such situations involve a simple cultural conflict knowledge maybe lacking. Majority of the time, teachers can afford parents without the intention of doing so simply because their cultural knowledge was biased or misinformed. In wing’s case, the lack of knowledge by the teacher led to the parents questioning the commitment of the school. The teacher did not intend to cause conflict, she simply lacked the right information.

Solution: administration awareness The first step to fighting biasness is often increasing the level of awareness by the various administration levels. When individuals are aware that there are possibilities of biasness, they are more likely to make the necessary checks and therefore avoid conflict. School administrations are often quick to avoid the topic of biasness. This means that they remain unaware of the vice that exists within them until the decisions made bring on conflict with different parties. Acknowledging the existence of the problem is the first step towards finding a possible solution.

Solution: representation Representation may not necessarily be a problem of the school only, training institutions and other boards are often encouraged to enroll, train and provide necessary skills to teachers from different cultures. While the school environment for the students is enriched in the form of different cultures, the faculty remains wanting in terms of representation. The gap created thereof is a stem of many problems which can be easily avoided by simply having a member of faculty with the necessary knowledge and experience to help in cultural conflict situations.

Solution: increase knowledge Teachers need the knowledge and training on different cultures. When new students come into the school, they bring their own unique culture. Lack of knowledge can lead to many conflict situations. They best person to teach about culture would be the students themselves with the assistance of the administration. This means providing opportunities for the students to highlight the important aspects of their culture. Where necessary parents can be involved during the early months of registration. This allows the school to build a positive learning environment for students from different cultures.

Conclusion Teachers face a multifaceted challenge when it comes to teaching students from different cultures. While it maybe tempting to focus attention of just education of the children, understanding the wholesome child produces better results in terms of complete students. This means interacting with different aspects of the child including their own culture. When teachers show interest in leaning about the culture of the child, even other students are able to emulate and therefore increase and enrich their own education. To avoid conflict, before the making of any decision; teachers can ask the advice of parents and administration on behalf of the child and/or student.

Speaker notes Cultural difference have often resulted in conflict between parents of students and their teachers. Cultural conflict comes from several challenges Challenge 1: administration bias Challenge 2: representation by members of faculty Challenge 3: lack of knowledge There are many solutions available to schools in resolving conflict. Solution1: administrative awareness; solution 2: increased representation; solution 3: increased knowledge