No matter where you are in the world, every student in your classroom is different–their own individual. To treat them all the same would be ineffective and counterproductive.

How many times have we looked at others and thought:

• “That kid’s Asian. Must be studious and antisocial.”
• “That kid’s African American. I’m probably going to have a hard time teaching them.”
• “That kid’s White. They’re either going to be stuck up or a teacher’s pet.”
• “That kid’s Hispanic. They’re going to be behind all year because they can’t speak English.”

These stereotypes, admittedly, are quite American. And what drives the stigma? Lots of things.

News, social media, rumors, and experience all play into it. There’s just one problem that I want to address here, though.

The color of your skin has nothing to do with it.

When the language spoken at home isn’t the language of the country in which you reside, yes–it is going to affect your achievement, and possibly cause you to struggle.

When your socioeconomic status is low, are you going to struggle in school? Yes. Because you are more likely to eat poorly and sleep less, and those will affect how well you can pay attention in school (not to mention your mood).

But neither of those have anything to do with skin color or ethnicity.

Quite conversely. They only deal with the culture of your family at home.

This culture is something cultivated by individual families, not societies. It has nothing to do with their country of origin, race, or ethnicity. It is all about what life is like at home.

Thus, you can have families of any ethnicity in any socioeconomic situation, or even in any language situation.

Let’s look at an odd, yet interesting example of cultural contradiction.

A friend of mine got married and had a couple of children. She and her husband–both English-speaking Americans–had spent a significant amount of time in Spanish-speaking countries before getting married. At home, they found themselves speaking more Spanish than English. When the children attended elementary school, they had to be enrolled in ESL, because they didn’t know basic English!

This is what I mean by home culture affecting the classroom more than ethnicity.

A Broader View

Now, I can’t overlook that society does play a huge role in our individual actions, reactions, and demeanor.

If we are a part of a religion, we begin to adopt the culture of that religion.

If we live in a certain country, we may begin to adopt certain lifestyles of that country.

If we are from a certain country, we will also bring cultural tendencies with us from those countries.

Because human beings are social. We need to be a part of something.

Now, some specific examples may include:

• Students, for religious purposes, may not celebrate holidays.
• Students may respond to teachers differently, depending on where they are from (eye contact, word choice, etc.).
• Students may not talk with other students.
• Students may not be on time.
• Students may not ask for permission to use the bathroom or leave class.

And while it seems that we might struggle with these differences, it is important to remember that we can learn to adapt to meet the needs of all these students.

Comment Below!

• Is your family culture different from your ethnic culture? In what ways?
• Do you know anyone that is an example of a cultural contradiction?
• How do you feel when you meet people from other cultures?
• What can we do to help others understand that culture comes more from the family’s behavior at home than mere genetics?

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