South Asian Cultural Differences, Summer 2009

I spent a month in South Asia in the summer of 2009. The culture in South Asia is completely different than the culture in Alaska: car horns always honk; cows roam the streets; and schools are comprised of bare walls, dirty floors, and few books. Students may only attend school through fifth grade before they are needed to work in support of their family. They seek to learn English so that they are more desirable for jobs in the future... but because of their culture and caste system, most people will not move above their current position.

An Indian school.

I taught children how to make funny faces.

They were quite good at it.

And they enjoyed looking at the pictures afterward!

Because of my time in South Asia and a Cultural Awareness class I took through the University of Alaska, I am aware of the level of importance different families and cultures put on education. I cannot assume that everyone was raised with my family's value of education. If I do, I put a wall of naivety and superiority between myself and the student.

However, my students need to learn to value different cultures, just like I have. I am a firm believer in the power of journaling and telling stories. When we share highlights from our own lives, students begin to understand that people have different experiences, different traditions, and place different levels of importance on things. I am a teacher who takes time to listen to my students' stories. If they ask to share it at an inopportune time, I ask them to "keep it in [their] head" and to tell me after such-and-such has happened. Then I make a point to hear the story at the appointed time. Students have much to share and an internal need to feel validated in that story. That is part of my job as a teacher.