While
teaching a lesson about Christmas last week I noticed that some of the students
either didn't want or didn't care to
learn about Christmas, or that they were misinformed about the holiday. This
issue continues to surface in our everyday teachings. Should we teach about other cultures,
religions and holidays? And if yes, how much should we teach?
I
believe that part of learning is having general knowledge and not just knowing
the difference between count and non-count nouns. Part of general knowledge
includes the notion that we all are part of something bigger; a world that
extends beyond our country's borders. To be included in this requires understanding
that there are diverse cultures and traditions all around us. The more we learn about other cultures, the
less misconceptions and stereotypes we will have. Educating today's youth (as
well as ourselves) about different
cultures will hopefully make for a generation of more knowledgeable, tolerant
and respectful people.
Even
within our own families, there is diversity. Some of us have religious and non religious
relatives, relatives from different counties and different ethnic backgrounds.
Should we not learn about these differences? Should we not talk about them? By
openly discussing and learning about the differences we gain not only knowledge
but learn more about ourselves and our place in the world.
Most
of today's textbooks take a multicultural approach. A sixth grade textbook has
an entire unit on London. One of the fifth grade books talks about different
types of houses around the world. A fourth grade books shows food and clothes
from various countries. This reinforces my opinion that we need to educate to
these values beginning at a young age because what is learned in the formative
years shape who we become as adults.
Liat, it's a fascinating subject. I think that today's children must be exposed to the variety of the cultures, religions and people who are different from them. if we, the adult prevent it, it will lead lead to misconception, and gaps among the people who live together, and we will never be able to accept the others.
ReplyDeleteLiat wonderful subject and you are so correct. As teachers we aren't teaching English for English's sake. We are teaching English so they can communitcate with others. Others, being people different them themselves. As teachers, our first responsibilty is helping them become good and caring people. People that can think and contribute to the world in a positive way. What kind of misconceptions did they have about Christmas? I imagine what they know about Christmas is from the media, seeing as they live here in Israel. Its understandable that they would have misconceptions. It's great that you're willing to take on such challenges and widen the horizons of your students.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting topic, Liat. I think textbooks have become more multicultural today also in the sense that they include references to other cultures (like clothes around the world you mention) whereas in the past they were a bit more Anglo-centric with London landmarks and afternoon tea.
ReplyDeleteWhen you talked about Christmas with your pupils, was there just lack of knowledge about it or did you sense resistance because it's a Christian holiday?
If others are interested, a lot of materials and resources can be found here:
www.onestopenglish.com/skills/integrated-skills/themed-resources/christmas-resources/
Liat,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all - I agree with my colleagues above, it's an important and interesting topic. Second – I agree with your approach. As an high school pupil (two three years ago…) all my English classes focused on training me to get a good grade in the final exams. This approach must be stopped and we all, as new English teachers, shall lead to this big change. One can teach all kind of materials through this multicultural lessons much easier than the common way.
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