After watching the video on "Creating
Culturally Relevant Education", I learned a few things about working
across different cultural boundaries. One of the themes of this video that
stood out to me was that students said it would have been better for
them if the teachers acted as their mentors along with being their teacher;
creating a connection with them. One girl gave an example how she was not
connected with her teachers at first. However after a family matter took place
her teachers reached out to her and they did form a mentor/connected
relationship. Having educators and youth workers creating these types of
relationships will be useful for them when working with youth.
Along with
having a relationship with youth, relationships with parents are also
important. Another girl in the video talked about how she was at a school event and
her father did not speak English. She asked someone to help her father and he
was embarrassed. If there was a relationship with the parents in this case accommodations
could have been made so this girl’s father would not have felt embarrassed. Relationships
with parents are also important for other reasons. If a child seems to be off
in class and not themselves a parent can pull you aside and let you know what
is going on.
Working across
different cultural boundaries can be difficult if the culture differs from your
own. Overcoming these boundaries will benefit the youth we will encounter. I think
the best way to overcome these boundaries is to educate yourself. When something
is different than what you are accustomed to, educating yourself about it will
not only benefit you but the youth you work with. All youth are different in
their backgrounds, culture, and the way they learn. Working across these
boundaries to create a relationship with them to help these youth succeed will
be a great accomplishment for everyone in the process.
