The way people express their emotions depends on their Culture

 16/10/2021 Week 05: Response to "Culture Paradigms"

Hello readers, welcome one more time to my Blog. 

For this opportunity, I will share some thoughts about this week's topic:  "Cultural Paradigms".

I have learned a lot this week, I have new insights about what Paradigms are. I am impressed about how they can affect others and also our behaviour. 

Like Professor Ivers explained, paradigms are Interpretations, interpretations of the world around us. Cultures determine our interpretations of all things, we can learn a lot from one culture different from ours and we will see all things differently, they are vast.

I can imagine a classroom with students from different cultures, and I think my classroom could be amazing, full of rich activities and shared experiences and information from each student all the time. That is something unique because we will be able to learn from one another, we are so blessed when we have the disposition to learn from others.

Professor Ivers when teaching about this topic shared: -"Things that would be humiliating in one culture may be considered normal in another, your paradigms force you to interpret reality in a certain way, the power of Paradigms is immense".

As a future teacher preparing for an ESL classroom, I must be prepared to get to know each reality, and I think that will lead me to be careful of what is something "common" to me because for another student it could be different.  Cultures for people's opinions and builds the way they see the world. So the first thing to consider in a classroom is to be cautious and open, open and willing to hear and learn.

Challenges will be a lot, I know, but I want a classroom ready to hear, to teach, to learn. As a teacher, I want to be that kind of teacher who works together by the student's side and doesn't let Paradigms destroy how students feel in my classroom, instead of that, I'd prefer to work on that.

I also want my students to be capable of understanding others and be anti-biased classmates, be ready to help and involve all students no matter from where they come or what their Paradigms are, always showing respect.

When we involve all students from different backgrounds, we are teaching so many aspects like respect, which is the basis of a welcoming environment to study.

A good teacher will need to take time to discover the cultural paradigms of the students in the classroom. I think the student could feel they are taking into account, they are important to their teacher. This will help me in the future to avoid misunderstanding situations.

One of the videos I watched this week was about a group of people from Sudan, Africa. They said that they felt so sad and uncomfortable when other people ask them about their country, or when they can't find how to use something or to know how something works. This situation in a classroom could be a barrier for the acquisition process of students who may be suffering from this anxiety of not feeling well where they are. That could affect their learning development and their progress. As a teacher, I need to know each student, about their needs and be able to help and be ready to change.

Something I find difficult to achieve is to help my students help each other, and be open to help others change their minds. It is not all teacher's work that is needed in a classroom, also, classmates need to have a desire to understand others' situations, interpretations: Paradigms. How can I better prepare myself to engage all students to change their mind if they find it difficult to help others? What strategies should I implement in my class to get good results? I am all ears ready to learn from you, all are welcome.

 

If a safe environment for students is the goal to a better understanding, we must be aware of paradigms, get to know our students will lead teachers to know where to go, how to face challenges and introduce ways of teaching. All changes from one student to another, we all have our paradigms because all of us have a mirror we use to see the world the way we learn, and that is what we are.